Loved hearing @Sheri Hudgins's "It Is Well" with this Rumba backing track... and feeling inspired to make my own improvisation on this traditional hymn with this Rumba Flemenca groove. I have been practicing improvising more on piano and voice than flute lately, so I gave it a try. I was proud of myself for keeping a rhythm going in my left hand while also singing or playing in my right hand. I made several other recording attempts but didn't make it all the way through without messing up the rhythm or order of the chords. I wasn't super satisfied with my voice at the end; I thought it sounded a bit pinched in the high notes. I tried to make some other recordings after this but haven't gotten another one yet as good as this one. My first priority was to figure out how to sing or play the notes of the melody but in this rhythmic style. Then, I wanted to explore other possibilities for harmony. I was very pleased with how my improvisation on the melody in my right hand went the second time, where I turned up the improv-o-meter and instead of simply improvising with the rhythm of the melody, I started on the 3rd note of the scale instead of the 5th where this melody usually starts... and I used the "right rhythm, wrong notes" technique, where I played the rhythm of the melody but different notes. I also followed the same "topographical map" of the melody. I invite you to try any tune that you know with this backing track. Which one will you try first?

I've got some

This is how I experience the "warmth" of the notes in the C major scale with a drone tone on C. What about you? When was the last time you improvised with a drone on C? Remember you can share your progress here in the 🌊Improv Waterfall category!!

The more I improvised, the more tolerance I built for the performance anxiety I used to feel with every note... It built my confidence. I still experience performance anxiety, but I am better able to ride it like the perfect surfing wave instead of get destroyed by it like a tsunami. What's an example of something else in your life you were afraid of but built a tolerance to?

I give away a free private lesson each month to the winner of the introductions contest! Most likes from the community wins... Congratulations @Sue Lenssen for winning April! This May, let's improvise simply with our voices: "I improvise!" Take the phrase "I improvise," and make a short recording improvising with your voice! How can you change the pitch, volume, rhythm, or other elements of music to make it your own?! PS - this gives you a chance to discover the feature of attaching an audio recording to a comment here in Skool!