As I review improvisation methods and curricula, it becomes very clear to me that there are two kinds of improvisation, and the way these two are approached go kind of like this:

1. Let's get everyone playing whatever they feel, and lower our inhibitions so we can express ourselves through musical sounds.

2. Let's get each of the students improvising good melodies that follow the harmonic tones of the chord progression, while allowing them to develop their own sense of personal expression.

In my experience, students have no chance of learning to improvise when their teacher does not model it for them. No chance at all. Can a student learn math when the teacher doesn't SHOW the class how to do it? Can a student learn to play volleyball when the teacher doesn't SHOW the class how to perform bumps, sets, and spikes? How about drawing, ballroom dance, and marching band? Anything that requires skill development cannot be learned unless modeling is a significant part of the learning process. (Click here for my lengthy research paper on modeling.)