Accessing the strategies implemented during real-time musical creative processes represents a challenge for researchers. Retrospective verbal protocol with subjective aided recall (RVPwSAR), where a first-person video is used as an aid to elicit feedback from a subject, has shown great potential for the study of real-time decision-making in sport,…

In the research reported in this paper, we develop a theoretical perspective to describe and account for the growth of collective mathematical understanding. We discuss collective processes in mathematics, drawing in particular on theoretical work in the domains of improvisational jazz and theatre. Using examples of data from a study of elementary…

Embodied mind theories underline the role of the body in the act of knowing. According to the enactive approach, we learn to perceive and to know through our bodily interactions with the world (Varela, Thompson & Rosch, 1991). However, such an approach remains incomplete as long as sociality is not taken into account (Froese & Di Paolo,…

The learning of jazz improvisation is often treated as the incorporation of stylistic vocabulary and development of technical dexterity. Although this methodology is effective, considering other aspects of jazz improvisation can make the learning process a more holistic and less technical endeavour. My experience teaching improvisation has led me…

Idea generation is an integral component of jazz improvising. This article merges theoretical origins and practical experiences through the examination of two seminal works from Pressing and Sudnow. A comparative analysis yields three common sources with distinct characteristics. The greater body of jazz literature supports this potential link…

Many people divide musicians into two types: those who can read music and those who play by ear. Formal music education tends to place great emphasis on producing musically literate performers but devotes much less attention to teaching students to make music without notation. Some would suggest that playing by ear is a specialized skill that is…

This article describes a project in which undergraduate students of beginning drawing were brought together with free improvising musicians to explore interaction in collective real-time art-making. Following a series of guided rehearsals, the students were free to choose their own strategies for interactive group projects. We discuss these…

Thought processes of seven artist-level jazz musicians, each of whom recorded an improvised solo, were investigated. Immediately after completing their improvisations, participants listened to recordings of their playing and looked at the notation of their solos as they described in a directed interview the thinking processes that led to the…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a composition program, Composers in Public Schools (CiPS), on cognitive skills essential for academic success. The underlying hypothesis is that composition instruction will promote creative expression and increase performance on music-specific skills such as music reading, as well as foster…

This paper explores the phenomenon of mathematical understanding, and offers a response to the question raised by Martin (2001) at PME-NA about the possibility for and nature of collective mathematical understanding. In referring to collective mathematical understanding we point to the kinds of learning and understanding we may see occurring when…

The purpose of this study was to assess fourth- and fifth-grade students' (9- and 10-year-olds') affective response and ability to discriminate between melody and improvisation after receiving instruction in singing and/or playing a piece in the blues style. Subjects (N= 102) were assigned to one of three equal-sized groups. Group 1 learned to…