Return to Child: Music for People's Guide to Improvising Music and Authentic Group Leadership.(Book review)

Return to Child: Music for People's Guide to Improvising Music and Authentic Group Leadership, Written and Compiled by James Oshinsky. Music for People, 2008. www.MusicforPeople.org; (877) 446-8742 or (860) 491-3763; 191 pp. $25.00.

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The third edition of Return to Child serves as the basis for the curriculum of workshops presented by Music for People, an organization developed in the 1980s by cellist David Darling and flutist Bonnie Insull to promote "an improvisational approach to music with the goal of empowering people to take part in the arts rather than be passive observers." By way of introduction, the reader is directed to "be courageous, playful and follow your instincts," and then treated to a description of a Music for People workshop and a resulting "Celebration"--a live improvisational concert.

The book is comprised of three sections: "Musicianship Skills," "Leadership Skills" and an appendix that includes a variety of topics. To use the book, the reader is advised to "forget, if you can, everything you learned about music and music making."

In the section entitled "Musicianship Skills," the reader/participant is encouraged to adapt a "new mindset for musicianship"--to approach music making as naturally as children, to listen; to believe that there are no wrong notes, that silence is important, and to let things go--following the "Tai Chi movement as a metaphor." The advice as to "what to practice most" applies to singing what you play, learning to drum and supporting the weakest member of an ensemble. And, if less experienced musicians can become "masters of what they can control," they can perform with their more experienced colleagues.

The "Musicianship" section also offers techniques for body, voice and instrumental warm-ups, suggestions for soloing as well as improvising in duets, trios and quartets, and emphasizes the importance of imitation. Fundamentals are also explored: identifying intervals, creating chords, exploring rhythms via the use of Indian handcounting, using scales and patterns and suggestions to make free improvisation successful for all. Techniques for ...