Individual vs Group Creativity Flashcards
What is Sternberg’s (2018) theory of musical creativity?
Triangular Theory
What did Sternberg (2018) argue in his Triangular Theory?
Context and defiance are important for creativity
We need to consider context in which creative work is produced
What 3 ways do creative musicians have to show defiance in order to be creative and break tradition?
Defiance against crowd
Defiance against self
Defiance against zeitgeist
Who are the ‘crowd’ in Sternberg’s (2018) triangular theory?
Friends, family, fans
Why does one have to defy one’s self in order to be creative?
Need to be versatile and able to come up with new ideas
Need to avoid becoming a ‘one-idea person’
What is a zeitgeist in Sternberg’s (2018) triangular theory?
Dominant paradigm
General tradition
What is a criticism of Sternberg’s (2018) triangular theory?
Focuses on creativity as a property of the ‘lone genius’
Thinks that the only way people can be creative is alone
What is Csikszentmihalyi’ (1988) model of musical creativity?
Systems model of creativity
What does Csikzentmihalyi (1988) consider in his systems model of creativity theory?
Considers that the individual creator is always part of a broader system, rather than looking at lone geniuses
What are Bourdieu’s 3 concepts in the systems model of creativity?
Fields
Capital
Habitus
The creative person has to defy fields, capital, and habitus.
What is the concept of fields?
People work in different fields which have certain specific traditions etc. The creative person has to defy these traditions.
What is habitus?
Habitus is the environment that you are born in to
Why do songwriters acquire the habitus of songwriting?
They have a knowledge of songs and music and become completely immersed in musical history
How can media regulate the extent to which songwriters operate?
Music that is played on the radio or is trendy can have an influence
Whether or not you want a recording contract can have an influence
How was Yesterday created by the Beatles?
Based on a tune dreamt by McCartney
Mozart-style inspirational composition
McCartney might have unconsciously borrowed elements of other songs without being aware of it
How are classic songs commonly created?
Music is constantly borrowing from the past, whether conscious or unconscious
Re-interprets past music
What created a unique habitus for creative output in relation to the Beatles?
McCartney’s family background
The Beatles’ intense and eclectic repertoire
How does creativity play a role in improvisation?
As long as the music stays in key and in beat then musicians are flexible/free to play whatever they want
Freer than a classical work in which you have to get the notes in the right order etc. because that is what the audience is expecting
What are habitus’ of jazz improvisation?
Typical jazz harmonies have a typical nature
Primary jazz form structures
What are jazz improvisations often based around?
Based around repertoire of motifs
Which genre of music has least freedom in terms of creativity?
Classical music
Audience expects reproduction of formal scores
Can expressively vary to make the classical performance more creative
What did Chaffin et al. (2007) study in terms of Bach and creative performance?
Studied 7 repeats of Bach’s Italian Concerto by the same pianist
The music was the same/similar each time
Analysis revealed non-random and structurally-related changes
There does seem to be certain ways in which performers are putting a different spin on the music, even if they are faithfully reproducing the notes.
What is the idea of a 3rd performance?
When performers repeat a performance, there is a magic 3rd performance which becomes the best
Conscious and unconscious elements combine to produce a magic third performance of the work (things the performers know that they are doing well and things the performers don’t realise that they are doing well)
Second performance = some mistakes (maybe). But 3rd = more conscious of mistakes (maybe)
Are different musical traditions associated with different musical creativity?
Perhaps
Africans filled a song with counter-melodies and improvised harmonically
Brazilian songs were inspired by foreigners or one’s own ancestral spirit
Communal songs in Peru were produced through brainstorming motifs and variations until full agreement. People came up with ideas and worked on them as a group.
What is an example of the systems theory at work?
Various constraints and opportunities are afforded by broader cultural concerns, such as what is trendy at the moment in Western pop music context and what certain people are allowed to do at certain times in a more traditional context
What is another theory of creativity?
Collective creativity
What is the assumption of collective creativity?
Assumption that group improvisation is based on a ‘central controller’ that guides others
Group of people can be creative - one person guides the other people because it is difficult to improvise collectively
How many orchestral musicians claim not to look at the conductor / central controller?
15% did not look at them. Perhaps this could be because in classical music you are tied to your score and the main thing you need to look at is your music.
What did a string quartet study find about collective creativity?
Wells (1990) found that when the lead violin made a mistake, string quartets have a way of collectively teaming up and rescuing the performance. Similar thing happens if someone doesn’t come in at the right place etc.
Communicate with each other and perform collaborative manoeuvres when a performer makes a mistake
How can artists involved with popular music influence the creative process?
Through technology and recordings
Through online collaboration
Through an open studio (can involve audience)
How do other people influence the creative process in producing popular music?
Sound engineers
Producers
Both play vital creative roles and give huge creative input into the recording that comes out.
