Showing papers by "Andrea Schiavio published in 2020"

Dimensions of Musical Creativity.

Abstract: Current literature on creative cognition has developed rich conceptual landscapes dedicated to the analysis of both individual and collective forms of creativity. This work has favoured the emergence of unifying theories on domain-general creative abilities in which the main experiential, behavioural, computational, and neural aspects involved in everyday creativity are examined and discussed. But while such accounts have gained important analytical leverage for describing the overall conditions and mechanisms through which creativity emerges and operates, they necessarily leave contextual forms of creativity less explored. Among the latter, musical practices have recently drawn the attention of scholars interested in its creative properties as well as in the creative potential of those who engage with them. In the present article we compare previously posed theories of creativity in musical and non-musical domains to lay the basis of a conceptual framework that mitigates the tension between (i) individual and collective, as well as (ii) domain-general and domain-specific perspectives on creativity. In doing so, we draw from a range of scholarship in music and enactive cognitive science, and propose that creative cognition may be best understood as a process of skilful organism-environment adaptation that one cultivates endlessly. With its focus on embodiment, plurality, and adaptiveness, our account points to a structured unity between living systems and their world, disclosing a variety of novel analytical resources for research and theory across different dimensions of (musical) creativity.

Processes and Experiences of Creative Cognition in Seven Western Classical Composers

Abstract: In a qualitative study, we explored the range of reflections and experiences involved in the composition of score-based music by administering a 15-item, open-ended, questionnaire to seven professi...

A matter of presence: A qualitative study on teaching individual and collective music classes:

Abstract: In the current study, 11 expert music teachers were asked to reflect on their own practice and compare their experience of individual and collective teaching settings. Adopting an approach based on...

Learning Music From Each Other: Synchronization, Turn-taking, or Imitation?

Abstract: In an experimental study, we investigated how well novices can learn from each other in situations of technology-aided musical skill acquisition, comparing joint and solo learning, and learning through imitation, synchronization, and turn-taking. Fifty-four participants became familiar, either solo or in pairs, with three short musical melodies and then individually performed each from memory. Each melody was learned in a different way: participants from the solo group were asked via an instructional video to: 1) play in synchrony with the video, 2) take turns with the video, or 3) imitate the video. Participants from the duo group engaged in the same learning trials, but with a partner. Novices in both groups performed more accurately in pitch and time when learning in synchrony and turn-taking than in imitation. No differences were found between solo and joint learning. These results suggest that musical learning benefits from a shared, in-the-moment, musical experience, where responsibilities and cognitive resources are distributed between biological (i.e., peers) and hybrid (i.e., participant(s) and computer) assemblies.

Music Teachers' Perspectives and Experiences of Ensemble and Learning Skills.

Abstract: In this article, we report data from two survey studies administered to expert music teachers. Both questionnaires aimed to explore teachers' pedagogical and performative practice and included open questions elucidating musical skills emerging in groups. The first study focuses on collective teaching settings offered to amateurs, jazz musicians, and university students with various levels of musical expertise. The second reports data from teachers based at the Royal College of Music, London, where the main emphasis is on Western classical repertoire. We integrate both studies and discuss overlapping findings. Despite intrinsic differences concerning the general goals of their teaching and the educational systems in which they operate, our data indicate the ability to "listen and respond to others" as the most important ensemble skill, whereas "time management," "comparing yourself to the class," and the "development of responsible ways of learning" emerged as main learning skills. We discuss results and suggestions for future research in teaching and learning music in different contexts in the light of recent theoretical research in the cognitive sciences, considering implications for educators interested in diverse skill levels.

Resub_Appendix_v1.1 – Supplemental material for Processes and Experiences of Creative Cognition in Seven Western Classical Composers

Abstract: Supplemental material, Resub_Appendix_v1.1 for Processes and Experiences of Creative Cognition in Seven Western Classical Composers by Andrea Schiavio, Nikki Moran, Dylan van der Schyff, Michele Biasutti and Richard Parncutt in Musicae Scientiae

Editorial: Towards a Meaningful Instrumental Music Education. Methods, Perspectives, and Challenges.

Abstract: Learning music is a complex, fascinating process that spans an impressive variety of meanings and experiences. The contributions that feature in this Research Topic bring together insights from a range of complementary perspectives to examine in detail how these layers of significance are part of, and shape, instrumental music education. To better capture the richness of such work, the present collection of articles is conceived around the following five themes: (i) body and action, (ii) technology, (iii) lived experience and meaning-making, (iv) pedagogical implications, and (v) beyond themusical instrument. It should be noted thatmany overlaps can be observed between the five topics, as insights developed in one specific area, as it often occurs in both the sciences and the humanities, may find a home (and be further developed) in other scholarly areas. For example, the analysis of lived experience has important implications for technology-enhanced learning and the modes of engagements one can develop with its tools and concepts; similarly, the study of action, movements, and gestures may stimulate novel pedagogical insights to transform existing learning paradigms and cultivate corporeal practices situated beyond music-only territories. Accordingly, while in what follows we examine each theme separately, we also highlight continuities and similarities emerging across manuscripts and topics.