Becoming Creative

Juniper Hill has conducted extensive fieldwork on creativity, improvisation, pedagogy, and intercultural dynamics in South Africa, Finland, the US, and Ecuador. She has been awarded a Marie Curie fellowship, a Humboldt fellowship, and two Fulbright fellowships, and has held positions at the University of California, University of Cambridge, and University College Cork. She is currently Professor and Chair of Ethnomusicology at the University of Würzburg.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of FiguresChapter One: Interpreting Creative Experience Across Diverse Musical Communities1.1. Introduction1.2. What does it mean to be creative?An experiential model of musical creativityGenerativityAgencyInteractionNonconformityRecyclingFlowValue as a problematic component of creativity1.3. Creativity as socially undesirable behavior: some theoretical insightsSocial pressures to conformInternalizing motivations not to be creative1.4. Common enablers and inhibitors of creativity: an overview of chapters1.5. Learning from the experiences of musicians: methodology1.6. Contrasting musical communities: the case studiesThe allure of Helsinki, Cape Town, and Los Angeles as research sitesUrban distinctionsCross-cultural comparisons of classical, jazz, and folk music communitiesChapter Two: Developing Creativity Enabling Skills 2.1. Introduction to creativity enabling skills2.2. Technique The myth of technical mastery as prerequisite for creativityOveremphasis on techniqueCorrect technique as conformativity or toolbox 2.3. Aural skillsBuilding aural skills through oral transmissionLack of aural skills as inhibitingConcerns about oral transmission and imitation2.4. Vocabulary and memory facility Building vocabulary for idiomatic creative activitiesHuman memory as facilitator of creativityOral versus written cultureReviving oral culture and unfixing notationA critique of pattern manipulation as (un)creative2.5. Syntax and the ability to apply music theory2.6. Decision-making skillsLack of decision-making skills as inhibitingApproaches for fostering decision-making skills 2.7. Self-assessment skills2.8. Summary of developing creativity enabling skillsChapter Three: Developing Psychological Enablers and Inhibitors of Creativity 3.1. Introduction to psychological enablers and inhibitors of creativity3.2. Beliefs about talent and potentialWestern attitudes toward talent and their impactsSouth African attitudes toward musical and creative potential and their impacts3.3. Role modelsIdentification with role models and sense of potentialRole models as conveyors of norms and permission3.4. Assessment and feedbackPositive feedbackConstructive critical assessmentDestructive feedbackAnticipating feedbackSelf-judgment3.5. Values and attitudesMistakes and PerfectionismOriginality versus recycling3.6. Summary of psychological enablers and inhibitorsChapter Four: Accessing the Opportunity, Permission, and Authority to be Creative4.1. Opportunities and barriers in creative development: social inequalities Prejudice and internalized perceptions of limited potential Economic inequalities in music learning 4.2. Opportunities and barriers in creative work: economic pressuresPrivate gigs, corporate sponsorship, and neoliberal policies in Cape TownWorking for the music, television, and film industries in Los AngelesState support for the arts in HelsinkiPolicies, markets, motivation, and education4.3. Authority, permissions, and prohibitions: who's allowed to create what music?Codifying rules for newcomers and restricting outsiders Stylstic boundaries and the politics of race, class, and cultural imperialismInternalizing musical attitudes and practices as moral values 4.4. Summary of societal enablers and inhibitors of creativityChapter Five: Overcoming Inhibitors of Creativity 5.1. Mechanisms for overcoming inhibitors of creativityThe safe transgression of comfort zones5.2. Formal methods for enhancing creative agency: courses and programsSafety and emotional supportFacilitating composition and improvisation within an idiomFree improvisation, experimentalism, and the breaking of conventionMultiple modes of expression: singing, multi-instrumentalism, dance, and theatreExposure, facilitator expectations, and validation5.3. Informal strategies for overcoming creative hurdles: individual journeysTuomasJackie KyleAnjaJuniper5.5. Conclusions on increasing creative agency Musicians InterviewedReferences

Because Hill's book is a phenomenological analysis of working musicians, it's filled with excerpts from her interviews with them, offering diverse and beautifully observed insights from a spectrum of experiences. That is, while her process and conclusions are academic, they're informed by the sensitive realities of artists. Becoming Creative covers a wide range of topics related to creativity ... For those who work in the field of creation, it's likely to find in Hill's work a clear articulation of complex phenomena personally encountered. Ultimately, giving voice to that shared experience delivers balm to creation's spiritual wounds and encouragement to continue.