Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation

Jazz instrumentalists’ experiences of improvisation have informed psychological research on a range of topics including flow in improvisation, yet there is scant evidence of jazz singers’ improvising experiences. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), this study investigated the experiences of three professional Australian jazz singers who improvise extensively in their performance practice: How do these singers experience improvisation? IPA of semi-structured interviews with the singers resulted in two superordinate themes which both related to the flow state: 1) singers experienced flow when improvisation “went well”; 2) singers experienced flow as meaningful—flow provided singers with both the freedom to express the self and the opportunity to contribute to something beyond the self. These findings reveal a new context for flow experiences. Implications for vocal jazz education and practice are discussed

'It's much harder than I thought': facilitating a singing group for people with Parkinson's disease

A university-based, international research project investigating the effects of regular singing group activities for people with Parkinson’s disease provided a unique opportunity to capture the lived experience of three facilitators of Australian-based singing groups. Using a phenomenological approach, data were collected via facilitators’ reflective journals of singing group activities together with their oral reports at a symposium at the conclusion of the larger research project. Data analysis revealed the skills and attributes described by the three facilitators and the challenges they experienced. Results indicate that targeted skills training around a knowledge of voice function and awareness of the physical and emotional challenges faced by people with Parkinson’s disease could assist facilitators to develop best practice interventions

Creating a functional musician: a performance workshop model

This paper examines the innovative re-alignment of one Australian tertiary music program in response to economic imperatives and a rapidly evolving marketplace. A 'functional musician' is technically sound, versatile, adaptive, collaborative, empathetic, creative, and capable of adapting to most professional situations. Conservatoire training models designed to produce classical musicians specialising in performance or education do not necessarily meet industry needs in twenty-first century Australia. Following changes to the secondary school music curriculum, undergraduate students are arriving at University with different musical skills. Responding to these changes, the University of Southern Queensland has adapted its tertiary classical music degree programs to create a new 'workshop model' for Music Practice courses to produce employable music graduates with adaptable skills suitable for the diverse Australian musical sector. The new model had its initial implementation in semester 1 (February-June) 2012. Data was collected from two student surveys and from student reflective journals; it is intended that these form the beginning of a longitudinal survey. Analysis of the initial data indicates the workshop model is successful in many of its aims, but shows some areas needing refinement

A tale of two pedagogues: a cross-continental conversation on CCM

Recently, I found myself reflecting on the somewhat obvious fact that there was a time when contemporary commercial music (CCM) voice pedagogy did not exist. Like life before the Internet or microwave ovens, life before CCM singing and pedagogy is difficult to conceive for someone like me who has only sung and taught singing during the last two decades. That the discipline of CCM voice pedagogy is now so firmly entrenched within the broader tradition of singing is in no small part due to the work of the two pedagogues interviewed here. Dr. Irene Bartlett is arguably the grande dame of CCM voice pedagogy in Australia. Irene has mentored me and countless other CCM singing teachers in our region. When fellow CCM flag bearer Jeanie LoVetri travelled the 15,491 kms from New York City to Australia in January 2017 to deliver a CCM voice pedagogy institute at my university, it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to talk to Jeanie and Irene about their journeys as pioneering voice pedagogues. Ironically, Irene was in New Zealand at the time, so we conducted our conversation over Skype in front of an audience of 40 enthralled singing teachers from the Australasian region

If the shoe doesn't fit: a case and a place for collaborative learning for music practice in higher education

This article reviews relevant literature to provide a rationale for the use of collaborative learning for first year music prractice courses at an Australian regional university. Higher music education is still grappling with the challenges posed by the Dawkins Review and ongoing reforms in the sector. These challenges include increased public accountability, budget cuts, larger and more diverse student cohorts, and a need to prepare the majority of students for portfolio careers. The rise of participatory culture poses additional challenges to the nature and purpose of today’s higher music education. Recently, increased interest in the use of collaborative learning has emerged as a way to respond to these challenges. In this article, the decision to implement collaborative learning at an Australian regional university is supported by an examination of the ways in which these systemic, institutional and cultural forces manifested as pedagogical challenges in this context. Theoretically, the introduction of collaborative learning is framed by Wenger’s social theory of learning and the literature on collaborative learning. Recent research also demonstrates the benefits of collaborative learning for higher music education. More than a budget-saving measure, this article posits that collaborative learning can be an effective alternative or supplement to existing pedagogical models in certain higher music education contexts

Playing the changes: an expanded view of higher music education through the use of collaborative learning and teaching

In Australia, higher music education faces challenging times— university reform has ushered in an era of public accountability and budget cuts; the sector has become portfolio career-focussed and a university education must prepare students for uncertain futures. Within higher music education, collaborative learning has been identified as one way to address these types of challenges. There has recently been increased interest in the use of collaborative learning in a variety of higher music education contexts. To date, however, collaborative learning for music practice or performance in higher music education remains little used and under-researched. Situated within a practitioner inquiry framework, this study employed narrative approaches to discover participants’ experiences of collaborative learning in first year music practice courses at the University of Southern Queensland, a regional Australian university. The participants in this study were students who completed the first year music practice courses in 2014 and the teacher/researcher. Preliminary research during 2012 and a pilot study in 2013 shaped the focus and design of the study. Data were collected from students’ essays, journals and short answer questionnaires. Teacher’s data took the form of a teacher/researcher diary. Thematic analysis of students’ essays and journals established the ways in which collaborative learning built students’ individual and collective agency. Narrative analysis of the entire data set was undertaken to develop a robust picture of the value created through learning music practice collaboratively

'Swinging through the trees': Vocal jazz improvisation, metaphor and embodied cognition

This paper explores the nature of cognition during vocal jazz improvisation, using one elite jazz singer’s descriptions of her experience of improvisation as a case study. These descriptions suggest that a broader concept of cognition is in play during improvisation than that commonly targeted for development by learner improvisers and vocal jazz educators. Broadly speaking, vocal jazz pedagogical methods for teaching improvisation rely on a computational model of cognition. Developing jazz vocalists might be forgiven for thinking that learning to improvise is a matter of inputting data into a computer—the common advice for learner improvisers is to transcribe great improvised solos, learn 'licks', become fluent in the jazz 'language' and train one’s ears. Such activities are presumed to occur 'in the head'. There is no doubt that this type of cognitive apprenticeship is an important part of learning to improvise. However, the participant elite jazz singer placed a heavy emphasis on bodily experiences during performance. The singer’s self-reported experience of improvisation did not therefore accord with cognition as computation, which tends to guide the teaching of vocal improvisation. This raises questions such as: 'What is the nature of cognition for this singer when she improvises? Might a better understanding of singers’ experiences of improvisation inform vocal jazz education?' The singer’s descriptions of what it is like to improvise—captured almost entirely in metaphorical language—suggest that masterful vocal jazz improvisation is not only the result of a 'well fed brain', but is more adequately explained by an embodied concept of cognition, which views cognition as influenced and perhaps even constituted by the dynamic interaction of the brain, the body’s motor system, and the environment (physical, cultural, and social). Potential implications for vocal jazz education will be discussed

'We’re pushing back': group singing, social identity and caring for a spouse with Parkinson’s

This article explores spouse caregivers’ experiences of a community singing group for people with Parkinson’s disease and their carers. Previous studies have demonstrated the health and wellbeing benefits of group singing for a range of populations including people with Parkinson’s disease, however, caregivers’ experiences of these same groups remain under-researched. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six spouse caregivers who regularly attended a joint caregiver/care recipient Parkinson’s singing group for a minimum period of 18 months. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to explore and interpret caregivers’ experiences of group singing. Using the “social cure approach” as a theoretical lens in the later stages of analysis, findings demonstrated that group singing created a social identity which helped fulfil caregivers’ basic psychological needs for belonging, meaning and purpose, social support and agency within the marital relationship. Caregivers’ new and valued social identity helped counteract the diminishing effects of life impacted by Parkinson’s. These findings support the recognition and further understanding of group singing as an accessible and cost-effective community-based psychosocial intervention for Parkinson’s spouse caregivers

Learning to make a difference: value creation in social learning spaces [Book review]

Book review of: Etienne Wenger-Trayner and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, Learning to make a difference: value creation in social learning spaces. Cambridge University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1-108-49716-9 (Hardback), AU$156.95. ISBN 978-1-108-73953-5 (Paperback), AU$52.95. ISBN 978-1-108-67743-1 (Online), USD$26.00