Mind wandering and musical creativity in jazz improvisation

Abstract

Mind wandering is a prevalent and ubiquitous phenomenon. Several studies suggest that mind wandering benefits creativity if it occurs in the incubation period of a creative problem-solving task. However, it could be impairing real-time expression of creative behavior if it occurs during the course of a creative task. This dissociation between incubation and performance suggests that mind wandering poses a double-edged sword to creative cognition. Jazz improvisation provides an ecologically useful framework for studying the effects of mind wandering on creativity. Here we hypothesized that mind wandering during a musical improvisation task would be associated with higher levels of musical creativity, compared with on-task attention. Nine experienced musicians performed several jazz improvisation tasks interleaved with the presentation of random thought probes. The results showed that musical improvisation during unintentional mind wandering was associated with higher musical creativity when compared with improvisation during on-task attention. However, mind wandering did not impact overall improvisational quality. Altogether, these data suggest that the positive relationship between mind wandering and creativity also extends to artistic performance domains.

A Wandering Mind is Not Always a Creative Mind: How Thought Dynamics Explain the Relationship between Mind Wandering and Creativity

“…Preliminary findings suggest that mind wandering tends to cause new ideas to be experienced as an Aha! moment (Gable et al, 2019;Yang & Wu, 2022), and which might affect creativity (Palhares, Branco, & Gonc ßalves, 2022). One example of an antecedent that might influence mind wandering to occur spontaneously is the modality of thought.…”

Perception of classical music: development of creativity and musical experience in middle music schools (La percepción de la música clásica: desarrollo de la creatividad y de la experiencia musical en los centros de secundaria de educación musical)

“…However, activities that encourage creative thinking in music classrooms may not be an easy task to incorporate into academic programmes because creativity itself is an incredibly subtle and multifaceted process (Runco & Pritzker, 2020). Unfortunately, teaching approaches and educational strategies for developing creativity in the classroom have lagged behind the explosion of general creativity studies (Palhares et al, 2022; Sternberg & Kibelsbeck, 2021). There are many reasons for this, including limited teacher approaches, a conservative curriculum that promotes conformity rather than a desire to stand out among peers and an attitude towards creativity as a factor that does not need to be developed (Grigorenko, 2018).…”

“…Sin embargo, incorporar en los programas académicos de música actividades que fomentan el pensamiento creativo no es siempre una tarea fácil puesto que la propia creatividad es un proceso extremadamente sutil y polifacético (Runco & Pritzker, 2020). Desafortunadamente, los enfoques pedagógicos y las estrategias educativas para desarrollar la creatividad en el aula han quedado a la zaga de la explosión de programas de creatividad general (Palhares et al, 2022; Sternberg & Kibelsbeck, 2021). Las razones son diversas e incluyen enfoques didácticos limitados, un currículum conservador que fomenta la conformidad en lugar del deseo de destacar entre el resto de los compañeros y una actitud hacia la creatividad como factor que no requiere mayor desarrollo (Grigorenko, 2018).…”