Sandra Stauffer Notes on the Musical Creativity Arizona State Univers

Qualitiesofcreativethinking: •Embodiedknowing–inmusic,earsandbodieslead •Abalanceofworkandtimeawaymayleadtomomentsofinsight(Wallas) •Abalanceofdivergentandconvergentthinking(Guilford) •Fluency,flexibility,elaboration,originality(Torrance) •Intrinsicmotivation;extrinsicmotivation/feedbackthatprovidesinformationorfeedstheintrinsicstate(Amabile) •Asenseof“flow;”confluenceofsystems(Csikszentmihalyi) •Asenseplayfulnessasinearlychildhood(Gardner)•Personalinvestmentandintelligence(Sternberg)PotentialCreativityKillers: •Functionalfixedness •Somekindsofteachertalk(particularlythetimingof...) •Surveillance •Rewards •Competition •Evaluation(asopposedtoassessment)TenTips:•Childrengetbetteratcreatingbycreating.Includecreatinginsomewayeveryday,through“moments,”etudes,andprojects.•Time,tools,andtechniquesareinteractiveincreativethinking.•Explorationiscrucialtochildren.Explorationchangesovertimeandwithexperience.•Revising/revisionisnotthesameforchildrenasitisforadults.Theabilitytorevisechangeswithchildren’sdevelopmentallevel.Foryoungchildrenandless‐experiencedcreators,a“donealligator”isadonealligator.(Makeanotheralligatorinsteadof“fixing”thefirstone.)Forolderchildren,revisingintimeoccursbeforerevisingovermultiplesessions.•Repetitionofsimilarexperienceshelpsdevelopcreativethinkingabilities.(Drawanotheralligatorinsteadofswitchingtohorses.)•Childrenareattractedtotimbreandtexturefirst.Adultstendtofocusonrhythmandmelody.•Modelsmatter...boththemodelsstudentsbringwiththemfromtheirownenvironments(musicalandotherwise)aswellasthoseweprovide,includingourselvesandourowndispositions. 2