Stig Roar Wigestrand: Lockwood's System for improvisation

Field of study: Performance Practice

The starting point in this study is that the skills of most violinists in the West are dominated by classical training, and that this, together with the instrument’s construction, may hinder the development of improvisational abilities. In order to develop such abilities, violinists therefore have to acquire new ways of thinking which are not so influenced by the classical tradition. According to cognitive literature, so-called ‘experts’ have particular problems with viewing the world in new ways, and this leads to the question of whether it is possible to acquire new mind-sets for use in jazz improvisation.

The French jazz violinist Didier Lockwood presents a “new” perspective on violin performance and “new” mental models for use in jazz improvisation. As a jazz violinist with a classical background, Wigestrand shows what effect the acquisition of the discussed “new mental models” has had on his own jazz performance and improvisational abilities.

The dissertation

The dissertation is a monograph, written in English. It is available from NMH's library.

Title: Lockwood's system: a theoretical and artistic study of Didier Lockwood's system for improvisation