Conducted Improvisation

Conducted improvisation is a method of collective improvisation in which a conductor directs an ensemble in real time through a vocabulary of hand gestures, cue cards or baton signals, shaping density, dynamics, instrumentation and form as the music unfolds. Codified most fully as Conduction by *Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris* from 1985, the practice also encompasses *John Zorn*'s game pieces, *Walter Thompson*'s Soundpainting and the conducted ensembles of *Sun Ra*. It occupies a middle ground between composition and free improvisation, allowing large ensembles to produce coherent, large-scale structures without a written score.