Creative Ability Development
“You cannot teach anyone anything. You can only help them discover it inside themselves.”
– Galileo Galilei
Creative Ability Development was developed in the 1980s by Alice Kanack in close collaboration with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. Dr. Suzuki was profoundly affected by Alice’s ideas and the effect they had on the music-making of his students. He was so impressed that he nicknamed her “Mozart’s Mother,” requesting that all of his teachers train with her. Since then, CAD has spread across the globe, frequently paired with the Suzuki Method as a holistic approach to music pedagogy.
“Creativity is the art of making choices.”
CAD embraces each child’s natural drive to experiment and extends it to music-making. Technical instruction is combined with creative puzzles in the form of improvisational exercises. As students increase their technical proficiency on their instrument, their creative choices can likewise grow in complexity. Alice Kanack offers a scientific perspective: “By repeatedly presenting the brain with a creative problem, we can strengthen the neural pathways which are responsible for creative solutions.” With CAD, we don’t just practice technique and repertoire; we practice making our own music as well!
“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”
—Buckminster Fuller
When we make music creatively, we develop our artistry. But we also hone skills that extend far beyond playing an instrument. Our whole self is nourished. While improvising, we:
Fully engage our ears, listening more intently
Awaken our intuition, finding our own voice
Communicate with care and intention
Learn to respect and appreciate others’ voices
Increase our capacity for empathy
Develop an appreciation for beauty and truth
From a pedagogical perspective, all of our newly acquired technical skills are synthesized into fluid, musical gestures. From a scientific perspective, something truly fascinating takes place.
“We all have the extraordinary coded within us, waiting to be released.”
– Jean Houston
Neuroscientist Charles Limb has dedicated himself to understanding what happens while the brain is being creative. Dr. Limb developed an experiment using fMRI machines to track the neural activity in brains of musicians performing both memorized music and improvised music. Dr. Limb discovered that when the monitored musician switched to the improvising mode, significant portions of pre-frontal cortex turned off. Breaking that down: the part of the brain responsible for “conscious self-monitoring”, “effortful processing”, and concerns about being right or wrong, largely deactivates. Essentially, our inner critic goes silent; our brain gets out of its own way. What’s more, the Broca’s area of the brain, responsible for speech production, becomes highly activated. In other words, the part of the brain that gives us flowing speech and allows us to be articulate takes charge.
This experiment has been repeated on artists of all genres and disciplines: jazz pianists, freestyle rap artists, stand-up comedians, and visual artists. The results are always the same: improvisation allows our creative impulses and expressiveness to take the driver’s seat.
"The first thing that a child wants to do, when you put an instrument into their hands, is to make up a new song.”
— Alice Kanack
Parents are often curious: Can beginners improvise? And the answer is a resounding: Yes! Young beginners may start with only one note on which they practice their newly acquired technical and rhythmic skills. But when given the opportunity to make their own creative choices, that single note provides a world of possibilities. The student can invent their own rhythms and use their bow with an intensity or delicacy that reflects their inner world in that moment. When they finish and are applauded, they feel the immense gratification of having brought joy to others through their own unique creation. Improvising isn’t just good for us intellectually; it makes us feel seen.
Oren (age 3) improvising to “The Froggy” at his first recital, having just completed a beginner Playing from the Heart course. We love the hop!
Filmed in November 2022 at the Kanack School of Musical Artistry in Rochester, NY. Used with permission by the family.
Want to learn more about improvisation and CAD? Check out these links!
Dr. Sera Smolen, a long-time Suzuki and CAD teacher, offers a beautifully written description of the method here.
Here is the complete TED Talk by Neuroscientist and Surgeon Dr. Charles Limb on the changes that happen in the brain when improvising.
Short on time? Here’s a brief clip summarizing Dr. Limb’s studies.