Creativity and Technology in Music Teaching and Learning

Horton, Patrick William

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-b4x9-pz32

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Creativity and Technology in Music Teaching and Learning

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This multi-study dissertation explored technology and creativity within three different technology-rich creative musical spaces. Through the use of three contrasting empirical methods (qualitative content analysis, intrinsic case study, and phenomenology), I explored the complex ways technology and musical creativity are linked. In the first study, I completed a content analysis of online comments posted within a music composition community. In the second study, I used a phenomenological approach to explore the nature of creativity within the digital musical instrument design space. The final study was a case study (co-authored with Dr. Sarah Bartolome) exploring knowledge development in a creative technology design partnership that served students with disabilities. Findings from these studies highlight the many possibilities for teachers, learners, and designers to engage with technology while illuminating new pathways for musicality and creativity. Paper 1: Creativity in a Music Composition Community: An Analysis of Online CommentsScholars have often highlighted the intrinsic features of technology that both encourage participation as well as support the generation and sharing of ideas (Craft, 2011). By studying the user interactions in informal online communities, we gain a greater understanding of the ways these technologies impact creativity and learning. This qualitative content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) used a systems-based approach to creativity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999) to examine the interactions within an online community focused on Western standard music notation-based composition. One of Noteflight’s most popular, publicly available, original musical scores was selected and 1,331 posts (including usernames, timestamps, and user comments) were collected. Analysis led to the development of two coding frames (user and composer interaction and domain knowledge) and two sets of subcodes (feedback focus and performance discussions). Findings highlight the diversity and abundance of feedback provided to the composer as well as the various ways in which users engaged with domain knowledge. This online community is a creative space that allows individuals to share knowledge, learn about the social norms associated with giving feedback, and explore creative ideas regarding music composition. Implications from this study highlight the ways music educators and technology designers can develop web-based music learning environments that support creativity and life-long engagement. Paper 2: Instrument-Making as Creativity: A Phenomenology of Digital Musical Instrument DesignWhile emergent technologies have significantly impacted creativity in all types of teaching and learning, empirical research in music education has highlighted the complex relationship between creativity and technology (Huovinen & Rautanen, 2020; Nielsen, 2013). As a group, digital musical instrument (DMI) designers represent varied perspectives that integrate creativity and technology as recurrent and nuanced practices. By studying the experiences of practitioners in this unique space, we can better understand the intersection of these two phenomena. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry (van Manen, 2014) was to investigate the experiences of DMI designers and to describe the nature of creativity in the DMI design process. Participants (n = 23) were recruited from the New Interfaces for Musical Expression research community and 1,421 minutes of semi-structured interviews were recorded. Findings from the phenomenological analysis (Vagle, 2018) of the transcripts revealed three emergent themes about the designers’ relationships with, 1) the field, 2) the DMI consumer, and 3) the technology. The essence of DMI design is a balance of driving elements that include disciplinary values, a blurring of roles, and complex connections to technologies and materials. This points to the distributed nature of creativity within the DMI design space and highlights the many ways technology can be utilized for creative music making. Paper 3: Knowledge Development in a Creative Technology Design Partnership serving Students with Disabilities While there are many barriers to music making for individuals with disabilities, assistive technologies offer ways to increase access to creative music making and learning for this population. The Adaptive Digital Musical Instrument Project (ADMIP) was a creative technology design partnership between Northwestern University and a local school for individuals with disabilities that aimed to develop accessible music technology for those students. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore the design and implementation of this technology-based school-university partnership with particular attention to project outcomes and the ways stakeholders contributed to the project. Findings highlight the Planning, Development, and Classroom Collaboration Phases of the project as well as three significant outcomes: 1) a responsive design that met student needs, 2) successful technological implementation, and 3) strong student engagement and augmented student agency. Further analysis led to the use of the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge Framework for Educators (TPACK) (Koehler & Mishra, 2008) as a theoretical frame. Findings from this study suggest that developing and integrating technology into a music classroom for students with disabilities is a complex endeavor that requires stakeholders to leverage TPACK from multiple sources.

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