In this bachelor thesis, I explored vocal improvisation and the terms “out playing” and “in playing”. My ambition was to find new ways of exploring and developing my approach to improvisation, depending on the difficulty of the harmony. I presented a few methods that I have found useful in this process.     Focusing on the upcoming graduation concert, I wrote two new songs with my thesis in mind and then applied the improvisation methods. I also practiced using the methods while singing jazz standards and older original compositions.

In the last part of the essay, I reflected on if and how the different methods helped me in becoming more confident as an improviser. I came to the conclusion that I prefered singing “out” over simple chords than “in” over difficult ones but that I needed to work on both to achieve my improvisational goals. I also described why choosing musicians that made me feel safe was essential and how the graduation concert was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.