Using Creativity Assessment Experience to Nurture and Predict Compositional Creativity

Abstract

The purpose of this inquiry was to examine students' assessments of musical creativity in relation to their ability to function creatively as composers. Compositions collected from 54 nonmusic majors enrolled in music fundamentals classes were used as a measure of compositional creativity. Independent judges reached acceptable levels of agreement in assessing musical creativity and other dimensions allowing students to be placed into high-, middle-, and low-creativity groups. Additionally, students completed Creativity and Craftsmanship Assessments (CCA) by listening to sets of 5 exemplary compositions produced by students previously enrolled in the course. Students' verbal descriptions of creativity and craftsmanship from the CCA were categorized. A chi-square analysis of the students' descriptions yielded statistically significant differences between high-, middle-, and low- creativity groups. Students in the high-creativity group were more likely to cite temporal factors as contributing to creativity and craftsmanship than were students in the middle- or low-creativity groups (p < .01); students in the low- and middle-creativity groups were more likely to use metaphors than were students in the high-creativity group (p < .05).