The art of becoming : how group improvisation works / Raymond A. R. MacDonald and Graeme B. Wilson.
By: MacDonald, Raymond A. R [author].
Contributor(s): Wilson, Graeme B [author].
Material type: BookPublisher: New York : Oxford University Press, [2020]Description: xxiii, 192 pages : 21 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9780190840921 (paperback).Subject(s): Improvisation (Music)Additional physical formats: Online version:: The art of becomingDDC classification: 781.36Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
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General Lending | MTU Cork School of Music Library Lending | 781.36 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 00197755 | ||
General Lending | MTU Cork School of Music Library Lending | 781.36 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 00197757 |
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Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
At a time of unprecedented interest in improvisation across the arts, The Art of Becoming boldly asserts that everyone can and should improvise. Drawing on emerging psychological literature as well as their own research with musicians, authors Raymond MacDonald and Graeme Wilson - both music psychologists and renowned performers in their own right - propose new ideas on what defines improvisation in music. MacDonald and Wilson explore the cognitive processes involved, the role of specialist skills or knowledge in improvised interaction, and the nature of understanding between improvisers. Their investigation lays out how we develop as improvisers, alongside health benefits derived from music participation. The Art of Becoming is a vital resource for courses on improvisation in contemporary practice, and for those applying musical improvisation in community and therapeutic contexts, setting out a framework based on psychological findings for understanding improvisation as a universal capability and an essentially social behavior. With suggestions for approaching this practice in new ways at any level, it demonstrates how improvisation transcends musical genres and facilitates collaboration between practitioners from disciplines across the artistic spectrum. Putting forward important implications for contemporary artistic practices, pedagogy, music therapy and the psychology of social behavior, The Art of Becoming provides fresh and provocative insights for anyone interested in playing, studying, teaching, or listening to improvised music.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Improvisation and new frontiers in creative practice -- What's so special about Improvisation? -- Talking about Improvisation: constructing identities -- Stones, Clouds : a new model for improvising -- Distributed creativity and the myth of shared understanding -- A new virtuosity: improvising over time -- Improvisation and health: why improvising is good for you -- The way forward.
"With a focus on music, this book outlines what improvisation is and why it is an important creative and social activity. Drawing on the emerging psychological literature in this area, as well as evidence from authors' research with musicians, this text outlines innovative ideas on what defines improvisation and the psychological, creative and social processes involved. It explores the role of specialist skills, the importance of musical identities and the nature of understanding in improvised interaction and between improvisers. It discusses how we develop as improvisers and the role of improvisation within therapeutic applications of music. Each chapter proceeds from discussion of an illustrative instance of musical improvisation. Providing fresh and provocative insights for anyone interested in playing, studying, teaching or listening to improvised music, the authors offer suggestions for approaching this practice in new ways at any level, and identify potential developments in cross-disciplinary improvising. Asserting that everyone can and should improvise, the book provides a resource for courses teaching improvisation in contemporary practice, and has strong relevance for those applying musical improvisation in community and therapeutic contexts. The book deals with such questions as: What constitutes improvisation? Do all forms of improvisation represent the same thing? Faced with myriad possibilities, how do improvisers decide what to play? How does an improviser in a group know what the others will do? How might improvisation influence our wellbeing? In response to such questions, a definition of improvisation based on its unique behavioural features is set out as an exciting context for psychological investigation"-- Provided by publisher.