The purpose of this study was to provide a rich multi-dimensional view of expert musical collaborative problem-solving processes. I analyzed the collaborative problem-solving process during three subsequent rehearsals by a professional string quartet, applying Roesler’s (2016) model of musical problem-solving components. As Roesler observed with shared problem solving during one-to-one instruction, problem-solving components were enacted by and distributed among members of the quartet in any combination. In addition, quartet members prompted problem-solving behavior from one another in a similar way that teachers prompted problem-solving behavior from students (Roesler, 2017). Leadership roles shifted fluidly among quartet members from moment to moment. Domain knowledge and musical context were a critical component of their decision-making process. Additional observed rehearsal strategies are outlined. Suggestions for future research and applications of these findings are discussed, including the learning of collaborative problem-solving skill through participation in small musical ensembles.
BuijsJ.SmuldersF.van der MeerH. (2009). Towards a more realistic creative problem solving approach. Creativity and Innovation Management, 18, 286–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2009.00541.x
2.
ChaffinR.ImrehG. (2001). A comparison of practice and self-report as sources of information about the goals of expert practice. Psychology of Music, 29, 39–69.
3.
ChaffinR.ImrehG.CrawfordM. (2002). Practicing perfection: Memory and piano performance. Erlbaum.
4.
ChaffinR.ImrehG.LemieuxA. F.ChenC. (2003). “Seeing the big picture”: Piano practice as expert problem solving. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 20, 465–490.
5.
DavidsonJ. W.GoodJ. M. M. (2002). Social and musical co-ordination between members of a string quartet: An exploratory study. Psychology of Music, 30, 186–201.
DicksonC. A. W.McVittieC.KapilashramiA. (2018). Expertise in action: Insights into the dynamic nature of expertise in community-based nursing. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27, e451–e462. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13950
8.
DownsR. M. (2014). Exploring the nature and development of expertise in geography. In MontelloD. R.GrossnerK.JanelleD. G. (Eds.), Space in mind: Concepts for spatial learning and education (pp. 281–309). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
DukeR. A. (1994). Bringing the art of rehearsing into focus: The rehearsal frame as a model for prescriptive analysis of rehearsal conducting. Journal of Band Research, 30(1), 78–95.
11.
DukeR. A.ChapmanD. (2011). Changing learners: The nature of expertise in music teaching. In Ward-SteinmanP. M. (Ed.), Advances in Social-Psychology and Music Education Research. (AN: 2011-17045) (1st ed., pp. 29–38). Ashgate.
12.
DukeR. A.SimmonsA. L. (2006). The nature of expertise: Narrative descriptions of 19 common elements observed in the lessons of three renowned artist-teachers. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 170, 7–19.
13.
DukeR. A.SimmonsA. L.CashC. D. (2009). It’s not how much; it’s how: Characteristics of practice behavior and retention of performance skills. Journal of Research in Music Education, 56, 310–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429408328851.
14.
DukeR. A.StammenD. (2011). Scribe (4.2) [Computer software]. Austin: University of Texas.
EricssonK. A.CharnessN.FeltovichP. J.HoffmanR. R. (2006). The Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
18.
GilboaA.Tal-ShmotkinM. (2012). String quartets as self-managed teams: An interdisciplinary perspective. Psychology of Music, 40(1), 19–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735610377593
19.
GinsborgJ.ChaffinR.NicholsonG. (2006). Shared performance cues in singing and conducting: A content analysis of talk during practice. International Conference on Musical Collaboration, 34(2), 167–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735606061851
20.
GinsborgJ.KingE. (2012). Rehearsal talk: Familiarity and expertise in singer-pianist duos. Musicæ Scientiæ: The Journal of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, 16(2), 148–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864911435733
21.
GoodmanE. (2000). Analysing the ensemble in music rehearsal and performance: The nature and effects of interaction in Cello-Piano Duos (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of London, London, UK.
22.
HambrickD. Z.CampitelliG.MacnamaraB. N. (2017). The science of expertise: Behavioral, neural, and genetic approaches to complex skill. London, England: Routledge.
23.
HambrickD. Z.EngleR. W. (2003). The role of working memory in problem solving. In DavidsonJ. E.SternbergR. J. (Eds.), The psychology of problem solving (pp. 176–206). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
24.
Hill-BriggsF. (2003). Problem solving in diabetes self-management: A model of chronic illness self-management behavior. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 25(3), 182–193. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324796ABM2503_04
25.
HocJ.GuerinC.MebarkiN. (2014). The nature of expertise in scheduling: The case of timetabling. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 24(2), 192–206. https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20359
26.
HopkinsM. T. (2015). Collaborative composing in high school string chamber music ensembles. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62, 405–424. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429414555135
27.
IsaksenS. G.TreffingerD. J. (2004). Celebrating 50 years of reflective practice: Versions of creative problem solving. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 38(2), 75–101.
KotsopoulosD.LeeJ. (2012). A naturalistic study of executive function and mathematical problem-solving. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 31, 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2011.12.005
30.
LeeC. B.KohN. K.XCaiX. L.QuekC. L. (2012). Children’s use of meta-cognition in solving everyday problems: Children’s monetary decision-making. Australian Journal of Education, 56(1), 22–39.
31.
LeongY. H.TohT. L.TayE. G.QuekK. S.DindyalJ. (2012). Relooking “Look Back”: A student’s attempt at problem solving using Polya’s model. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science & Technology, 43, 357–369.
32.
LinC.-Y.ChoS. (2011). Predicting creative problem-solving in math from a dynamic system model of creative problem solving ability. Creativity Research Journal, 23, 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2011.595986
33.
LüerG.SpadaH. (1998). Denken und Problemlösen [Thinking and problem solving]. In SpadaH. (Ed.), Lehrbuch Allgemeine Psychologie (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 189–280). Bern: Hans Huber.
34.
McCartyM. E.CliftonR. K.CollardR. R. (1999). Problem solving in infancy: The emergence of an action plan. Developmental Psychology, 35, 1091–1101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.35.4.1091
35.
MurnighanJ. K.ConlonD. E. (1991). The dynamics of intense work groups: A study of British string quartets. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 165–186. https://doi.org/10.2307/2393352
36.
Nokes-MalachT. J.MeadeM. L.MorrowD. G. (2012). The effect of expertise on collaborative problem solving. Thinking & Reasoning, 18(1), 32–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546783.2011.642206
RoeslerR. A. (2016). Toward solving the problem of problem solving: An analysis framework. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 26(1), 28–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057083715602124
39.
RoeslerR. A. (2017). Independence pending: Teacher behaviors preceding learner problem solving. Journal of Research in Music Education, 64, 454–473. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429416672858
SeddonF. A. (2005). Modes of communication during jazz improvisation. British Journal of Music Education, 22(1), 47–61.
42.
SeddonF. A.BiasuttiM. (2009). Modes of communication between members of a string quartet. Small Group Research, 40, 115–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496408329277
TovstigaG.OdenthalS.GoernerS. (2005). Sense making and learning in complex organisations: The string quartet revisited. International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 1, 215. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMCP.2005.008514
45.
VasyukovaE. E. (2012). The nature of chess expertise: Knowledge or search?Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 5, 511–528. https://doi.org/10.11621/pir.2012.0032
46.
WenkeD.FrenschP. A. (2003). Is success or failure at solving complex problems related to intellectual ability? In DavidsonJ. E.SternbergR. J. (Eds.), The psychology of problem solving (pp. 87–126). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
47.
WietenS. (2018). Expertise in evidence-based medicine: A tale of three models. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 13, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13010-018-0055-2
48.
Youssef-ShalalaA.AyresP.SchubertC.SwellerJ. (2014). Using a general problem-solving strategy to promote transfer. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20, 215–231.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
