Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:43:51.758Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improvisation in general music education – a literature review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2018

Christina Larsson  and
Eva Georgii-Hemming
Christina Larsson
Affiliation:
School of Music, Theatre and Art, Örebro UniversitySE-701 82 Örebro, Swedenchristina.larsson@oru.se, eva.georgii-hemming@oru.se
Eva Georgii-Hemming
Affiliation:
School of Music, Theatre and Art, Örebro UniversitySE-701 82 Örebro, Swedenchristina.larsson@oru.se, eva.georgii-hemming@oru.se
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The overall purpose of this article is to provide a convenient summary of empirical research on improvisation in general music education and thereby provide guidance to researchers and practitioners, using a systematic, narrative-review approach. By analysing 20 music education research articles, published from 2000–2015 in peer-reviewed journals, we firstly provide an overview of the key features and knowledge of existing research. Secondly we identify how improvisation has been characterized, conceptually before, thirdly, describing the implications of the literature for improvisation in practice. Our article reveals that improvisation tends to be an overlooked activity both in music education contexts and in music education research. Broadly speaking, music education research tends to characterise improvisation within two conceptual frameworks, which have different implications for implementation; ‘structured’, teacher-directed improvisation and ‘free’, child-directed improvisation. We conclude by arguing that music educational research on improvisation is an underdeveloped field and outline a number of questions to be addressed in future research.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 49 - 67
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AZZARA, C.D. (2002) Improvisation. In Colwell, R. & Richardson, C. (eds.), The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (pp. 171–187). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
BEEGLE, A.C. (2010) A classroom-based study of small-group planned improvisation with fifth-grade children. Journal of Research in Music Education, 58 (3), 219–239.Google Scholar
BERLINER, P. (1994) Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
BOOTH, A., PAPAIOANNOU, D. & SUTTON, A. (2012) Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review. London: Sage.Google Scholar
BROPHY, T. S. (2001) Developing improvisation in general music classes. Music Educators Journal, 88 (1), Special Focus: Composition and Improvisation, 34–41, 53.Google Scholar
BROPHY, T. S. (2005) A longitudinal study of selected characteristics of children's melodic improvisations. Journal of Research in Music Education, 53 (2), 120.Google Scholar
BURNARD, P. (2000a) Examining experiential differences between improvisation and composition in children's music-making. British journal of music education, 17 (3), 227–245.Google Scholar
BURNARD, P. (2000b) How children ascribe meaning to improvisation and composition: Rethinking pedagogy in music education, Music Education Research, 2 (1), 7–23.Google Scholar
BURNARD, P. (2002) Investigating children's meaning-making and the emergence of musical interaction in group improvisation. British journal of music education, 19 (2), 157–172.Google Scholar
BURNARD, P. (2012) Rethinking creative teaching and teaching as research: Mapping the critical phases that mark times of change and choosing as learners and teachers of music. Theory Into Practice, 51 (3), 167–178.Google Scholar
COULSON, A. N. & BURKE, B. M. (2013) Creativity in the elementary music classroom: A study of students’ perceptions. International Journal of Music Education, 31 (4), 428–441.Google Scholar
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (2006) Recommendation 2006/962/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning [Official Journal L 394 of 30.12.2006]. Available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:c11090Google Scholar
GREEN, L. (2014) Music Education as Critical Theory and Practice: Selected Essays. Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
GRUENHAGEN, L. M. & WHITCOMB, R. (2014) Improvisational practices in elementary general music classrooms. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61 (4), 379–395.Google Scholar
GUILBAULT, D. M. (2009) The effects of harmonic accompaniment on the tonal improvisations of students in first through sixth grade. Journal of Research in Music Education, 57 (2), 81–91.Google Scholar
HICKEY, M. (2009) Can improvisation be ‘taught’?: A call for free improvisation in our schools. International Journal of Music Education, 27 (4), 285–299.Google Scholar
HICKEY, M. (2015) Learning from the experts: A study of free-improvisation pedagogues in university settings. Journal of research in music education, 62 (4), 425–445.Google Scholar
HIGGINS, L. & MANTIE, R. (2013) Improvisation as ability, culture, and experience. Music Educators Journal, 100 (2), 38–44.Google Scholar
JONES, K (2004) Mission drift in qualitative research, or moving toward a systematic review of qualitative studies, moving back to a more systematic narrative review. The Qualitative Report, 9 (1), 95–112.Google Scholar
KANELLOPOULOS, P. A. (2007) Children's early reflection on improvised music-making as the wellspring of musico-philosophical thinking. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 15 (2), 119–141.Google Scholar
KANELLOPOULOS, P. A. & WRIGHT, R. (2012) Improvisation as an informal music learning process: Implications for teacher education. In Karlsen, S. & Väkevä, L. (eds.), Future Prospects for Music Education. Corraborating Informal Learning Pedagogy (pp. 129–157). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
KOUTSOUPIDOU, T. (2005) Improvisation in the english primary music classroom: Teachers' perceptions and practices. Music Education Research, 7 (3), 363–381.Google Scholar
KOUTSOUPIDOU, T. (2008) Effects of different teaching styles on the development of musical creativity: Insights from interviews with music specialists. Musicae Scientiae, XII (2), 311–335.Google Scholar
KOUTSOUPIDOU, T. & HARGREAVES, D. J. (2009) An experimental study of the effects of improvisation on the development of children's creative thinking in music. Psychology of Music, 37 (3), 251–278.Google Scholar
KRATUS, J. (1991) Growing with improvisation. Music Educators Journal, 78 (4), 35–40Google Scholar
KRATUS, J. (1995) A developmental approach for teaching music improvisation. International Journal of Music Education. International Society for Music Education, 26 (1), 27–38.Google Scholar
MONK, A. (2013) Symbolic Interactionism in music education: Eight strategies for collaborative improvisation. Music Educators Journal, 99 (3), 76–81.Google Scholar
NEWTON, P. & BURGESS, D. (2008) Exploring types of educational action research: Implications for research validity. In International Journal of Qualitative Methods.Google Scholar
OECD. (2005) The Definition and Selection of Key Competences. Executive Summary. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/35070367.pdfGoogle Scholar
PAWSON, R., GREENHALGH, T., HARVEY, G. & WALSHE, K. (2005) Realist review – a new method of systematic review designed for complex policy interventions. Health Services Research and Policy, 10 (1), 21–34.Google Scholar
PETTICREW, M. & ROBERTS, H. (2006) Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide. Malden, Ma: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
PRESSING, J. (1987) Improvisations, methods and models. In Sloboda, J. (Ed.), Generative Processes in Music (pp. 129–178). New York: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
RABINOVITCH, T. -C., CROSS, I. & BURNARD, P. (2013) Long-term musical group interaction has a positive influence on empathy in children. Psychology of Music, 41 (4), 484–498.Google Scholar
ROZMAN, J. C. (2009) Musical creativity in Slovenian elementary schools. Educational Research, 51 (1), 61–76.Google Scholar
SÆTRE, J. H. (2011) Teaching and learning music composition in primary school settings. Music Education Research, 13 (1), 29–50.Google Scholar
SAWYER, R. K. (ed.) (2003) Creativity and Development. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
SAWYER, R. K. (2006) Group creativity: Musical performance and collaboration. Psychology of Music, 34 (2), 148–165.Google Scholar
SAWYER, R. K. (2008) Learning music from collaboration. International Journal of Educational Research, 47 (1), 50–59.Google Scholar
STEINSHOLT, K. & SOMMERRO, H. (eds.) (2006) Improvisasjon: Kunsten å Sette Seg Selv På Spill. Oslo: Damm.Google Scholar
WHITCOMB, R. (2010) Rhythmic characteristics of improvisational drumming among preschool children. Research and Issues in Music Education, 8 (1). http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol8/whitcomb.htmGoogle Scholar
WHITCOMB, R. (2013) Teaching improvisation in elementary general music: Facing fears and fostering creativity. Music Educators Journal, 99 (3), 43–50.Google Scholar
YOO, H. (2015) Using baroque techniques to teach improvisation in your classroom. Music Educators Journal, 102 (1), 91–96.Google Scholar
CurriculaGoogle Scholar
AUSTRALIA: ACARA. (2013) Australian Curriculum, the Arts. Assessment and Reporting Authority. http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/introductionGoogle Scholar
DENMARK: EMU.DK. (n.d.) http://www.emu.dk/sites/default/files/L%C3%A6seplan%20for%20faget%20musik.pdfGoogle Scholar
ENGLAND: GOV.UK. (2013) Statutory Guidance. National Curriculum in England: Music Programmes of Study. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-music-programmes-of-study/national-curriculum-in-england-music-programmes-of-studyGoogle Scholar
FINLAND: OPH.FI. (2014) The Finnish National Board of Education. Core curriculum. Basic education . http://www.oph.fi/download/47673_core_curricula_basic_education_4.pdfGoogle Scholar
GERMANY: BILDUNGSSERVER.GE. (n.d.) http://www.bildungsserver.de/Rahmenrichtlinien-Lehrplaene-fuer-die-Grundschule-1660.html, http://lehrplan.lernnetz.de/index.php?wahl=140Google Scholar
NORWAY: UDIR.NO. (2006) http://www.udir.no/kl06/MUS1-01/Kompetansemaal?arst=372029323&kmsn=189205472Google Scholar
SCOTLAND: GOV.UK. (2008) Curriculum for excellence. http://www.educationscotland.gov.ukGoogle Scholar
SWEDEN: SKOLVERKET. (2011) The Swedish National Agency for Education. Curriculum for the Compulsory School, Preschool Class and the Recreation Centre. http://www.skolverket.se/laroplaner-amnen-och-kurser/grundskoleutbildning/grundskola/laroplanGoogle Scholar
USA: CONSORTIUM OF NATIONAL ARTS EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONS. (1994) National Standards for Arts Education. Reston, VA: MENC. MUSIC EDUCATORS NATIONAL CONFERENCE. (1994) The School Music Program: A New Vision. Reston, VA: MENC. http://www.nafme.org/my-classroom/standards/Google Scholar