‘Creative collaboration’: an ‘eminence’ study of teaching and learning in music composition

Abstract

The image of the composer as a lone seeker of creative inspiration is embedded in popular views of the creative artist. This isolationist view ignores the ‘thought communities’ on which composers draw in their development as musicians, composers and teachers, the relationships that hold between composer-teacher and student-composer, and the role of these relationships in the ongoing development of allparticipants in the teaching and learning process. This article draws on ‘eminence’ studies of creativity to investigate the teaching and learning beliefs, processes and practices, of an eminent composer-teacher when working with a tertiary-level student-composer over the course of one academic semester. The emergent view of the teaching and learning process in music composition is one of a dyad working towards shared goals in a process characterized by collaboration, joint effort, and social support. This suggests that the teaching and learning process in composition may be a form of creative collaboration.

A case study of teaching and learning strategies in an orchestral composition masterclass

“…(Composer-student 2, post-school individual interview) Students' post-school reports evidence more expert-like practice strategies (Hallam, 2001) by applying more holistic understandings of the task (Benner, 1984(Benner, /2001. They also show understanding of the creative propulsion (Sternberg, 1999) the orchestra will accept, recognizing the necessity of a certain amount of entrepreneurial thinking (Barrett, 2006) on their paths toward pro-c creative practice (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009). They are more aware of the resultant tensions inherent in creative work in collaboration with a conservative ensemble, as this student observed:…”

“…Building on studies of eminent composer-teachers working one-to-one with students in university settings (Barrett, 2006;Barrett & Gromko, 2007), it moves beyond tertiary training to investigate what many emerging composers regard as the next stage in their professional development: ensemble-based schools in which pieces are workshopped under the guidance of established, expert composers (Dahm & Isaacs, 2011;Gyger, 2014;Love & Barrett, 2014).…”

“…Expert composers can help less-experienced composers interpret this aural feedback by sharing their promisingness knowledge while the less-experienced build up their own. Barrett (2006) and Barrett and Gromko (2007) describe teaching and learning relationships between eminent teachers and advanced students working in one-on-one studio settings over an extended period (a semester) as a form of collaboration. In these collaborations teachers guide students toward developing effective pieces, independent problem-finding and problemsolving, and a composer "voice."…”

The influence of teachers' backgrounds on their perceptions of musical creativity: A qualitative study with secondary school music teachers

“…Taking this into account, it would appear that beginner teachers need opportunities to work creatively in different musical styles during teacher-education and continuing education courses. Barrett (2006), in a study of a composer's teaching practices when working with a tertiary-level student, suggests that the teaching and learning process in composition may be a form of creative collaboration. Further enquiries may benefit from exploring the value of providing opportunities for collaborative work between secondary school beginner teachers and professional composers.…”

Permission to Play: Fostering Enterprise Creativities in Music Technology through Extracurricular Interdisciplinary Collaboration

“…Mindful of socioculturally framed literature on creativity and collaboration in music performance and composition (Spalding Newcomb, 1998;Miell, 2000, Sawyer, 2003;Barrett, 2006;St John, 2006;Burnard and Younker, 2008;Miell and Littleton, 2008), and computer based composition (notably Dillon, 2004;Seddon, 2005;Burnard, 2007, Mellor, 2008 2 I launched the extra-curricular platform for students from across the university to work on their own projects collaboratively. Beginning as an invitation to devise new work, the CollabHub gathered momentum and it has begun to show some characteristics of a sort of community of practice, where learning emerges through interactions with peers, tutors and also external creatives.…”