Fostering flow: Investigating Flow Experiences in vocal and choral music education
Open Access
- Author:
- Flamini, Valerie
- Graduate Program:
- Music Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 26, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Ann Callistro Clements, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Ann Callistro Clements, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Linda Carol Porter Thornton, Committee Member
Anthony Thomas Leach, Committee Member
Robert William Roeser, Outside Member
Linda Carol Porter Thornton, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- flow
Csikszentmihalyi
optimal experience
mindfulness music
choral
choir
chorus
positive psychology
mindfulness
music education
mixed methods flow
singing
performing
rehearsing
perspective
conscious control
consciousness
coping
meditation
awareness - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT Interests in how Csikszentmihalyi’s (1975) flow theory relates to music learning has been a focus for music education scholars for over two decades. This document aimed to reveal that which contributed or inhibited flow experiences in vocal/choral education settings to arrive at a theory of fostering flow for singers. I completed two research studies in search of situational and personal factors surrounding the flow experience in a choral rehearsal context and varied settings for a solo-vocalists. A third study, a comparative analysis of mindfulness and flow experiences, was conducted to further solidify a theory of fostering flow for singers. The following overarching research question guided this multi-study investigation: How might the flow experience be fostered in vocal/choral music education settings? The purpose of the first study (chapter three) was to investigate a conductor and singers’ flow experiences in the choral rehearsal setting. This mixed method investigation used Creswell’s (2014) Sequential Explanatory model which included quantitative data collected from a self-reporting instrument and qualitative data in the form of interviews, field notes, reflections, emails, and images. Participants included singers and a conductor from a nationally recognized university choir located in the mid-Atlantic United States (n=40). A difference of proportions analysis revealed a relationship between the proportion of singers who experience flow when the conductor experiences flow. Logistic regression was administered using data from 37 flow experience moments (n = 37). A p-value of < .05 indicates that singers’ flow experience was a significant factor for the conductor’s flow experience: log-odds that the conductor flow experiences increase by 10.76 when the singers experience flow. A difference in proportion across 23 songs rehearsed was calculated after separating the conductor’s and the singers’ flow experience showing a relationship between the conductor and singers’ flow experiences in relation to repertoire. Qualitative data findings reveal flow contributors and inhibitors from the perspective of the director and from students who experienced flow frequently and less frequently during data collection. Findings resulted in the following themes all profoundly connected to repertoire: relationships, purposeful music making, focused awareness, musicality, body connection, and musical experience. A “Focused Awareness Ensemble Pedagogy” model was constructed transforming results into a practice of fostering flow in the rehearsal setting. The purpose of the second study (chapter four) was to investigate personal and situational factors from a singer’s perspective before, during, and following potential flow moments. This qualitative single case study aimed to thoroughly examine Csikszentmihalyi’s (1975) flow theory and used grounded theory data analysis methods to arrive at a theory of fostering flow for singers. The information rich participant, “Keri,” was an undergraduate involved in private voice studio lessons who sang with a variety of ensembles on and off a university campus in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Data from interviews, journals, field notes, social media, and video/images were transcribed and analyzed through NVivo software; coded; and constructed into higher order categories including the central phenomenon, control over consciousness. A proposition statement offered hypothesized themes related to higher order categories including support system, health, portraying repertoire, feedback, enjoyment, and self-actualization. These six categories included situational and personal factors that affected control over consciousness, the central phenomenon, making flow moments possible or impossible for Keri to achieve. The purpose of a third study (chapter 6) was to provide a comparative analysis further solidifying theory of fostering flow for singers in vocal/choral education settings. Studies one and two of this document revealed descriptive factors from the data indicative of mindfulness research. A deeper investigation of mindfulness research followed by a modified qualitative comparative analysis was deemed an advantageous next step to solidify theory of fostering flow in vocal/choral education settings. Flow theory elements from Csikszentmihalyi’s (1996) research are compared and analyzed alongside mindfulness experiential elements as discussed by Lutz et al. (2015) in a phenomenological model of mindfulness practice experience using an investigator created “Inventory of Mindfulness Orientation to Flow Experience.” Results are represented by a temporal model of the flow experience indicating the role of mindfulness as an associate to a successful flow experience. These three studies provided a thorough understanding of the flow phenomenon resulting in practical approaches to foster flow during music learning. Pedagogy which includes suggestions outlined in the “Focused Awareness Ensemble Pedagogy” for group contexts as well as mindful approaches to music making may result in affording flow experiences for music learners. Music education research thus far has provided a solid foundation of flow in music learning endeavors. Research results from this investigation may provide a lens from which to move in new directions for fostering flow in music education settings.