Episode 8: Jeffrey Agrell

In Episode 8, I sit down with Professor Jeffrey Agrell from the University of Iowa. Jeff is one of the most creative people I know, and he has brilliant ideas on improvisation, music education, and much more!

Episode Highlights

• Why “limitations are a creative person’s best friend.”


• Limitations force us to discover something new.


• We are hardwired to not like change


• Serial duets “I go, you go.”


• We need aural training on our instrument(s).


• Benefits of playing without notation.


• Improv games


• How improvisation “ties it all together.”


• Recommended book: Cut the Knot, Alexander Bogomolny


• Looking at “mistakes” in a different way


• We are all born creative.


• One of Jeff's many books, Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians


• Another recommended book: Thinker Toys, Michael Michalko


• SCAMPER: Substitute/Combine/Adapt/Modify(Also Magnify and Minify)/Put to another use/Eliminate/Retrograde


• Shout out to Ricardo Matosinhos!


• Why deadlines are really good.


• You are not alone.