This project addresses problems of political disengagement, social exclusion, multi-generational poverty, and social injustice in communities left behind by an incomplete democracy, now in acute crisis. Using jazz improvisation as a metaphor for Dewey’s ideals for a thriving and creative American democracy, this normative critical theory and pedagogy is part of a multi-pronged approach to radical democratic reform. Building on theories of humanistic prophetic pragmatism, critical pedagogy, and democratic theory, and suffused with critical race feminism, this critical approach begins with individual transformation, critical consciousness, and agency of marginalized citizens, through critical improvisational pedagogy. The approach seeks to prepare more diverse voices for active democratic deliberation and effective participation in democratic public spaces of input, negotiation, and challenge for the issues that affect marginalized people. The project creates an architecture, a basic template, and an operationalization strategy for the development of centers of critical improvisational pedagogy for the transmission of critical knowledge, mentoring, community support, and apprenticeships through culturally appropriate arts and cultural programming in accessible local community sites. Key Words: critical improvisational pedagogy, prophetic pragmatism, critical feminist theory, radical democratic reform, jazz imaginary, critical consciousness / Political Science

Ämnet för studien var improvisation och improvisationsundervisning i relation till begreppet Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) samt tänkbara kopplingar däremellan. MPA beskrivs enklast som ångestkänslor i samband med musikutövande. Syftet med studien var att utforska Music Performance Anxiety utifrån en jazzmusikers perspektiv. Är det möjligt att känna prestationsångest i en kontext där det egentligen inte går att ”spela fel”? Jämförelser med konstmusiken blir därför relevant. Ett vidare syfte var att finna verktyg för att kunna uppmärksamma och hjälpa elever med MPA inom ensembleundervisning med fokus på improvisation. Vilka metoder och material använder pedagogerna? I studien valdes en kvalitativ metod, baserat på forskningsintervjuer med tre olika musiker och pedagoger inom improvisation. Det kompletterades genom att utforska befintlig litteratur inom improvisation och MPA. Studiens resultat påvisar att samtliga informanter hade stora erfarenheter och personliga upplevelser av både improvisation och MPA samt kopplingar däremellan och att MPA är ett förekommande fenomen inte bara inom konstmusik utan även bland jazzmusiker. Resultaten påvisar även att MPA framställs som något mindre vanligt bland jazzmusiker än hos klassiska musiker. Det finns inom jazzkulturen en reservation mot att visa tecken på svagheter som nervositet och prestationsångest. Förhoppningvis kan studien bidra till att lyfta ämnet MPA inom jazz och populärmusik, då det tidigare inte varit så beforskat inom dessa genrer. En vidare aspiration är att uppmärksamma musikpedagoger på hur de kan hjälpa elever som upplever svårigheter i improvisationsundervisning. / The subject of the study was improvisation and improvisational teaching in relation to the concept of Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) and possible connections between them. MPA is most easily described as feelings of anxiety in connection with playing music. The purpose of the study was to explore Music Performance Anxiety from a jazz musician's perspective. Is it possible to feel performance anxiety in a context where it is not really possible to "play wrong"? Comparisons with classical music therefore become relevant. A further purpose was to find tools to be able to draw attention to and help students with MPA in ensemble teaching with a focus on improvisation. What methods and materials do the educators use? In the study, a qualitative method was chosen, based on research interviews with three different musicians and educators in improvisation. It was supplemented by exploring existing literature in improvisation and MPA. The results of the study show that all informants had great experiences and personal experiences of both improvisation and MPA as well as connections between them and that MPA is a common phenomenon not only in art music but also among jazz musicians. The results also show that MPA is presented as somewhat less common among jazz musicians than among classical musicians. There is a reservation in jazz culture against showing signs of weaknesses such as nervousness and performance anxiety. Hopefully, the study can help to raise the topic of MPA in jazz and popular music, as it has not previously been so researched in these genres. A further aspiration is to draw the attention of music educators to how they can help students who experience difficulties in improvisational teaching.