Fantasies of Improvisation

Gooley, Dana

doi:10.1093/oso/9780190633585.001.0001

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Our study shows that research that addresses improvisation in secondary school and community music contexts, as well as studies that focus on participants with varied musical backgrounds and experiences are still far from becoming a widely acknowledged and discussed subfield. Important inroads might also need to be paved by future studies on improvisation in world musics ( including western art music) and popular music genres, traditions where improvisation has in many respects played a stronger role than is usually assumed (see Berkowitz, 2010; Borio & Carone, 2018; Gooley, 2018; Solis & Nettl, 2009). This might lead to a greater emphasis on connecting creative pedagogical work to the wealth of extant musical traditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping visions of improvisation pedagogy in music education research

Siljamäki

Kanellopoulos

2019

Research Studies in Music Education

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This systematic literature review aims to identify and critically examine the prevailing general trends of music education research that addresses issues of improvisation from 1985 to 2015. The study examined the main features of studies with impact that focus on musical improvisation and have been published in peer-reviewed music education journals. Data were organised on the basis of the following: 1) General publication features; 2) Topic; 3) Methodological approach; 4) Participant features; 5) Type of improvisation; 6) Definition of improvisation; 7) Findings; 8) Suggestions for practice. The study also takes a close look at the construction of the discourses through which improvisation has been framed in the field of music education, providing insights on how such discourses create particular pedagogical visions of improvisation. To this end, we have created a map of the different visions of improvisation pedagogy that the studied works point towards. These visions have been clustered in the following five categories: (i) from rupture of certainties to creative problematisation; (ii) return to the “natural” beginning—in search of humanness; (iii) improvisation as a learning tool; (iv) conserving and enlivening traditions; (v) improvisation as an impetus for creativity. The map proposed in this study is meant as a possible representation of the general trends that underpin music education research focusing on improvisation. This map can also be seen as a “tool” through which music educators can situate their practice and reflect on their particular ways of working with improvisation, possibly envisioning alternative ways forward.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping visions of improvisation pedagogy in music education research

Siljamäki

Kanellopoulos

2019

Research Studies in Music Education

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“…In the Western classical ensemble tradition, which is the focus of the current study, it is conventional to perform pitches and rhythms as they are notated in a score (this is the modern convention, though in previous eras, performances commonly included improvisation, see Gooley, 2018). Ensembles construct a shared interpretation of the music while rehearsing, using a combination of online collaboration (experimenting while playing) and offline collaboration techniques (demonstrating ideas and verbal discussion; Biasutti, 2013; Davidson & Good, 2002; Ginsborg & King, 2012; King & Ginsborg, 2011).…”

Section: What Is Togetherness?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Focus of attention affects togetherness experiences and body interactivity in piano duos.

Bishop¹

2023

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

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Group music-making is a socially rewarding activity that strengthens social bonds and leads to feelings of musical togetherness, that is, feelings of musical alignment and social connection. For skilled ensemble musicians, social rewards are closely tied to the aesthetic rewards that come from achieving a high-quality performance. What playing conditions encourage or discourage togetherness experiences? The purpose of this study was to show how joint and mutual attention contribute to experiences of togetherness, and how togetherness relates to communicative body motion in classical piano duo playing. The study tests two hypotheses: (a) that attention focus affects pianists’ togetherness experiences and communicative body motion; and (b) that pianists’ body motion can index the strength of their togetherness experiences. Piano duos performed two pieces under conditions that manipulated their attention focus to encourage or discourage joint or mutual attention. Body motion data were collected using optical motion capture, and pianists rated the quality of their playing experience on a number of scales via self-report questionnaire. Results show that joint and mutual attention improved togetherness ratings, while self-directed attention decreased enjoyment. Pianists moved their bodies less when the focus was self-directed and more at the end of the session than during a baseline performance. Coupling of motion periodicities, contrary to expectations, was lower in conditions that promoted joint attention than in the baseline. The main conclusion of the study is that joint and mutual attention strengthen togetherness experiences and affect communicative body motion, but that measures of body motion provide unreliable indicators of togetherness. The study leads to a more nuanced understanding of the construct of togetherness and how it can be measured.

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“…Interestingly, the situation up until the nineteenth century was considerably different: musical apprentices in Europe memorized formulas, patterns, and improvisatory techniques. From the Middle Ages (Berger, 2005) to the eighteenth and even nineteenth centuries (Gjerdingen, 2007;Gooley 2018), musical improvisation and the memorization of stock patterns played a central role in music learning and music making in Europe. In other traditions, the memorization of formulas within modal systems such as Arab maqamat (Farraj & Abu Shumays, 2019) or Indian ragas (Widdess, 2013) continues to constitute a major part of music learning.…”

Section: Descriptions Of Improvisational Thinking By Expert Musicians...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptions of Improvisational Thinking by Expert Musicians Trained in Different Cultural Traditions

Norgaard,

Dunaway,

Black

2023

Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education

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Research about improvisation often focuses on one musical tradition. The current study investigated experts’ descriptions of thinking behind improvisation in different cultural traditions through interviews with advanced improvisers residing in a metropolitan area in the United States. The participants were rigorously trained in their tradition and have performance experience within it. However, as residents of the United States, they are experienced in communicating with Western audiences and conversant in Western ways of thinking about music. Immediately after completing the improvisation, each participant listened to a recording and looked at its visual representation while describing the underlying thinking. The visual representation showed pitch contour and note length without reference to any notational system. A thematic analysis by researchers trained in Western classical music and jazz revealed eight main themes: Licks and Conventions describe how prelearned material and convention guided creation; Reaction, Forward Looking, and Repetition and Variety outline various processes that shape creation in the moment; and Aesthetics, Communication, and Emotion provide clues to the improvisers’ motivation behind choices. Interestingly, the use of prelearned patterns appears to facilitate improvisations in all the traditions represented. This and other identified strategies appearing cross-culturally may be indicative of shared underpinning cognitive processes. Identification of these shared strategies from a classical/jazz viewpoint may aid educators in broadening their curricula to include other musical traditions of improvisation.

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Fantasies of Improvisation

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Mapping visions of improvisation pedagogy in music education research

Mapping visions of improvisation pedagogy in music education research

Focus of attention affects togetherness experiences and body interactivity in piano duos.

Descriptions of Improvisational Thinking by Expert Musicians Trained in Different Cultural Traditions

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