Computer-based composition in the primary school: An investigation of children's “creative” responses using the CD Rom Dance eJay

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate computer-based music composition using the CD Rom Dance eJay. The research questions addressed the extent to which participants adopted different strategies during the composition process, how the strategies were potentially different due to prior experience of formal instrumental music tuition (FIMT), and how the process data showed evidence of creative thinking skills in music. The design subscribed to a within-methods approach within a qualitative research paradigm which was undertaken as a small scale exploratory study with children in the primary age of schooling (aged 10-11 years). The methodology is developed from , to include critical incident charting, the digital recording of 'onscreen manipulations' and retrospective verbal protocols. The results report that within the one identified vertical composing strategy which all the participants used, creativity occurred within all the composing responses regardless of the participants' musical backgrounds and their prior experience of FIMT. An evaluation of the research tool demonstrates its efficacy to identify not only when and how creative thinking skills occur in the process of composition, but also what informed the decision making process. Creativity is defined in terms of divergent thinking skills and problem solving skills and the extent to which each participant generated their own problems and "creative" solutions. The implications for music education are discussed.

An investigation of singing, health and well-being as a group process

“…The challenge for the research was how to research the students’ perceptions of singing as a group process. In addressing this, the research methodology draws from previous work in the field of the student perspective in music education (Mellor, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2008), and recent research which applies a reflexive methodological approach from the field of research in counselling and psychotherapy (Mellor 2009 a , 2009 b , 2010; Mellor & Tune, 2011). This introduces two key ideas for the research presented here: (i) in the use of ourselves in research and (ii) reflexivity , presented through the work of Etherington (2004).…”

Creative thinking in music: Its nature and assessment through musical exploratory behaviors.

“…However, the pattems of results obtained in this study, along with anecdotal observations during the administration phase of the MET, confirmed its suitability for use in the general population. This supplements recent efforts to study musical creativity in this population using increasingly popular computer-based compositional approaches (e.g., Mellor, 2007).…”

“…However, as new music technologies become increasingly popular, many people are now involved in amateur creative-musical production (e,g,, Mellor, 2007;Mellor, 2008;Partti & Karlsen, 2010;Ward, 2009), An increasing number of studies show the positive effects of active engagement with music on intellectual, social, and personal development (Hallam, 2010), Thus, the study of musical creativity-as a general psychological dimension-is a contemporary research topic with important implications beyond musical education concerns. Yet, a fundamental challenge to advance the research in musical creativity is its assessment.…”

“…However, as new music technologies become increasingly popular, many people are now involved in amateur creative-musical production (e.g., Mellor, 2007; Mellor, 2008; Partti & Karlsen, 2010; Ward, 2009). An increasing number of studies show the positive effects of active engagement with music on intellectual, social, and personal development (Hallam, 2010).…”

Young pianists exploring improvisation using interactive music technology

“…Advances in music technology have profoundly affected the research and practice of children’s creative music-making (Gall & Breeze, 2005; Nilsson & Folkestad, 2005; Seddon & O’Neill, 2001, 2003), raising questions also about pedagogy, curriculum and ethics (Brown & Dillon, 2012; Burnard, 2007). Classroom applications using technology to compose are amply represented in the literature (Mellor, 2007; Nilsson & Folkestad, 2005), yet the ways in which technology can facilitate other facets of creative music-making, such as musical improvisation, are less explored, particularly with younger children.…”