Abstract
This essay aims at offering a conceptual framework to help instrument teachers to include improvisation in their pedagogical practice. In order to do so, we have reviewed and analyzed the literature addressing musical improvisation, with a special focus on theoretical models and pedagogical applications. The analysis allowed us to develop a functional definition of musical improvisation, to identify its positive contribution to the learning process and to other aspects, to identify factors and cognitive processes involved in production of musical improvisation, and to inventory pedagogical recommendations found in this literature. Based on the analyzed literature, we finally developed a graphic conceptual framework, which puts together the necessary knowledge to operationalize the process of teaching musical improvisation.
