{"id":12864,"date":"2023-02-01T14:45:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T19:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/?p=12864"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:26:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T13:26:37","slug":"come-play-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/come-play-with-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Come Play With Us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’m leading drop-in online guided improvisation sessions in February 2023 on Saturdays, 1:00-1:45pm Eastern. To learn more about it and find out how to join, click here<\/a>. No improv experience necessary and only you (and whoever is in your house!) will hear yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few past attendees were kind enough to write descriptions of what the sessions are like. I’m sharing them here. This time, I’ll post videos of myself playing through the prompts here<\/a>. Join us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I loved the guided improvisation classes with Michael last year! There were many new ideas to try out in my improv that I had never considered. The use of visual reactions via a powerpoint presentation helped spur creativity and kept the class moving without too much dialogue. Participants were muted for the improvisation, and the anonymity helped me to feel safe in taking creative risks. I\u2019m looking forward to another session this winter!<\/em>” Katie, Denver<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As a working musician trying to find the right work-life balance, I took the online guided improvisation sessions with Michael to give myself time to check in with my mind and body.\u00a0The instructions are easy to understand. I am given enough time to play for each one. It requires me to stay focused and actively present during the session as the instructions flow from one to the next. I feel calm and refreshed afterwards. I like to use this as a warm-up exercise to improve focus and concentration in my personal practice.<\/em>” Tina, New York City<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Michael’s online guided improvisation sessions are a true musical gift. Each time I’ve participated, he’s crafted unique\u00a0prompts that encourage the participants\u00a0to explore their instrument in new ways. By participating\u00a0online, I found the freedom to express without any self-consciousness, and his thoughtful prompts provide a structure where I otherwise might have floundered. It is a really wonderful way to help craft a personal practice and I look forward to every opportunity I have to participate.<\/em>” Liz, New York City<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A sample prompt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m leading drop-in online guided improvisation sessions in February 2023 on Saturdays, 1:00-1:45pm Eastern. To learn more about it and find out how to join, click here. No improv experience necessary and only you (and whoever is in your house!) will hear yourself. A few past attendees were kind enough to write descriptions of what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[18,84],"class_list":["post-12864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-projects","tag-improvisation","tag-projects"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ohMj-3lu","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5914,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/guided-improvisation-sessions\/","url_meta":{"origin":12864,"position":0},"title":"Guided Improvisation Sessions","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"January 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"As we returned to (mostly) in-person teaching and learning, I found myself wondering if I could create a short class that would actually work best remotely. I thought about things the internet does well, like encouraging a feeling of connectedness while simultaneously allowing users to be completely isolated. To exploit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2958,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/improvisation-workshop-finding-your-sound\/","url_meta":{"origin":12864,"position":1},"title":"Improvisation Workshop: Finding Your Sound","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"May 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever hear some music, maybe a jazz pianist who has a great command of the instrument, or a piece by Debussy that seems to take wing, and think, \"If only I could improvise like that!\" I have felt that many times, and I still enjoy trying to capture and take\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14153,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/watching-music-hearing-movement\/","url_meta":{"origin":12864,"position":2},"title":"Watching Music, Hearing Movement","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"May 19, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A collection of video about music and movement. https:\/\/vimeo.com\/societymusictheory\/smtv072leaman Nice piece of scholarship about Bach, Balanchine and the 'divisions of 12' from the Society for Music Theory. Margaret Beals has been performing as improvising dancer for many years. (She is actually a friend of Dawn's.) Here she is with sitar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19118,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/locomotors-at-windhover\/","url_meta":{"origin":12864,"position":3},"title":"Locomotors at Windhover","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"August 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"My improvisational music and dance group, Locomotors, is performing at the Windhover Center for Performing Arts in Rockport, MA on September 5th, 2025. Here's a brief history of our origin and evolution. I first had the idea for Locomotors while finishing my DMA at Stony Brook: a group based mostly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/cpsess1042171136\/frontend\/paper_lantern\/filemanager\/2025\/08\/dawn-michael-marty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/cpsess1042171136\/frontend\/paper_lantern\/filemanager\/2025\/08\/dawn-michael-marty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/cpsess1042171136\/frontend\/paper_lantern\/filemanager\/2025\/08\/dawn-michael-marty.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/cpsess1042171136\/frontend\/paper_lantern\/filemanager\/2025\/08\/dawn-michael-marty.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/notes-and-music-from-playing-through-solo-piano-concert-from-2009\/","url_meta":{"origin":12864,"position":4},"title":"Notes and Music from \u2018Playing Through\u2019, Solo Piano Concert from 2009","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"August 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In December of 2009, I presented a concert of solo improvised piano at the Bloomingdale School of Music. Here are the program notes from the event. I have posted a few mp3's from the evening, as well. Program Notes Unlike the magician\u2019s art which is betrayed by divulging its secrets,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Projects"","block_context":{"text":"Projects","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/projects\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":505,"url":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/7-9-year-old-dalcroze-32817\/","url_meta":{"origin":12864,"position":5},"title":"7-9 year-old Dalcroze: 3\/28\/17","author":"Michael Joviala","date":"March 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's what we did: Tempo and dynamics Follow ( 2 dotted quarters, 3 eighths, 1 dotted quarter) In this classic Dalcroze exercise, the class moves a pattern through a variety of tempo and dynamics changes. The three eighths required us to develop some technique, as the students found it difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dalcroze Reference"","block_context":{"text":"Dalcroze Reference","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/category\/dalcroze-reference\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12868,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12864\/revisions\/12868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}