Improvisation: An ideal display of embodied imagination

Justin Christensen deals with the bond between improvisation and imagination in artistic experience. Starting with a reassessment in continental philosophy both of how imagination is conceived and can be demonstrated, Christensen observes that the connection between improvisation and imagination has previously had little value in classic aesthetic theories. He then goes on to argue for the value of improvisation as a reflection of perception–action coupling that is central to newer theories that favor embodied approaches to music cognition. In the light of such theories, where perception, action, and imagination are seen as interdependent properties, Christensen proposes a greater recognition of the processes of musicking—including improvisation—to better understand meaning-making and the role of imagination in musical experience.