Creativity in Performance Arts Ilil Keren, Israel Susan Young, UK

Current practice in music  Dominated by group singing of songs – led by the teacher (in Israel and in the UK)  UK Foundation Stage Curriculum ‘creativity’ strand includes music, but the activities are described include ‘sing a number of songs from memory’, ‘recognise rhythms’  Expectations of who is creative? – more required of adult than children

Children’s own music-making  In other domains – e.g. children’s art - interest over a long period of time in processes of children’s own art-making  In music – interest in how children learn to reproduce music with increasing accuracy, but very little research in to their own, self- initiated music-making  Very little influence on models of practice

Why do music?  It encourages self esteem  It’s fun  Develops listening skills  It crosses boundaries  Wow! moments  Indoors and outdoors  Children can let their hair down and make lots of noise  Can explore emotions  Links to other areas of learning  Risk taking and experimenting  Identifying talents  Life pleasure  Nurtures a sense of togetherness  A form of expression  Can be mood enhancing  Experimenting and making noise  Social – turn-taking  As a group, individually –  Can be accessed on many levels  Encourages creativity  Self-expression  Sustainable – spontaneous, doesn’t need special equipment  Joy of doing and creating together  Can happen anywhere  Represents ideas  Laughter  Sharing and inclusive  Helps develop relationships

‘nice but not necessary’ (Eisner, 2002) ‘nice but not necessary’ (Eisner, 2002)  Awareness of music as something you do - Affective involvement - Affective involvement - Social processes - Social processes - Transferable benefits - Transferable benefits - Centrality of listening - Centrality of listening - Potentially creative (creativity is there!) - Potentially creative (creativity is there!)  But nothing more substantial about thinking, understanding, learning, imagining?  Lack of models for articulating thinking and learning in the arts in early years education

Why might that be?  Notions of learning tend to focus on learning about ‘things’, fixed, concrete, visual and symbolising, naming, talking about them  Objectification of music in Western theory – as rhythms, pitches – ‘things to learn’ [but only really for those who have ‘musical ability’]  EC practice recognises non-objective, ‘nice’ aspects of learning – affective, social, pleasurable but these tend to be vague.  Versions of practice from Reggio Emilia have been helpful – but still tends to be focussed on visual, static, symbolic  Non-concrete, time-based, multi-modal, polysemic, dynamic learning (as in performance arts of dance, music, drama) – not articulated in curricula (and doesn’t result in solid product)

Musical creativity  As co-created between children and adult, children and children  Children offered starting points  Situations in which possibilities can flourish  Adult responds musically to what children offer – accepts on their terms, extends, elaborates  Listening both inside and outside the music as made

‘Necessary’ ‘Necessary’  Time-based, temporal structure – to discriminate and order events over time (unfolding, dynamic contours, chunking, anticipation and predictability)  Shaping performance ideas to be intentionally communicative and expressive – but meanings are polysemic  Develops imagination, empathy, sense of fun  Offers experiences that are aesthetic, uplifting