Advanced Jazz Improvisation
Advanced study of jazz improvisation using the Jazz Canon, exploring harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and cultural expansions in 20th-21st century performance practice.
Summary
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.67 GPA, 77.8% A/AB (n=9 letter grades).
What you’ll be able to do
Identify (literally and aurally) chord structures, scales and modes in the Major, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Harmonic Major, and Melodic Minor #5 structures.
Formulate and perform spontaneous melodies over song progressions and song forms.
Solve rhythmic placement of their improvisation within a steady pulse.
Demonstrate understanding of music theory and the application to improvisation.
Apply historical and contemporary concepts of musical styles and forms, and research approaches specific to the given instrument.
Demonstrate performance practice in real time, processing melodies spontaneously within a consistent pulse over a song form.
Demonstrate understanding of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic devices for improvisation over a chord and song form.
Utilize techniques, skills, and modern approaches to performance practice
Demonstrate decorum and community responsibility when performing with others
Identify, describe, and analyze improvisation of themselves, their peers, and from recordings
Examine technical literature and resolve ambiguities in the nomenclature
Synthesize knowledge using insights and creativity to better understand themselves and improve their performance practice and improvisation.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course map(MUSIC 331 and 332) or MUS PERF 541
- take all
- MUSPERF 541
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Any of
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
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Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.67 GPA, 77.8% A/AB (n=9 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Jazz Canon repertoire
- Harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and cultural expansion in 20th-21st century improvisation
- Cross-cultural understanding and interdisciplinarity
Skills
- Identify chord structures and modes; formulate and perform spontaneous melodies over song progressions.
- Apply rhythmic placement within a steady pulse and use melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic devices for improvisation.
- Apply historical and contemporary concepts of musical styles and forms with instrument-specific research.
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
No records available.
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}