Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Jazz instrumentalists’ experiences of improvisation have informed psychological research on a range of topics including flow in improvisation, yet there is scant evidence of jazz singers’ improvising experiences. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study investigated the experiences of three professional Australian jazz singers who improvise extensively in their performance practice: How do these singers experience improvisation? IPA of semi-structured interviews with the singers resulted in two superordinate themes which both related to the flow state: (a) singers experienced flow when improvisation “went well”; (b) singers experienced flow as meaningful—flow provided singers with both the freedom to express the self and the opportunity to contribute to something beyond the self. These findings reveal a new context for flow experiences. Implications for vocal jazz education and practice are discussed.
Source: Psychology of Music
Author: Melissa Forbes
Institution: University of Southern Queensland
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3004906484