New Directions in Musical Collaborative Creativity
The Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and the Theater of Home

By (author) Ross Birrell,Tia DeNora,Robert Burke,Raymond MacDonald,Maria Sappho

ISBN13: 9780197752838

Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Format: Hardback

Published: 07/06/2025

Availability: Not yet available

Description
During the COVID-19 pandemic, creative communities were faced with unprecedented challenges and forced to embark upon a re-evaluation of traditional approaches to artistic collaboration. In the wake of these discussions and experiments, New Directions in Musical Collaborative Creativity asks how new technology can be used to enhance creativity and how this creativity increases our knowledge in relation to musical interactions in group contexts. Focusing on a case study of a leading musical improvisation group--the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, and their online music sessions established during the COVID-19 lockdowns of March 2020--the book's five authors probe the transformative impact of online and hybrid improvisation and explore the crucial role of interactive (visual and sound) technology in the emergence of new identities and hybrid working practices. Virtual improvising, though a relatively new type of creative activity, has significant implications for how researchers can better understand improvisation generally as well as musical interactions in non-virtual environments. The book's topics range from an overview of digital music frameworks to an investigation of how improvisations begin and end, the unique context of the online sessions, the integration of audio and visual stimuli to produce audio-visual compositions, and new types of creative activities. The authors explore how improvisation--and online improvising in particular--can engender a fresh sense of community while presenting innovative opportunities for experimentation, communication, community involvement, educational enrichment, the cultivation of new virtuosities, and the promotion of health and well-being. Furthermore, they delve into the ramifications of these insights for education and health, emphasising the importance of new technologies and their potential to produce significant creative breakthroughs. Ultimately, the book points us toward novel manifestations of technologically-mediated and community-centred creative engagement, delineating avenues for future advancement and scholarly investigation. Bringing together a multidisciplinary and cross-generational author team with a wealth of complementary academic and artistic experience, this book responds to the significant growth in interest in improvisation as a musical and artistic practice and situates this research within the study of collaborative creativity in the contemporary "hybrid" context. A companion website features a series of films that document sessions of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, showing the innovative collaborative artistic practices as they emerged.
List of Figures List of Films Foreword: Creating and Arranging Something Here and Now Preface: From a quintet who have never met Author Biographies About the Companion Website Chapter 1 The Theater of Home and The Zoomesphere Chapter 2 The Evolution of Digital Music Approaches in Practice and Care Chapter 3 Opening Up Opportunities: The Shape of Things to Come Chapter 4 Experimentation: Habits, Habituation, Expertise and Augmentation Chapter 5 Virtual Foam: Performing, Recording, and Remixing Ensemble Improvisation in the Zumwelt Chapter 6 "I Love Lemons": Negotiating endings Chapter 7 New Virtuosities: This is Our Music Chapter 8 An Improvising Life: Implications for Identity, Education, Therapy, and Beyond Chapter 9 New insights into understanding improvisation Chapter 10 Beyond the Theatre of Home: Towards Improvisational Hybridity References Index
  • Other performing arts
  • Techniques of music / music tutorials
  • Professional & Vocational
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