Creative Thinking In Music Research Articles

The impact of musical improvisation on children’s creative thinking

This article seeks to be a contribution to the defence of the development of musical creative thinking in educational settings. This research report evaluates the efficacy of a musical improvisation workshop with 8–11-year-olds (N = 17) as aiming to develop children’s creative thinking. The study was conducted with two groups of 8−9-year-olds and 10−11-year-old children over a period of three months combining collective and individual lessons. The music lessons were improvisatory activities around an upright piano as the main tool but enriched with a variety of musical instruments, objects, and proposals (musical and extra-musical assignments). Webster’s Measure of Creative Thinking in Music – MCTM II (Webster, 1987, 1994) was administered before and after the six-month teaching programmes (i.e., pre-test and post-test) to assess children’s creative thinking in terms of four musical factors: extensiveness, flexibility, originality, and syntax. The study demonstrated how creativity was significantly fostered in children through musical improvisation with a considerable increase of the four musical factors in both groups, with the main progress in musical originality (group of 8−9 year old) and musical syntax (group of 10−11 year old). The study also revealed that the difference between age- groups diminished after the intervention and the variability between the participants decreased after an improvisation workshop, especially in group 2 (10−11 years), indicating that because of the training, the initial differences tend to be minimized. However, individual differences highlighted the complexity of analysing the creativity paradigm.

Creative Thinking in Music

Creativity can be experienced in many roles of musicianship: performing, improvising, and composing. Yet, activities that encourage creative thought in our music classrooms can be a challenge to implement. A strong music education curriculum for middle school general music is important; as this may be the last time we reach students who do not participate in band, orchestra, or choir. This article provides information on the development of a middle school general music curriculum model where creative thinking in music through music composition activities is the focus of instruction. Students with limited experience in music were given opportunities to explore and express musical ideas in their compositions. Music fundamentals were introduced following the composition experience. The composition experiences provided fertile ground for creative thinking in music, and students in the program were highly engaged in the music-learning process. The Webster Model of Creative Thinking in Music is examined to discover the keys to success in this model.

Musical Chameleons: Fluency and Flexibility in Online Remix Contests

Musical Chameleons: Fluency and Flexibility in Online Remix Contests

Effect of a Sound Exploration Program on Children's Creative Thinking in Music

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a sound exploration program on children's creative thinking in music. A random sample of 66 students was selected from 12 urban elementary schools in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, where a sound exploration program was introduced. Subjects were first grade participants, second grade participants, and second grade non-participants. Webster's Measure of Creative Thinking in Music was used in this posttest-only study. Results showed significant differences for the three groups in Musical Flexibility, Musical Originality, and Musical Syntax, but not in Musical Extensiveness. First and second grade participants received higher mean scores in these three musical creativity factors than second grade non-participants. Results of this study suggest that first and second graders may become more ready to fulfil the potential for music creativity after participating in a non-traditional sound exploration program.

An Investigation of the Relationships Among Music Audiation, Musical Creativity, and Cognitive Style

The purpose of this study was to investigate achievement in convergent and divergent musical tasks as a function of the cognitive style dimension of reflectionlimpulsivity. The effect of gender and its interaction with the cognitive style variable were also examined. A random sample of 47 second graders was screened according to reflective/impulsive cognitive style resulting in a final N of 34. Variables were operationalized through the following measures: Primary Measures of Music Audiation (PMMA), Measure of Creative Thinking in Music (MCTM), and Matching Familiar Figures (MFF). Data were analyzed through Pearson Product-Moment correlations and analysis of variance procedures. Results indicated that (a) reflectionlimpulsivity was significantly related to PMMA Tonal scores (it was not found to be significantly related to PMMA Rhythm or the MCTM), (b) PMMA Rhythm was significantly negatively related to two dimensions of the MCTM, and (c) there was a significant difference for sex on three of four dimensions of the MCTM. The magnitude of the relationships may indicate practical significance.