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PHILIP ALPERSON is assistant professor of philosophy at University of Louis1 ille. music historians have discussed musical improvisation at greater length. But it is not always clear just what is being dis-cussed. Sometimes the activity under dis-cussion seems to be a variety of perfor-mance, sometimes a kind of composition,
Feb 13, 2008 · The notion of the musical instrument, as an object with sonic and musical possibilities and limitations and with its own history of development, shapes our understanding of the taxonomy and genres of music. We think, for example, of string music, organ music, music for winds, music for brass bands, and so on.
But what Alperson says elsewhere, that in jazz, “improvisation is at the center of the musical practice” (“A Topography of” p. 274, emphasis added), seems just right. If the practice of jazz has an essence, improvisation is surely one of the most important constituents of it.
In a seminal article, Philip Alperson (1991) first argued that a proper philosophy of music and music education should account for all musical praxis.
The notions of instrumentation and of improvisation are at the heart of the phenomenon of music. Few have done more to illuminate those topics than Philip Alperson, whose theoretical reflections on music are informed by a lifetime of performing as a jazz musician.
Music Education?" (1991), philosopher Philip Alperson outlined three possible "basic strategies" for understanding and explaining music and music education. He began by describing the "formalist aesthetic view" that originated with such Enlightenment philosophers as Immanuel Kant, according to which "disinter-
Abstract. This volume, reproducing a special issue of The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism on &"The Philosophy of Music&" (Winter 1994) with a revised introduction and two new articles, is distinguished by its breadth of content, diversity of approaches, and clarity of argument, which should make it useful for classroom teaching.
