Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sync or Swarm: Musical Improvisation and the Complex Dynamics of Group Creativity

  • Chapter
Algebra, Meaning, and Computation

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNTCS,volume 4060))

Abstract

This essay draws on participant observation, ethnographic interviews, phenomenological inquiry, and recent insights from the study of swarm intelligence and complex networks to illuminate the dynamics of collective musical improvisation. Throughout, it argues for a systems understanding of creativity—a view that takes seriously the notion that group creativity is not simply reducible to individual psychological processes—and it explores interconnections between the realm of musical performance, community activities, and pedagogical practices. Lastly, it offers some reflections on the ontology of art and on the role that music plays in human cognition and evolution, concluding that improvising music together allows participants and listeners to explore complex and emergent forms of social order.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Csikzentmihalyi, M., Rich, G.J.: Musical improvisation: a systems approach. In: Jeith Sawyer, R. (ed.) Creativity in Performance, Ablex Publishing Corporation, Greenwich (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bailey, D.: Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music. Da Capo Press, Philadelphia (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Keith Sawyer, R.: Group Creativity: Music, Theater, Collaboration. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Csikzentmihalyi, M.: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Dimensions (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Berliner, P.: Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Monson, I.: Sayin’ Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Borgo, D.: The dialogics of free jazz: musical interaction in collectively improvised performance. M.A. thesis, UCLA (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Corbett, J.: Extended Play: Sounding Off From John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein. Duke University Press (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Toop, D.: Frame of freedom: improvisation, otherness and the limits of spontaneity. Undercurrents: The Hidden Wiring of Modern Music, Continuum (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Corbett, J.: Ephemera underscored: writing around free improvisation. In: Gabbard, K. (ed.) Jazz Among the Discourses, pp. 217–240. Duke University Press (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Lewis, G.: Too many notes: computers, complexity and culture in voyager. Leonardo Music Journal 10, 33–39 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Kelly, K.: Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Weiner, N.: Cybernetics. MIT Press, Cambridge (1961)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Prigogine, I., Stengers, I.: Order Out of Chaos. Bantam Books (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Bonabeau, E., Théraulaz, G.: Swarm smarts, March 2000, pp. 72–79. Scientific American (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Bonabaue, E., Dorgio, M., Théraulaz, G.: Swarm Intelligence: From Natural to Artificial Systems. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Parker, E.: Shopping with Evan Parker, October 2004. Monastery Bulletin (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Surowiecki, J.: The Wisdom of Crowds. Doubleday (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Stephen Lansing, J.: Complex adaptive systems. Annual Review of Anthropology 32, 183–204 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lewis, G.: Improvisation and the orchestra: a composer reflects. essay to accompany a performance by the American Composers Orchestra at the Improvise! Festival, April 28 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Barabási, A.-L.: Linked: The New Science of Networks. Perseus, Cambridge (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Shaviro, S.: Connected: Or What it Means to Live in a Network Society. University of Minnesota Press (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Law, J., Hassard, J.: Actor Network Theory and After. Blackwell, Malden (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hajdu. D., blues, W.: The Atlantic Monthly (March 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Gladwell, M.: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Back Bay Books (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Borgo, D.: Synergy and surrealestate: the orderly-disorder of free improvisation. Pacific Review of Ethnomusicology 10, 1–24 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Watts, D.: Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age. W.W. Norton Co. (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Gleiser, P., Danon, L.: Community structure in jazz. Advances in Complex Systems 6(4), 565–573 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Stockdale, J.: Reading around free improvisation. The Source: Challenging Jazz Criticism 1, 101–114 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Johnstone, K.: Impro: Improvisation and the Theater. Faber and Faber, London (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Werner, K.: Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within. Jamey Aebersold (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Nunn, T.: Wisdom of the Impulse: On the Nature of Musical Free Improvisation. self published (tomnunn@sirius.com) (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Alperson, P.: On musical improvisation. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 43(1), 17–29 (1984)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lewis, G.: Teaching improvised music: an ethnographic memoir. In: Zorn, J. (ed.) Arcana: Musicians on Music, Granary Books (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Russell, P.: The Global Brain: Speculations on the Evolutionary Leap to Planetary Consciousness. J.P. Tarcher, Inc. (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Bloom, H.: Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Prévost, E.: Minute Particulars. Matchless (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Peckham, M.: Man’s Rage for Chaos. Chilton Books (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Goguen, J.: Musical qualia, context, time, and emotion. Journal of Consciousness Studies 11(3/4), 117–147 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Borgo, D.: Sync or Swarm: Improvising Music in a Complex Age. Continuum (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Cross, I.: Music, cognition, culture, and evolution. In: Peretz, I., Zatorre, R.J. (eds.) The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music, pp. 42–56. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Borgo, D.: The play of meaning and the meaning of play in jazz. Journal of Consciousness Studies 11(3/4), 174–190 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Axelrod, R., Cohen, M.D.: Harnesing Complexity: Organizational Implications of a Scientific Frontier. Basic Books, New York (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Weick, K.: Improvisation as a mindset for organizational analysis. Organization Science 9(5), 543–555 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Zack, M.: Jazz improvisation and organizing: once more from the top. Organization Science 11(2), 227–234 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, 9500 Gilman Dr., San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0326, USA

    David Borgo

Authors
  1. David Borgo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST),  

    Kokichi Futatsugi

  2. LIX, Projet INRIA TypiCal, École Polytechnique and CNRS, 91400, Palaiseau, France

    Jean-Pierre Jouannaud

  3. CS Dept., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

    José Meseguer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Borgo, D. (2006). Sync or Swarm: Musical Improvisation and the Complex Dynamics of Group Creativity. In: Futatsugi, K., Jouannaud, JP., Meseguer, J. (eds) Algebra, Meaning, and Computation. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4060. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11780274_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11780274_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-35462-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-35464-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation