Mapping Pathways: Fostering creativity in composition

Abstract

Despite the inclusion of composition in music curricula in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, understanding the role of creativity in composing in schools remains a fragmented and dif cult issue. This paper sets out to draw upon an international understanding of how individual students from varied backgrounds encounter composition. The writers attempt to analyse the role creativity plays as students compose by re-examining students' individual engagement and re ection on composition. Based upon comparative analysis of students' composing activities and re ective talk, a series of models which re ect students' varying composing pathways will be presented. The purpose of such research is to develop teaching strategies that could foster creativity when composing. Metaphors for Conditions of CreativityCreative pathways, whether imposed or self-determined are channelled, limited and governed by constraints. Stravinsky (1947) made clear the role of 'constraints' as an essential aspect of his composing when he said 'my freedom consists in my moving about within the narrow frame that I have designed myself … the more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self of the chains that shackle the spirit' (p. 68). To convey the notion of absolute pre-determinism, we could use the metaphor of a tightrope walker as a continuum of possibilities being anchored to each 'momentary' act of creation. As a metaphor for 'freedom', we might think of a bungee jumper making a leap of faith, a ight of imagination or free-fall release of possibilities. Whilst these metaphors may help elucidate ideas about how constraints and freedom have signi cant in uence on creativity, there remain differing views on whether to place more emphasis on one than another, and what their impact on creativity might be.

Mental imagery boosts music compositional creativity

“…That is, simply exploring a large volume of original but merely bizarre musical ideas is inadequate if convergent thinking is not employed to critically evaluate, revise, and refine these initial musical thoughts towards forming a cohesive musical composition [17, 72]. Focusing on creative musical products as manifestations of the interaction between the child composers’ divergent and convergent thinking processes thus allowed for a more holistic investigation of music compositional creativity in our study.…”

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

“…The significance of the strands on the teachers' perceptions is discussed in the following four sections. They refer to the four-fold framework outlined from the literature review (see Beetlestone, 1998;Brinkman, 1999;Burnard and Younker, 2002;Craft, 2001;Csikszentmihalyi, 1996;De Souza Fleith et al, 2000;Hickey, 2002;Kennedy, 1999), related to their perceptions of (a) creative pupils, (b) an environment that fosters creativity, (c) the creative process, and (d) creative musical products.…”

Musical Extrapolations: Towards an Understanding of Creative Processes Involved While Music is Being Listened to and Composed

“…[97,35,29,85,98]) and creative processes while composing music (e.g. [9,108,110,124,16,17,23]), that musical extrapolations of 'predicting, modifying, extending, and combining' include processes of problem-construction and problem-finding, ideageneration, but also evaluation processes.…”

“…[89]); and, composition students with limited formal tuition in music produce a minimal setting of constraints while decision-making moments (e.g. [16]). …”