A space for collaborative creativity : how collective improvising shapes ‘a sense of belonging’

In this contribution, we draw on findings from a non-formal, community music project to elaborate on the relationship between the concept of eudaimonia, as defined by Seligman, the interactive dimensions of collective free improvisation, and the concept of collaborative creativity. The project revolves around The Ostend Street Orkestra (TOSO), a music ensemble within which homeless adults and individuals with a psychiatric or alcohol/drug related background engage in collective musical improvisation. Between 2017 and 2019 data was collected through open interviews and video recordings of rehearsals and performances. Participant data was analyzed through inductive analysis based on the principles of grounded theory. One interesting finding was the discrepancy in the participant interviews between social relationships indicative of a negative affect about social group interaction versus strong feelings of group coherence and belonging. Video recordings of performances and rehearsals showed clear enjoyment and pleasure while playing music. Alongside verbal reflection through one-on-one interviews video recordings and analysis of moment-to moment observations should be used, in order to capture the complexity of community music projects with homeless people. The initial open coding was aligned with the five elements of the PERMA model. Overall, we observed more focus on Relationship (sense of belonging), Engagement (flow in rehearsals and performances) and Meaning (belonging to something greater than yourself) and less on Positive Emotion and Accomplishment (goal setting)

Towards a Galant Pedagogy: Partimenti and Schemata as Tools in the Pedagogy of Eighteenth-Century Style Improvisation

This article presents a pedagogical approach for teaching modern-day students how to improvise in eighteenth-century style based on Gjerdingen’s schemata and the tradition of partimenti. We present results from a pedagogical experiment conducted at the Eastman School of Music, in which students’ improvisations were recorded. We offer a qualitative assessment of selected student improvisations in order to demonstrate the merits of this approach for teaching music theory and historical improvisation. We also address the challenges associated with implementing such a pedagogical approach in modern-day theory curricula. We conclude by reflecting on sonata-form improvisations by the authors and discuss the theoretical implications of attempting to construct complete movements based on Gjerdingen’s schemata and formal considerations

Problem-Solving Pedagogy: A Foundation for Restructuring, Updating, and Improving Undergraduate Theory and Musicianship Curricula

The goal of this thesis is to provide the ideological and practical foundation for an improved approach to undergraduate theory and musicianship pedagogy. I will discuss the structure of conventional theory programs and explore problems inherent to traditional curriculum design. Problem-solving pedagogy, an approach rooted in creative composition and improvisation, will be presented as a complement to traditional theory pedagogy. Balancing problem-solving pedagogy with a more traditional pedagogical approach will provide a practical foundation for improving undergraduate theory and musicianship curricula

Dharma noise: parergonality in Zen Buddhism and non-idiomatic improvisation

The objective of this dissertation is to explore philosophical and practical approaches to the study of improvisation in relation to Japanese Zen Buddhist doctrine and aesthetics. It specifically asks whether free form (non-idiomatic) improvisation can be practiced, and Zen Buddhism's efficacy in establishing a structured regimen for technical study on a musical instrument. In order to complete this research objective, the historical development of Zen Buddhist doctrine and aesthetics is investigated and shown to be a non-unified rubric. Using the concept of the parergon, it is then demonstrated that practicing is an appropriate activity for improvisation when supplemented by the kata forms of Zen-influenced Japanese arts. The result of such supplementation in .this case takes the form of a series of original chromatic exercises developed as a paradigm that itself acts as a supplement to improvisation. The establishment of such a regimen also suggests further research into the topic of pedagogy and Shintoism as an aesthetic or theological supplement, as well as gender issues in creative performance

Dharma noise: parergonality in Zen Buddhism and non-idiomatic improvisation

The objective of this dissertation is to explore philosophical and practical approaches to the study of improvisation in relation to Japanese Zen Buddhist doctrine and aesthetics. It specifically asks whether free form (non-idiomatic) improvisation can be practiced, and Zen Buddhism's efficacy in establishing a structured regimen for technical study on a musical instrument. In order to complete this research objective, the historical development of Zen Buddhist doctrine and aesthetics is investigated and shown to be a non-unified rubric. Using the concept of the parergon, it is then demonstrated that practicing is an appropriate activity for improvisation when supplemented by the kata forms of Zen-influenced Japanese arts. The result of such supplementation in .this case takes the form of a series of original chromatic exercises developed as a paradigm that itself acts as a supplement to improvisation. The establishment of such a regimen also suggests further research into the topic of pedagogy and Shintoism as an aesthetic or theological supplement, as well as gender issues in creative performance

Hands-On Research Symposium: from artistic practice to artistic research: book of abstracts

Hands-On Research Symposium aims to stimulate the discussion of ideas, practices, insights, outputs and developments in the field of artistic research. Originally conceptualised as a series of meetings focused on specific instrumental areas bridging the gap between artistic production and academic research, thus creating opportunities to combine artists’ and researchers’ knowledge, Hands-On Research has now expanded to encompass all artistic areas and will feature paper presentations, lecture-performances, round-table discussions and concerts.publishe

“What Is the Basic Rule of Outside”? : The Construction of a Jazz Improvisation Concept in On-line Environments

Jazz musicians often talk about the changes, referring to the chord sequences of a tune. The changes are the harmonic framework for improvisations, and as such they govern what the appropriate note choices are for improvising over a tune.The changes involve a strong connection between chords and scales, and these two are often understood as vertical vs. horizontal representations of the same tonal material. A musician can, depending on style, personal preferences etc., choose to follow or not to follow these tonal boundaries, improvising either inside the changes or outside the changes. Most of the scholarly writings on jazz have studied aspects of inside playing, such as harmonic-melodic structures and relationships. These boundaries are often understood as rules that govern the tonal content of jazz improvisation. Therefore, a simplified explanation would be to say that to obey these rules is to play inside, and to break them is to play outside. The research question this study attempts to answer is: What is outside said to be in on-line environments? And following that question: How is outside manifested in the recorded jazz improvisations that are used by the online writers to exemplify outside? The term ‘outside’ is commonly used by jazz musicians playing in a post-bop idiom, but despite its frequent use in musicians’ jargon there is no set or standardized definition for it. Using an approach grounded in discourse analysis, I study how the term ‘outside’ is constructed and what attributes are assigned to it. The research material used for analysis consists of posts from online forums, along with online lessons and blog posts. I also apply music analysis to the music examples found in these posts to identify how outside is performed in practice. The study shows that the concept of outside, as it is explained in the online material, cannot be understood without considering its rule-based opposite, inside. Thus, outside is not a direct synonym to terms such as free improvisation, polytonality or atonality but a musical phenomenon in its own right. As the concept is constructed in the research material, outside concerns tonal tension; it does not involve breaking rhythmic, timbral or stylistic boundaries. Certain performance characteristics are as central in outside playing as they are in jazz improvisation in general: playing with good sound; with rhythmic drive and stability; and with confidence and conviction. Finally, there seems to be a collection of rules that govern how, where and when an improviser can break rules of inside in order to achieve outside. These new rules govern how a jazz musician can break the old rules.“Vad är den grundläggande regeln för outside?” Hur ett begrepp inom jazzimprovisation skapas i internet-miljöer. Jazzmusiker talar ofta om the changes, och avser då ackordföljden i en låt. The changes utgör det harmoniska ramverket för musikernas improvisationer, och reglerar vilka toner som passar att spela under ett improviserat solo. The changes är nära knutet till begreppen ’skala’ och ’ackord’ och den starka kopplingen dem emellan, eftersom skalor och ackord ofta ses som vertikala respektive horisontala representationer av ett och samma tonala innehåll. En musiker kan, beroende på stil, personliga preferenser etc., välja att följa eller att inte följa dessa tonala ramar, och improvisera innanför (inside) eller utanför (outside) the changes. De flesta studier kring jazz som musik har fokuserat på aspekter kring spel innanför de tonala gränserna, såsom analyser av harmoniska strukturer och harmonisk-melodiska förhållanden. Dessa ramar uppfattas ofta som regler som styr det tonala innehållet i jazzimprovisation. Att följa reglerna är att spela inside, medan att bryta mot reglerna är att spela outside. Begreppet outside är vanligt förekommande i vokabulären bland jazzmusiker som spelar i ett post-bop idiom, men trots att ordet ofta används saknas en bestämd, allmänt accepterad definition. Genom att använda ett förhållningssätt som utgår från diskursanalysens metoder studerar jag hur begreppet outside konstrueras och vilka attribut som tillskrivs begreppet. Det empiriska materialet utgörs av inlägg från olika internetforum, tillsammans med blogginlägg och online-lektioner. Jag tillämpar även musikanalys på de musikexempel som nämns i materialet, för att identifiera hur outside spelas i praktiken. Denna studie visar att begreppet outside, så som det förklaras i online-materialet, inte kan förstås utan sin motsats, inside. Sålunda är outside inte en synonym till begrepp som fri improvisation, polytonalitet eller atonalitet, utan ett musikaliskt begrepp som står på egna ben. Outside konstrueras i materialet som ett begrepp som rör tonal spänning: att överskrida rytmiska, klangmässiga eller stilistiska ramar ingår inte i begreppet. Vissa element som rör framförandet är lika centrala för outside-spel som de är för improvisation i allmänhet. Hit hör att spela med bra klang och sound, med rytmiskt driv och stabilitet, och att spela med övertygelse och självförtroende. Studien visar att det finns en uppsättning regler som styr hur, var och när en improvisatör kan bryta mot reglerna för inside-spel, för att därigenom spela outside. Dessa nya regler styr hur en jazzmusiker kan bryta de gamla reglerna

Harmony versus Voicing: Modeling Local-Level Salience and Stability in Jazz after 1960

This article considers the counterpoint in jazz between the implied, underlying form and what is actually played in a given performance. My observations are framed within a model for jazz listening called “Stable Norms and Salient Deviations” (SNSD). Detailed analysis of an improvisation by jazz/R&B musician Robert Glasper demonstrates how my ideas about voicings are applicable to melodic improvisation. In addition to investigating theoretical and analytical matters, the essay explores the creative potential of my approach

Idiomatic Patterns and Aesthetic Influence in Computer Music Languages

It is widely accepted that acoustic and digital musical instruments shape the cognitive processes of the performer on both embodied and conceptual levels, ultimately influencing the structure and aesthetics of the resulting performance. In this article we examine the ways in which computer music languages might similarly influence the aesthetic decisions of the digital music practitioner, even when those languages are designed for generality and theoretically capable of implementing any sound-producing process. We examine the basis for querying the non-neutrality of tools with a particular focus on the concept of idiomaticity: patterns of instruments or languages which are particularly easy or natural to execute in comparison to others. We then present correspondence with the developers of several major music programming languages and a survey of digital musical instrument creators examining the relationship between idiomatic patterns of the language and the characteristics of the resulting instruments and pieces. In an open-ended creative domain, asserting causal relationships is difficult and potentially inappropriate, but we find a complex interplay between language, instrument, piece and performance that suggests that the creator of the music programming language should be considered one party to a creative conversation that occurs each time a new instrument is designed.Peer reviewe