Charles Byrne

Creativity and flow in musical composition: an empirical investigation

Although an extensive literature exists on creativity and music, there is a lack of published research investigating possible links between musical creativity and Csikszentmihalyis concept of flow or optimal experience. This article examines a group composition task to study the relationships between creativity, flow and the quality of the compositions produced. First-year university students (n = 45) worked on a group composition task during three meetings. Each time the students met, they completed a detailed questionnaire that assessed aspects of each students experience of the group compositional process using an ‘experience sampling form’ based on Csikszentmihalyis previous work. Completed compositions were recorded and rated for quality and creativity by the participants and by a group of music education specialists (n= 24). Results indicated a number of ways in which the specialists’ assessments of quality related to the students’ assessments of creativity and flow. The study provides an example of a research method that can be used to further our understanding of the processes and outcomes of group music composition tasks. The discussion also considers a number of important ways that the concept of flow can be utilized within a music education context.

Assessing creativity in musical compositions: flow as an assessment tool

This study was designed to examine any links between the concept of flow or optimal experience and the creative output of student compositions. The creative products of group compositions by university students (n =45) were rated for creativity and on a number of standard criteria and compared with scores obtained from Experience Sampling Forms (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988) completed by each participant. A significant correlation was found between optimal experience or flow levels of students and the quality of their group compositions as measured by creativity ratings. Some implications for educators and learners in the music classroom are explored and a proposed self-directed learning tool is discussed. Some of the issues on the assessment of creativity in music raised by Sheridan & Byrne (2002) are also discussed. This paper highlights the subjective nature of existing assessment procedures, considering whether examiners need extended criteria as opposed to a single dimension of creativity. The formative assessment nature of the flow paradigm is also explored.

The long and winding road: the story of rock music in Scottish schools

What drives young people to become involved in music making in the secondary school? Changes to the curriculum in Scottish schools over the last three decades have resulted in a marked upturn in the numbers of pupils studying music. The inclusion of a wider range of acceptable instruments for examination purposes has resulted in rock music being accepted as a valid form of music within the curriculum. The paper discusses the growth and development of this phenomenon and the philosophical and practical issues arising from what, in some ways, has been a quiet and gentle revolution. The conditions required to allow this new musical democracy to flourish are examined and Csikszentmihalyis ‘flow’ model (Csikszentmihalyi, 1992) is suggested as a possible reflective tool that educators can use to monitor, regulate and assess learning in music.

Music : a source of deep imaginative satisfaction?

This paper gives the first insight into the establishment and development of the Strathclyde Consortium for Action Research in Learning Approaches and Teaching Techniques in Inventing (SCARLATTI) Project, and reflects on the changes to the music curriculum in Scottish secondary schools over the last twenty years. There is evidence to support the view that Inventing is an area of the curriculum which is causing music teachers some anxiety (Sheridan, 1992) and this paper examines the teaching and learning of the skills required of both teachers and pupils for the Inventing element of Standard Grade music (Byrne, 1996). The authors have launched an action research music project (Bresler, 1995; Adelman & Kemp, 1992; Treacher, 1989) which it is hoped will refocus the thinking of music teachers in schools by creating a dynamic network to provide a forum for the discussion of ideas and a means whereby experiences and materials can be shared, and new approaches and methods considered and implemented. A feature of the SCARLA TTI project is a World Wide Web discussion group that will provide a communication link for schools involved in the project as well as a platform for teachers to air issues, ideas and views.