Expanding the space for improvisation pedagogy in music

Johansen, Guro Gravem; Holdhus, Kari; Larsson, Christina; MacGlone, Una

doi:10.4324/9781351199957-1

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…This research gap may be due to advocacy narratives often seen in improvisation literature where positive effects on students' musicianship, creativity, openness, and critical thinking are emphasized. However, research examining power relationships and the nature of hierarchies in improvisation pedagogy is underdeveloped (Johansen, 2019).…”

Section: Education and Strategies For Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…One area of growth in music education across different genres and ages is to include and facilitate student's confidence in improvising (Johansen, 2019). There are many different approaches to doing so, and tension exists in debates about how best to realize this in jazz and improvised music education (Johansen, 2019). In improvisation, confidence in one's own abilities has been linked to Bandura's (1993) concept of self-efficacy (MacGlone, 2020).…”

Section: Education and Strategies For Changementioning

confidence: 99%

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“Being safe means you can feel uncomfortable”: a case study of female students’ participation in a higher education, online improvisation course

MacGlone

2023

Front. Educ.

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In higher music education (HME), improvisation is a developing area of practice and research interest across different genres and courses. However, professional jazz and improvised performance contexts, which have strong connections with HME, have been conceptualised as ‘masculine’ spaces. As an important pathway towards the music profession, HME may provide a place where hegemonic discourses can be challenged. The pandemic necessitated HME’s shift online and thus provided new environments for learning group improvisation. A qualitative study with four female students was undertaken to investigate their experiences and views about an online free improvisation course. Research questions considered (1) how female students understood their learning space in an online free improvisation module and (2) what possibilities were available for creative and musical actions. A focus group and individual interviews were held after the course. Two themes were identified: the deep end and new materials, new space. Students used a common metaphor of being ‘in the deep end’. However, they framed this positively, either as feeling safe to experiment musically or in overcoming feelings of discomfort, perceiving an increase in self-efficacy. Findings also demonstrated that students were able to exercise agency and customize their online space by using filters, changing backgrounds, and choosing when to turn their cameras on and off. Appreciating female students’ perspectives and trajectories of participation can inform teachers’ priorities for creating an optimal and inclusive space for learning improvisation.

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Section: Education and Strategies For Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Education and Strategies For Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“Being safe means you can feel uncomfortable”: a case study of female students’ participation in a higher education, online improvisation course

MacGlone

2023

Front. Educ.

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“…Enligt en forskningsstudie inverkar detta på vilket innehåll som privilegieras i undervisningen (Ferm Almqvist, Vinge, Väkevä & Zandén, 2016). I skapande musikaliska aktiviteter ligger att resultaten inte kan vara förutsedda, vilket också innebär att de är svåra att bedöma och betygsätta utifrån på förhand givna mål (Higgins & Mantie, 2013;Johansen, Holdhus, Larsson & MacGlone, 2019). Här finns risken att improvisation inte privilegieras enligt devisen "what gets measured gets done".…”

Section: Inledningunclassified

Improvisation i musikundervisningen: Tre lärares didaktiska förhållningssätt

Larsson

Georgii-Hemming

2020

nrme

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This article draws on interviews with three music teachers. It is part of a larger study that explores improvisation in general music education in the Swedish school year 4. The article focuses teachers’ pedagogical approaches to improvisation and how this effect the teaching. This study reveals that music teachers incorporate improvisation in their teaching. They do, however, lack a professional language in order to reflect on content, methods, aim and purpose of improvisation in education. Through thematic analysis, we demonstrate that pedagogical points of departure and attitudes are implicitly present in the teachers’ practices and have implications for their educational orientation. Three diverse but overlapping educational orientations are discerned: a process-oriented, a subject-oriented and a Bildung-oriented. The educational orientations are reflected in these teachers’ approaches to improvisation and are related to pedagogical choices of activities, how activities are conducted and to what aim.

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“…Although creativity is seen as a key objective in music education, it remains a difficult concept to clearly define. This may be as creative musical activities can have spontaneous and unpredictable outcomes (Johansen et al, 2019). This presents challenges for apprehending, understanding, and, therefore, talking about what happens in creative music events (Johansen et al, 2019; Wilson & MacDonald, 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may be as creative musical activities can have spontaneous and unpredictable outcomes (Johansen et al, 2019). This presents challenges for apprehending, understanding, and, therefore, talking about what happens in creative music events (Johansen et al, 2019; Wilson & MacDonald, 2017). For teachers, a lack of experience and training in approaches to creative music making can create a barrier to including improvisational activities (Larsson & Georgii-Hemming, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“I don’t know how musically creative they should be at that age”: A qualitative study of parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about young children’s creative and musical capacities

MacGlone

Wilson

MacDonald

2021

Psychology of Music

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There has been a recent expansion of school curricula and extra-curricular activities emphasizing musical creativity and collaboration. Parents have a crucial role in providing children with access to such experiences; their views on music and the nature of creativity influence the types of musical engagement their children will access. Teachers also have an important role, yet can have difficulties when supporting children in open-ended tasks. A qualitative study investigated parents’ and teachers’ constructions of creativity and music. Interviews were held with 11 parents and 4 teachers of preschool children who took part in improvisation workshops. Data were analyzed with thematic analysis, resulting in identification of three themes. Creativity and musicality were described as fundamental to children’s “human nature” but positioned as a non-fundamental part of their own adult identities. “Values” explored conceptualizations of creativity through artistic products; musicality was appreciated demonstration of technical skill. “Frames for engaging” identified adults engaging with their children in creative tasks mainly through child-led narratives; in contrast, parents took on the role of “teacher” in musical tasks. Understanding these influential views offers insight into the types of activities and guidance offered to pre-schoolers and how they can be built on to foster children’s musical creativity.

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Expanding the space for improvisation pedagogy in music

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

“Being safe means you can feel uncomfortable”: a case study of female students’ participation in a higher education, online improvisation course

“Being safe means you can feel uncomfortable”: a case study of female students’ participation in a higher education, online improvisation course

Improvisation i musikundervisningen: Tre lärares didaktiska förhållningssätt

“I don’t know how musically creative they should be at that age”: A qualitative study of parents’ and teachers’ beliefs about young children’s creative and musical capacities

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