'Four forms of co-creativity': A framework for the analysis of artistic research as musical composition

Abstract

This article presents a new framework entitled ‘Four Forms of Co-creativity’ for the musical analysis of artistic (or practice) research projects involving co-creative activities with community participants to reveal the socially contingent properties of such activities. More specifically, this article details a research project involving a series of collaborative workshops with the Leeds Male Voice Choir (LMVC) to develop materials for a community opera. This process is captured through an ethnographic account of the workshops in conjunction with audio recordings and notated transcriptions of vocal improvisations conducted during the workshops. Together with a historical and social account of LMVC, the framework is then deployed to analyse the various levels of co-creativity present in the workshop activities and their effects on the ensuing passages of operatic dialogue. The article then considers the wider application of the framework to other forms of musical composition and performance possible within contemporary societies.