Instrumental music teaching traditionally emphasizes the cognitive, motor, and motivational processes of score reproduction, often at the expense of creative musical activities, such as improvisation or composition. Since today’s international art school curricula prominently include creativity competencies, opportunities to integrate creativity in instrumental lessons must be explored. This study investigates instrument teachers’ conception of musical creativity: its scope, opportunities, and risks. About 273 teachers completed an online questionnaire on their use of creative class time, beliefs, and barriers to creative instrument teaching. Although the majority acknowledged the benefits of creative activities for score-playing, they invested little in improvisation and composition due to a lack of time and training in musical creativity. Teachers considered interpretation a valuable form of musical creativity, next to improvisation and composition, but questioned its feasibility in instrument lessons. Implications for instrument-teacher training are discussed.
AzzaraC. D. (2002). Improvisation. In ColwellR.RichardsonC (Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 171–187). Oxford University Press.
BeitlerN.ThorntonL. (2010). Enhancing the instrumental music program with creativity. In ClementsA. C. (Ed.), Alternative approaches in music education (pp. 161–173). Rowman & Littlefield Education.
4.
BensonB. E. (2003). The improvisation of musical dialogue. Cambridge University Press.
5.
BernhardH. C.StringhamD. A. (2016). A national survey of music education majors’ confidence in teaching improvisation. International Journal of Music Education, 34(4), 383–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761415619069
6.
BiasuttiM. (2010). Investigating trainee music teachers’ beliefs on musical abilities and learning: A quantitative study. Music Education Research, 12(1), 47–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800903568262
7.
BrennerB.StrandK. (2013). A case study of teaching musical expression to young performers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 80–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429412474826
8.
BurnardP. (2007). Routes to understanding musical creativity. In BreslerL. (Ed.), International handbook of research in arts education (pp. 1199–1226). Kluwer.
9.
BurnardP. (2012a). Musical creativities in practice. Oxford University Press.
10.
BurnardP. (2012b). Rethinking ‘musical creativity’ and the notion of multiple creativities in music. In OdenaO (Ed.), Musical Creativity: Insights from Music Education Research (pp. 5–27). Routledge.
11.
BurwellK.CareyG.BennettD. (2019). Isolation in studio music teaching: The secret garden. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 18(4), 372–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022217736581
12.
ByoS. J. (1999). Classroom teachers’ and music specialists’ perceived ability to implement the national standards for music education. Journal of Research in Music Education, 47, 111–123. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345717
13.
CampbellP. S. (1991). Lessons from the world. Schirmer Books.
14.
ChaffinR.LemieuxA. F.ChenC. (2007). It is different each time I play: Variability in highly prepared musical performance. Music Perception, 24(5), 455–472. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2007.24.5.455
15.
ChandlerM. D. (2018). Improvisation in elementary general music: A review of the literature. Update Applications of Research in Music Education, 37(1), 42–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123318763002
16.
CookN. (2014). Beyond the score: Music as performance. Oxford University Press.
17.
CossR. G. (2019). Creative thinking in music: Student-centered strategies for implementing exploration into the music classroom. General Music Today, 33(1), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371319840654
18.
CreechA.PapageorgiI.DuffyC.MortonF.HaddenE.PotterJ.De BezenacC.WhytonT.HimonidesE.WelchG. (2008). Investigating musical performance: Commonality and diversity among classical and non-classical musicians. Music Education Research, 10(2), 215–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800802079080
19.
CurranP. G. (2016). Methods for the detection of carelessly invalid responses in survey data. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 66, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.07.006
20.
DanielR. (2006). Exploring music instrument teaching and learning environments: Video analysis as a means of elucidating process and learning outcomes. Music Education Research, 8(2), 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800600779519
21.
DaviesL. M.NewtonL. D.NewtonD. P. (2018). Creativity as a twenty-first-century competence: An exploratory study of provision and reality. Education 3-13, 46(7), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2017.1385641
22.
de BruinL. R. (2019). Expert improvisers’ formal, informal and situated influences on learning, motivation and self-efficacy: A qualitative study. Music Education Research, 21(1), 99–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2018.1516746
DolanD.JensenH. J.MedianoP. A. M.Molina-SolanaM.RajpalH.RosasF.SlobodaJ. A. (2018). The improvisational state of mind: A multidisciplinary study of an improvisatory approach to classical music repertoire performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1341. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01341
25.
DukeR. A. (2011). Intelligent music teaching: Essays on the core principles of effective instruction. Learning and Behavior Resources.
26.
ElliottD. J.SilvermanM. (2014). Music matters: A philosophy of music education (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
27.
ElpusK. (2013). Predictors of progressive practices among in-service music educators. Biennial symposium of the Society for Music Teacher Education.
28.
EspelandÅ.KvileS.HoldhusK. (2021). Teacher agency and teacher improvisation: A study of experienced teachers and student teachers in music classrooms. Research Studies in Music Education, 43, 311–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X1986100310.1177/1321103x19861003
29.
FieldA. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
30.
GordonE. E. (2012). Learning sequences in music: A contemporary music learning. GIA Publications.
31.
GouldC. S.KeatonK. (2000). The essential role of improvisation in musical performance. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 58(2), 143–148. https://doi.org/10.2307/432093
32.
GruenhagenL. M.WhitcombR. (2014). Improvisational practices in elementary general music classrooms. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(4), 379–395. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429413508586
33.
GuilfordJ. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. Mcgraw-Hill Book Company.
34.
HargreavesD. J. (1999). Developing musical creativity in the social world. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 142, 22–34.
35.
HewittM.KonerK. (2013). A comparison of instrumental music methods course content at NASM-accredited institutions. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 197, 45–61. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.197.0045
36.
HickeyM. (2007). Assessing creativity: An oxymoron. In BrophyT. S. (Ed.), Assessment in music education: Integrating curriculum, theory and practice. Proceedings of the 2007 Florida symposium on assessment in music education (pp. 191–200). GIA Publications.
37.
HickeyM.SchmidtC. (2019). The effect of professional development on music teachers’ improvisation and composition activities. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 222, 27–43. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.222.0027
38.
HolmgrenC. (2020). The conditions for learning musical interpretation in one-to-one piano tuition in higher music education. Nordic Research in Music Education, 1(1), 103–131. https://doi.org/10.23865/nrme.v1.2635
39.
HultbergC. (2002). Approaches to music notation: The printed score as a mediator of meaning in western tonal tradition. Music Education Research, 4(2), 185–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461380022000011902
40.
HultbergC. (2008). Instrumental students’ strategies for finding interpretations: Complexity and individual variety. Psychology of Music, 36(1), 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735607079719
41.
HuovinenE.Frostenson LöövC. (2021). Narratives of versatility: Approaching multi-instrumentalist music teacher identities. Research Studies in Music Education, 43(3), 386–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103x20951942
42.
JørgensenH. (2000). Student learning in higher instrumental education: Who is responsible?British Journal of Music Education, 17(1), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265051700000164
43.
KarlssonJ.JuslinP. N. (2008). Musical expression: An observational study of instrumental teaching. Psychology of Music, 36(3), 309–334.
44.
KaufmanJ. C.BeghettoR. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four C model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688
45.
KennedyM. A. (2000). Creative music making since the time of the singing schools: Fringe benefits. Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, 21(2), 132–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/153660060002100203
46.
KishL.FrankelM. R. (1974). Inference from complex samples. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B, 36(1), 1–22.
47.
KlicksteinG. (2009). The musician’s way: A guide to practice, performance, and wellness. Oxford University Press.
48.
KoutsoupidouT. (2005). Improvisation in the English primary music classroom: Teachers’ perceptions and practices. Music Education Research, 7(3), 363–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800500324432
49.
KratusJ. (1995). A developmental approach to teaching music improvisation. International Journal of Music Education, os-26(1), 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/025576149502600103
50.
KupersE.van DijkM. (2020). Creativity in interaction: The dynamics of teacher-student interactions during a musical composition task. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 36. 100648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2020.100648
51.
LarssonC.Georgii-HemmingE. (2019). Improvisation in general music education – A literature review. British Journal of Music Education, 36(1), 49–67. https://doi.org/10.1017/s026505171800013x
52.
LiertzC. (Ed.). (2007). New frameworks for tertiary music education: A holistic approach for many pyramids of experience [Paper presentation]. 8th Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
53.
McPhailG. J. (2010). Crossing boundaries: Sharing concepts of music teaching from classroom to studio. Music Education Research, 12(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800903568296
54.
McPheeE. A. (2011). Finding the muse: Teaching musical expression to adolescents in the one-to-one studio environment. International Journal of Music Education, 29(4), 333–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761411421084
55.
McPhersonG. E. (2005). From child to musician: Skill development during the beginning stages of learning an instrument. Psychology of Music, 33(1), 5–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735605048012
56.
McPhersonG. E.GabrielssonA. (2002). From sound to sign. In McPhersonG.ParncuttR (Eds.), The science and psychology of music performance: Creative strategies for teaching and learning (pp. 99–116). Oxford University Press.
57.
MeissnerH. (2021). Theoretical framework for facilitating young musicians’ learning of expressive performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 584171. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584171
58.
MeissnerH.TimmersR. (2020). Young musicians’ learning of expressive performance: The importance of dialogic teaching and modeling. Frontiers in Education, 5, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00011
59.
MenardE. A. (2015). Music composition in the high school curriculum. Journal of Research in Music Education, 63(1), 114–136. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429415574310
60.
MooreR. (1992). The decline of improvisation in Western art music: An interpretation of change. International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, 23(1), 61–84. https://doi.org/10.2307/836956
61.
Natale-AbramoM. (2014). The construction of instrumental music teacher identity. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 202, 51–69. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.202.0051
62.
NielsenK. (2006). Apprenticeship at the academy of music. The International Journal of Arts Education, 7(4), 1–16.
63.
NussipzhanovaB. N.DzherdimalievaG. M.StamgazievR. U. (2016). Reflexive processes in the musician performer’s professional activities. The International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 11(10), 3820–3831.
OdenaO.WelchG. (2007). The influence of teachers’ backgrounds on their perceptions of musical creativity: A qualitative study with secondary school music teachers. Research Studies in Music Education, 28(1), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103x070280010206
66.
OdenaO.WelchG. (2009). A generative model of teachers’ thinking on musical creativity. Psychology of Music, 37(4), 416–442. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735608100374
67.
OrmanE. K. (2002). Comparison of the national standards for music education and elementary music specialists’ use of class time. Journal of Research in Music Education, 50(2), 155–164. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345819
PluckerJ. A.BeghettoR. A.DowG. T. (2004). Why isn’t creativity more important to educational psychologists? Potentials, pitfalls, and future directions in creativity research. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 83–96. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3902_1
70.
RakenaT. O.BrownD. (2016). Success for all: Eroding the culture of power in the one-to-one teaching and learning context. International Journal of Music Education, 34(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761415590365
71.
RileyP. E. (2009). Pre-service music educators’ perceptions of the national standards for music education. Visions of Research in Music Education, 14, 5. http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/
72.
RobsonC.McCartanK. (2016). Real world research: A resource for users of social research methods in applied settings. Wiley.
73.
RossL. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 173–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60357-3
74.
RuncoM. A. (1996). Personal creativity: Definition and developmental issues. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 72, 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.23219967203
SharpeD.WheltonW. J. (2016). Frightened by an old scarecrow: The remarkable resilience of demand characteristics. Review of General Psychology, 20(4), 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000087
78.
SilvermanM. (2008). A performer’s creative processes: Implications for teaching and learning musical interpretation. Music Education Research, 10(2), 249–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800802079114
79.
SnellA. H. (2012). Creativity in instrumental music education: A survey of winds and percussion music teachers in New York State [Doctoral dissertation]. http://hdl.handle.net/1802/26617
80.
SnellA. H. I.StringhamD. A. (2018). Hard pressed: Instrumental music teachers’ prioritization of creativity, repertoire, and outcomes. Visions of Research in Music Education, 31, 1–28.
81.
StrandK. (2006). Survey of Indiana music teachers on using composition in the classroom. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54, 154–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/002242940605400206
82.
StricklandC. M. (2020). The way of the artist educator paradigm: Fusing artistic studio practice and teaching pedagogy. International Journal of Education Through Art, 16(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1386/eta_00028_1
83.
StringhamD. A.ThorntonL. C.ShevockD. J. (2015). Composition and improvisation in instrumental methods courses: Instrumental music teacher educators’ perspectives. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 205, 7–25. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.205.0007
84.
SullivanT.WillinghamL. (2002). Creativity and music education. Canadian Music Educators’ Association.
85.
ThompsonW. F. (2009). Music, thought, and feeling: Understanding the psychology of music. Oxford University Press.
86.
TsubonouY.TanA.OieM. (2019). Creativity in music education (creativity in the twenty first century) (1st ed.). Springer.
87.
VygotskijL. S. (1995). Fantasi och kreativitet i barndomen [Imagination and creativity in childhood]. Daidalos. (Original work published 1950).
88.
WangC. C.SoginD. W. (1997). Self-reported versus observed classroom activities in elementary general music. Journal of Research in Music Education, 45(3), 444–456. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345538
89.
WestJ. M. (2019). Canonized repertoire as conduit to creativity. International Journal of Music Education, 37(3), 407–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761419842417
90.
WhitcombR. (2007). Elementary improvisation in New York state: Survey results. The School Music News: The Official Publication of the New York State School Music Associations, 71(2), 31–33.
91.
WoodyR. H. (2006). The effect of various instructional conditions on expressive music performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54, 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/002242940605400103
92.
WrightR.KanellopoulosP. (2010). Informal music learning, improvisation and teacher education. British Journal of Music Education, 27(1), 71–87. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265051709990210
