1st Edition

Musical Creativity Revisited Educational Foundations, Practices and Research

By Oscar Odena Copyright 2018
    190 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    190 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    How is creativity understood and facilitated across music education settings? What is the power of creativity in enhancing individual and group learning? How is musical creativity used as a tool for cross-community integration? How can we research the interactions of those engaged in musical activities aimed at creative development? These are just some of the questions addressed in this fascinating new monograph. Musical Creativity Revisited is an authoritative volume of insights from theory, practice-based research and methodological analyses. Its chapters celebrate the diversity of the many different ways in which young and adult learners develop musical creativity. Following on from Musical Creativity: Insights from Music Education Research (Ashgate, 2012) Odena offers novel examples from practice and precise suggestions on how to research it. This book will be an essential point of reference for students, researchers, practitioners and practitioner-researchers interested in music education and creativity across the arts and social sciences. The chapters have been organized into three sections – Foundations, Practices and Research – including examples from in-depth studies focussed on a secondary school in England, higher music education in Spain and out-of-school settings in Northern Ireland. This is a book that will fascinate readers, inspiring them to think deeply about the many different ways in which musical creativity can be developed, its purposes and how to research it.

    Chapter 1 Conceptualising creativity in musical development  Chapter 2 Musical creativity in neuroscience  Chapter 3 Developing secondary students’ creativity through guided group composition and performance  Chapter 4 Developing conservatory students’ creativity through musical dramatisation  Chapter 5 The power of musical creativity for cross-community integration  Chapter 6 Designing research on musical creativity and its development  Chapter 7 The role of software for qualitative analysis in musical creativity research  Chapter 8 The future of musical creativity studies

    Biography

    Oscar Odena is Professor of Education at the School of Education and the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, UK. He has a doctorate from UCL Institute of Education and has held posts at universities in Spain, England and Northern Ireland. His areas of expertise comprise music education, creativity, qualitative research approaches, social inclusion and professional learning. He was Co-Chair of the Research Commission of the International Society for Music Education (2012–2014) and serves on the boards of leading journals and the review colleges of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Irish Research Council. Publications number over 70 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, including the edited book Musical Creativity. He holds dual Spanish and British citizenship and lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two daughters.

    ‘Odena’s monograph offers a detailed research-based examination of musical creativity in various settings. He explains that the prevalent view of musical creativity is that…is not found in the average person. His book challenges that perception and offers ideas for musicians of every age and ability.’  American Music Teacher 

     

    ‘A welcome nuancing of the many recent studies that provide contributions to our understanding of creativity from a neuroscientific perspective…The final section on doing research in creativity offers…helpful ideas and insights into thinking about and uncovering the creative process in music...Practical examples and ideas are offered in terms of research design and using qualitative data analysis software…particularly useful for postgraduate students who are working on music educational projects; Odena provides lots of welcome ideas about how to do this sort of work….This book is a welcome addition to the literature on music education’.  British Journal of Music Education 

     

    ‘Each case study concludes with a set of detailed and systematic recommendations for effectively mediating the development of creativity in similar and related settings. There are lessons to be learnt in each of the chapters that could effectively be applied to music education settings across a range of contexts… There is much to recommend Odena’s Musical Creativity Revisited…It provides a range of insights into contemporary research and thinking on musical creativity, alongside how these insights might be applied, and indeed tailored, to a range of educational contexts through detailed suggestions for developing effective practices. It will no doubt serve as a useful reference volume for students and practitioners of music education, alongside those engaged in research on musical creativity.’  Music Education Research 

     

    ‘The diverse scope of the coverage…is remarkable. An essential point of reference for students, educators, researchers, and practitioner-researchers interested in musical creativity across disciplines…the writer effectively inspires curiosity and deep thinking about how musical creativity may be conceptualized, applied in practice, and studied further.’ Psychology of Music