Musicians in the Making: Pathways to Creative Performance

by John Rink (Editor), Helena Gaunt (Editor), Aaron Williamon (Editor)

Overview

Musicians are continually 'in the making', tapping into their own creative resources while deriving inspiration from teachers, friends, family members and listeners. Amateur and professional performers alike tend not to follow fixed routes in developing a creative voice: instead, their artistic journeys are personal, often without foreseeable goals. The imperative to assess and reassess one's musical knowledge, understanding and aspirations is nevertheless a central feature of life as a performer. Musicians in the Making explores the creative development of musicians in both formal and informal learning contexts. It promotes a novel view of creativity, emphasizing its location within creative processes rather than understanding it as an innate quality. It argues that such processes may be learned and refined, and furthermore that collaboration and interaction within group contexts carry significant potential to inform and catalyze creative experiences and outcomes. The book also traces and models the ways in which creative processes evolve over time. Performers, music teachers and researchers will find the rich body of material assembled here engaging and enlightening. The book's three parts focus in turn on 'Creative learning in context', 'Creative processes' and 'Creative dialogue and reflection'. In addition to sixteen extended chapters written by leading experts in the field, the volume includes ten 'Insights' by internationally prominent performers, performance teachers and others. Practical aids include abstracts and lists of keywords at the start of each chapter, which provide useful overviews and guidance on content. Topics addressed by individual authors include intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics, performance experience, practice and rehearsal, 'self-regulated performing', improvisation, self-reflection, expression, interactions between performers and audiences, assessment, and the role of academic study in performers' development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190657277
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2017
Series:	Studies in Musical Performance as Creative Practice
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

John Rink is Professor of Musical Performance Studies at the University of Cambridge. He works in the fields of Chopin studies, performance studies, music analysis, and digital applications in music. He has published six books with Cambridge University Press; is Editor in Chief of The Complete Chopin - A New Critical Edition; holds three visiting professorships and serves on the advisory boards of numerous scholarly journals and institutes; and directed the £2.1 million AHRC Research Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice (CMPCP) from 2009 to 2016. Professor Helena Gaunt is Vice Principal and Director of Academic Affairs at the Guildhall School of Music&Drama, providing strategic leadership in academic development, research, enterprise and internationalisation. She is a National Teaching Fellow (2009) and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Aaron Williamon is Professor of Performance Science at the Royal College of Music (RCM) and Director of the Centre for Performance Science, a partnership of the RCM and Imperial College London. His research focuses on skilled performance and applied scientific initiatives that inform music learning and teaching.

Table of Contents

Contents List of contributors List of illustrations Preface John Rink, Helena Gaunt and Aaron Williamon Insight John Wallace - A musician's journey Part 1 - Creative learning in context Chapter 1 Learning to perform: from 'gifts' and 'talents' to skills and creative engagement Jane Davidson and Gary McPherson Chapter 2 Apprenticeship and empowerment: the role of one-to-one lessons Helena Gaunt Chapter 3 Facilitating learning in small groups: interpersonal dynamics and task dimensions Andrea Creech and Susan Hallam Chapter 4 The role and significance of master classes in creative learning Ingrid Hanken Chapter 5 Checking progress and setting directions: examination and assessment Don Lebler and Scott Harrison Chapter 6 Informal learning and musical performance Tim Smart and Lucy Green Insight Jane Manning - The creative voice in artistic performance Insight Mine Do?antan-Dack - Expressive freedom in classical pianism: insights from a pianist-researcher Insight Ricardo Castro (with Helena Gaunt) - Transformation through music Part 2 - Creative processes Chapter 7 Performers in the practice room Karen Wise, Mirjam James and John Rink Chapter 8 Small ensembles in rehearsal Jane Ginsborg Chapter 9 The creative work of large ensembles Stephen Cottrell Chapter 10 Learning in the spotlight: approaches to self-regulating and profiling performance Aaron Williamon, Terry Clark and Mats Küssner Chapter 11 Incorporating improvisation into classical music performance Juniper Hill Insight Carlos Lopez-Real - Musical artistry and identity in balance Insight Margaret Faultless - Ensemble music in the making: a matter of shared leadership Insight Helen Reid - Making connections Part 3 - Creative dialogue and reflection Chapter 12 Reflection and the classical musician: practice in cultural context Mary Hunter and Stephen Broad Chapter 13 Towards convergence: academic studies and the student performer Celia Duffy and Joe Harrop Chapter 14 Musical expression from conception to reception Darla Crispin and Stefan Östersjö Chapter 15 Dialogue and beyond: communication and interaction in ensemble performance Elaine King and Anthony Gritten Chapter 16 Responding to performers: listeners and audiences Sinéad O'Neill and John Sloboda Insight Susanne van Els - On artistic adventures and connecting to audiences Insight Frances-Marie Uitti - Beyond convention: listening to one's inner voice Insight Melvyn Tan (with John Rink) - Learning to take time Index