Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation

Article

Forbes, Melissa. 2021. "Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation." Psychology of Music. 49 (4), pp. 789-803. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735619899137
Article Title

Giving voice to jazz singers’ experiences of flow in improvisation

ERA Journal ID6617
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorForbes, Melissa
Journal TitlePsychology of Music
Journal Citation49 (4), pp. 789-803
Number of Pages15
Year2021
PublisherSAGE Publications Ltd
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0305-7356
1741-3087
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735619899137
Web Address (URL)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0305735619899137
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: 1) singers experienced flow when improvisation “went well”; 2) 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.

Keywordsjazz singers, improvisation, flow, IPA, musical experiences
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020529999. Other psychology not elsewhere classified
360304. Music performance
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Creative Arts
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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