Thirty vocal improviser–educators from Australia (n = 15) and the United States (n = 15) were surveyed for musical background, influences and pedagogical views, and assessed for personality type using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The purpose was to both combine and compare the two groups to identify overall characteristics and cultural differences. Descriptive statistics, correlations, t-tests, and narrative summaries of influences and pedagogical views are reported. Results indicate that the combined improviser–educators (N = 30) had participated in a vocal jazz ensemble and studied a primary musical instrument for 4–6 years, had studied voice and improvisation for 2–3 years, owned extensive (40+) record collections, and practiced improvisation several hours per week. T-tests revealed significant differences between the backgrounds of the Australians and Americans, suggesting that the Australian subjects practiced improvisation, sang in nonjazz improvising ensembles, and listened to world music significantly more than the American subjects did. The NFP (intuitive, feeling, perceiving) Myers-Briggs personality type characterized more than half of the sample of improvisers. Finally, a vocal improvisation model is proposed based on the results of this study and previous studies of vocal improvisation ability.
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