This study investigated the effect of task constraints on the flow experience of novice improvisers and the mediating effects of personality, musical skills, and self-regulation. In addition, we aimed to identify the environmental factors that are most indicative of flow in improvisational learning. Intermediate-level instrument students (N = 111) participated in a quasi-experiment with repeated measures during regular class hours. The students assessed their flow experience after each of the four improvisation tasks, which differed only in two types of constraints: the degree of improvisational freedom and the amount of preparation time given. Student characteristics were measured using self-administered questionnaires and teacher assessments. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis revealed significantly higher flow states under conditions with low constraints (free improvisation and preparation time). For highly self-regulated students, the negative influence of a task with high constraints on the flow experience was limited. The type of improvisation task and experience with improvisation were the best predictors of flow, followed by openness to experience, self-regulation, and class group. These results support a more process-oriented approach to teaching improvisation, in which students gain experience in improvisation through selected tasks integrated with developing self-regulation skills.
AraújoM. V.HeinC. F. (2016). Finding flow in music practice: An exploratory study about self-regulated practice behaviours and dispositions to flow in highly skilled musicians. In HarmatL.Ørsted AndersenF.UllénF.WrightJ.SadloG. (Eds.), Flow experience (pp. 15–29). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28634-1_2
AzzaraC. D. (2004). Improvisation. In ColwellR.RichardsonC. (Eds.), The New handbook of research on music teaching and learning: A project of the Music Educators National Conference (pp. 171–187). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195138849.003.0013
4.
BathgateM.Sims-KnightJ.SchunnC. (2012). Thoughts on thinking: Engaging novice music students in metacognition. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26, 403–409. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1842
5.
BenedekM.BorovnjakB.NeubauerA. C.Kruse-WeberS. (2014). Creativity and personality in classical, jazz and folk musicians. Personality and Individual Differences, 63, 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.064
6.
BengtssonS. L.CsíkszentmihályiM.UllénF. (2007). Cortical regions involved in the generation of musical structures during improvisation in pianists. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19(5), 830–842. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2007.19.5.830
7.
BergaminJ. A. (2024). Habitually breaking habits: Agency, awareness, and decision-making in musical improvisation. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-024-09974-x
BiasuttiM. (2017). Teaching improvisation through processes: Applications in music education and implications for general education. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 911. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00911
BorgoD. (2018). The complex dynamics of improvisation. In BaderR. (Ed.), Springer handbook of systematic musicology (pp. 1017–1027). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55004-5_52
12.
BremmerM.NijsL. (2020). The role of the body in instrumental and vocal music pedagogy: A dynamical systems theory perspective on the music teacher’s bodily engagement in teaching and learning. Frontiers in Education, 5, Article 79. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00079
13.
BrophyT. S. (2001). Developing improvisation in general music classes. Music Educators Journal, 88(1), 34–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/3399775
BurnardP. (2002). Investigating children’s meaning-making and the emergence of musical interaction in group improvisation. British Journal of Music Education, 19(2), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051702000244
16.
BurridgeP. (2018). Teacher pedagogical choice. In CaveroO. B.Llevot-CalvetN. (Eds.), New pedagogical challenges in the 21st century: Contributions of research in education (pp. 209–226). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73201
17.
ButkovicA.UllénF.MosingM. A. (2015). Personality-related traits as predictors of music practice: Underlying environmental and genetic influences. Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 133–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.006
18.
CsikszentmihalyiM. (2014). Toward a psychology of optimal experience. In CsikszentmihalyiM. (Ed.), Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 209–226). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_14
19.
CsikszentmihalyiM.RichG. (1998). Musical improvisation: A systems approach. In SawyerR. K. (Ed.), Creativity in performance (pp. 43–66). Ablex.
20.
CustoderoL. A. (2002). Seeking challenge, finding skill: Flow experience and music education. Arts Education Policy Review, 103(3), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632910209600288
21.
DaikokuT. (2018). Musical creativity and depth of implicit knowledge: Spectral and temporal individualities in improvisation. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 12, Article 89. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2018.00089
22.
de BruinL. R. (2018). Musical play, creativity and metacognitive processes in developing improvisational expertise: Expert improvising voices. International Journal of Play, 7(3), 248–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2018.1532708
23.
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
24.
DelaneyH. D.MaxwellS. E. (1981). On using analysis of covariance in repeated measures designs. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 16(1), 105–123. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr1601_6
25.
DignathC.BüttnerG. (2008). Components of fostering self-regulated learning among students: A meta-analysis on intervention studies at primary and secondary school level. Metacognition and Learning, 3(3), 231–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-008-9029-x
26.
FaberS. E. M.McIntoshA. R. (2020). Towards a standard model of musical improvisation. European Journal of Neuroscience, 51(3), 840–849. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14567
27.
GarsonG. D. (2013). Fundamentals of hierarchical linear and multilevel modeling. In Hierarchical linear modeling: Guide and applications (pp. 3–26). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483384450.n1
HabeK.BiasuttiM. (2023). Flow in music performance: From theory to educational applications. Psihologijske Teme, 32(1), 179–195. https://doi.org/10.31820/pt.32.1.10
30.
HarnischmacherC. (1993). Instrumentales Üben und Aspekte der Persönlichkeit: Eine Grundlagenstudie zur Erforschung physischer und psychischer Abweichungen durch Instrumentalspiel [Instrumental practicing and aspects of personality: A basic study for research on psychological deviations through instrumental playing]. Peter Lang.
31.
HickeyM. (2009). Can improvisation be “taught”? A call for free improvisation in our schools. International Journal of Music Education, 27(4), 285–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761409345442
32.
HickeyM.AnkneyK.HealyD.GalloD. (2016). The effects of group free improvisation instruction on improvisation achievement and improvisation confidence. Music Education Research, 18(2), 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2015.1016493
33.
IuscaD. (2015). The relationship between flow and music performance level of undergraduates in exam situations: The effect of musical instrument. Procedia–Social and Behavioral Sciences, 177, 396–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.376
34.
JohansenG. G.HoldhusK.LarssonC.MacGloneU. (2019). Expanding the space for improvisation pedagogy in music. In JohansenG. G.HoldhusK.LarssonC.MacGloneU. (Eds.), Expanding the space for improvisation pedagogy in music (pp. 1–14). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351199957-1
KratusJ. (1995). A developmental approach to teaching music improvisation. International Journal of Music Education, 26(1), 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/025576149502600103
37.
Kruse-WeberS.ParncuttR. (2014). Error management for musicians: An interdisciplinary conceptual framework. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, Article 777. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014
38.
KupersE.Lehmann-WermserA.McPhersonG. E.Van GeertP. (2019). Children’s creativity: A theoretical framework and systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 89(1), 93–124. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318815707
39.
LarocheJ.KaddouchI. (2015). Spontaneous preferences and core tastes: Embodied musical personality and dynamics of interaction in a pedagogical method of improvisation. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 522. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00522
40.
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
41.
LeeV. E. (2000). Using hierarchical linear modeling to study social contexts: The case of school effects. Educational Psychologist, 35(2), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3502_6
42.
LiJ.XuY.WangX.YuanX.LiuS.LiM.RenX.YangD.LiuS.JiangZ.GouQ.YangM.XuQ. (2024). Flow and performance: A quantitative study of elicitation modeling in a piano performance perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1386831. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1386831
43.
LouiP. (2018). Rapid and flexible creativity in musical improvisation: Review and a model. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1423(1), 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13628
44.
LouthJ. P. (2012). An approach to improvisation pedagogy in post-secondary jazz programmes based on negative dialectics. Music Education Research, 14(1), 9–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2012.657163
45.
MaulanaR.Helms-LorenzM.MoorerP.Smale-JacobseA.FengX. (2023). Differentiated instruction in teaching from the international perspective. University of Groningen Press. https://doi.org/10.21827/62c5541759973
46.
MazzolaG. B.CherlinP. B. (2008). Flow, gesture, and spaces in free jazz: Towards a theory of collaboration. In FauvelJ.FloodR.WilsonR. J. (Eds.), Music and mathematics: From Pythagoras to fractals (pp. 207–229). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92195-0
47.
McPhersonG. E. (2022). Self-regulated learning music microanalysis. In McPhersonG. E.HargreavesD. J. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music performance (Vol. 1, pp. 553–575). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190056285.013.23
48.
McPhersonG. E.McCormickJ. (1999). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of musical practice. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 141, 98–102. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40318992
49.
McPhersonG. E.MikszaP.EvansP. (2017). Self-regulated learning in music practice and performance. In SchunkD. H.GreeneJ. A. (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance (pp. 181–193). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315697048-12
50.
McPhersonG. E.ZimmermanB. J. (2011). Self-regulation of musical learning: A social cognitive perspective on developing performance skills. In ColwellR.WebsterP. R. (Eds.), MENC handbook of research on music learning: Applications (Vol. 2, pp. 130–175). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199754397.003.0004
51.
MikszaP. (2006). Relationships among impulsiveness, locus of control, sex, and music practice. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54(4), 308–323. https://doi.org/10.2307/4139753
52.
MikszaP.McPhersonG. E.HercegA.MiederK. (2018). Developing self-regulated musicians. In SchunkD. H.GreeneJ. A. (Eds.), Connecting self-regulated learning and performance with instruction across high school content areas (pp. 161–179). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90928-8_11
53.
MonkA. (2012). The five improvisation “brains:” A pedagogical model for jazz improvisation at high school and the undergraduate level. International Journal of Music Education, 30(2), 89–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761412439926
54.
NardoneP. L. (1996). The experience of improvisation in music: A phenomenological psychological analysis [Doctoral dissertation, Saybrook Institute]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
55.
NgH. H. (2013). Free improvisation as living expression. In LumC. H. (Ed.), Contextualized practices in arts education: An international dialogue on Singapore (pp. 77–99). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-55-9_9
56.
NijsL.GrinspunN.FortunaS. (2024). Developing musical creativity through movement: Navigating the musical affordance landscape. Creativity Research Journal, 37, 427–451. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2023.2299159
57.
NorgaardM. (2011). Descriptions of improvisational thinking by artist-level jazz musicians. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59(2), 109–127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429411405669
58.
NorgaardM.EmersonS. N.DawnK.FidlonJ. D. (2016). Creating under pressure: Effects of divided attention on the improvised output of skilled jazz pianists. Music Perception, 33(5), 561–570. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2016.33.5.561
59.
NorsworthyC.JacksonB.DimmockJ. A. (2021). Advancing our understanding of psychological flow: A scoping review of conceptualizations, measurements, and applications. Psychological Bulletin, 147(8), 806–827. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000337
60.
O’NeillS. (1999). Flow theory and the development of musical performance skills. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 141, 129–134. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40318998
61.
PressingJ. (2001). Improvisation: Methods and models. In SlobodaJ. A. (Ed.), Generative processes in music: The psychology of performance, improvisation, and composition (pp. 129–178). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198508465.003.0007
62.
RammstedtB.JohnO. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(1), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.001
63.
RenshawI.ChowJ.-Y. (2019). A constraint-led approach to sport and physical education pedagogy. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 24(2), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2018.1552676
64.
RichardsonJ. T. E. (2018). The use of Latin-square designs in educational and psychological research. Educational Research Review, 24, 84–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2018.03.003
65.
RubensteinL. D.CallanG. L.RidgleyL. M. (2018). Anchoring the creative process within a self-regulated learning framework: Inspiring assessment methods and future research. Educational Psychology Review, 30(3), 921–945. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-017-9431-5
66.
RuthN.TsigemanE.LikhanovM.KovasY.MüllensiefenD. (2023). Personality and engagement with music: Results from network modeling in three adolescent samples. Psychology of Music, 51(4), 1223–1242. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356221135346
67.
SandgrenM. (2019). Exploring personality and musical self-perceptions among vocalists and instrumentalists at music colleges. Psychology of Music, 47(4), 465–482. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735618761572
SarathE. (2004). Improvisation and curriculum reform. In ColwellR.RichardsonC. (Eds.), The New handbook of research on music teaching and learning: A project of the Music Educators National Conference (pp. 188–198). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195138849.003.0014.
SiljamäkiE.KanellopoulosP. A. (2020). Mapping visions of improvisation pedagogy in music education research. Research Studies in Music Education, 42(1), 113–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X19843003
73.
StijnenJ.NijsL.Van PetegemP. (2023). Instrument teachers’ practices, beliefs, and barriers regarding musical creativity: Exploring the creative process of interpretation. International Journal of Music Education, 42, 425–441. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614231175777
74.
TanL.SinH. X. (2019). Flow research in music contexts: A systematic literature review. Musicae Scientiae, 25(4), 399–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/1029864919877564
TomlinsonC. A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners (2nd ed.). Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
77.
Van der SchyffD. (2019). Improvisation, enaction, and self-assessment. In ElliotD. J.SilvermanM.McPhersonG. E. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of philosophical and qualitative perspectives on assessment in music education (pp. 319–346). Oxford University Press.
78.
VarelaW.AbramiP. C.UpitisR. (2016). Self-regulation and music learning: A systematic review. Psychology of Music, 44(4), 928–946. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735614554639
79.
VerneertF. (2024). Throw them in the deep end: The potential of musical improvisation in connecting participatory music activities and formal music education [Doctoral dissertation]. KU Leuven.
80.
VerneertF.NijsL.De BaetsT. (2024). Collective free improvisation in the Flemish general music classroom: Probing students’ lived experience through flow. International Journal of Music Education, 44, 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614241269586
81.
WopereisI.StoyanovS.KirschnerP. A.Van MerriënboerJ. J. G. (2013). What makes a good musical improviser? An expert view on improvisational expertise. Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, 23(4), 256–267. https://doi.org/10.1037/pmu0000021
82.
WopereisI.van MerriënboerJ. J. G.KirschnerP. A. (2010). Improvising in music: A learning biography study to reveal skill acquisition. In GomezK.LyonsL.RadinskyJ. (Eds.), Learning in the disciplines: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2010) (Vol. 2, pp. 419–420). International Society of the Learning Sciences.
83.
YoshidaK.AsakawaK.YamauchiT.SakurabaS.SawamuraD.MurakamiY.SakaiS. (2013). The flow state scale for occupational tasks: Development, reliability, and validity. Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy, 23(2), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hkjot.2013.09.002
84.
ZielkeJ.Anglada-TortM.BergerJ. (2023). Inducing and disrupting flow during music performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1187153. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1187153
85.
ZimmermanB. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In BoekaertsM.PintrichP. R.ZeidnerM. (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 13–39). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012109890-2/50031-7
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.
