Research
This mind map represents data from a case study examining personal and situational factors before, during, and after performing that may inhibit or promote flow experiences while singing (Flamini, 2020).
My Research Journey...thus far
I am intensely curious about what occurs in the mind while making music, creating, competing, or during just about any personal challenge to extreme elation. I believe the mind is the new frontier. Infinite possibilities are readily available to each of us by exploring the activity of our minds. What emerges as a result of this individual attention may lead to real shifts in human dynamics. For many, it is unchartered territory. The basis for my research has always started with this question: How might educators provide meaningful learning experiences to those with inhibitors in the mind. Examples of inhibitors may include low self-confidence or self-efficacy, learned helplessness, difficulty focusing, mind-wandering, social restrictions, a fixed mindset, perfectionism, apathy, trauma, weak executive function skills, or emotions hindering neural connections.
My research interests started with a quest to determine ways children with emotional and behavior challenges might be engaged in music settings. As a teacher in Georgia public schools, I noticed certain moments in the music classroom had positive, life-altering consequences for students who were not successful in other academic and social areas. I observed a positive shift in students who previously displayed apathy toward all things school related as a result of musicking. There were also more challenging students who required unique approaches to engage them. I wondered how other music teachers engaged students with such challenges. This led to my first research study: Strategies for engaging children with emotional behavior disorder or challenges in the music classroom.
Missing in the data from the previous study were approaches related to creative endeavors. I had experienced moments where typically uninterested students were engaged as a result of projects that differed from the “cookie cutter” music education: choose standard repertoire, teach notes and rhythm, convey to students how they are supposed to feel about the song, present the product to an audience. This method of leading ensembles almost drove me away from music education. It certainly caused talented, creative students to avoid making music in the school setting. After banging my head against the wall during my early years of teaching, I started experimenting with giving students more autonomy, allowing them opportunities to use their creativity, and made time for student collaboration. Music making became more enjoyable for those involved and skill building was not only evident, but improved!
I decided to use these creative approaches for an action research project. I happened to be the director of the Susquehanna Valley Youth Chorale ensembles in Pennsylvania during my early graduate work. I facilitated creatively inspired music experiences with three groups from the SVYC for an entire term of rehearsals. We culminated with a performance entirely programmed with student compositions, songs with music decisions made by the singers, and improvised music moments. This concert, Playing It By Ear , surprised me in many ways. In addition to the pure enjoyment of music making, our singers made improvements in music skills uncharacteristic of previous terms. This action research project included field notes, video/images, as well as ensemble member interviews and a post-concert survey.
Soon I realized I was really chasing optimum experiences with music: total immersion, immense enjoyment, and the maximum use of their skills. Another term for optimum experiences is flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). As a result of such experiences, I had the pleasure of watching students become more confident, more aware of others, gain purpose, exhibit altruistic impulses, and vulnerably share music with expression and compassion. This is when I realized there is more to these engaged music experiences than meets the eye. I have spent the past six years investigating theories of consciousness that may explain such phenomena. I had to know: what ARE these optimum experiences and how might educators encourage them despite personal and situational challenges? I authored three studies to answer this question: 1. Optimal experience in the choral setting: Examining flow experience events among singers and conductor, 2. A case study of personal and situational factors for flow experiences in vocal Music, and 3. Flow theory and mindfulness: A comparative analysis of experience. Notice I transitioned from focusing on flow to an association between flow and mindfulness. It became clear these phenomena had more than a few things in common. It was during this research work I became motivated to include mindfulness in music learning. The possibility of a symbiotic relationship between the two is exciting! There are many benefits that may come from an approach including mindfulness and goals for flow including utmost engagement/focus, immense enjoyment in the activity, and meaningful experiences. Learn more about these studies here in this open access document. Please contact me should you struggle with access.
There are many benefits that may come from an approach including mindfulness and goals for flow including utmost engagement/focus, immense enjoyment in the activity, and meaningful experiences. Learn more about these studies here in this open access document. Please contact me should you struggle with access.
In 2016, I joined a growing number of researchers investigating the relationship between mindfulness and practicing music. Although mindfulness practices in music education is an emerging field, there is evidence to support a relationship between thriving musically and mindfulness.
Mindfulness may be a useful tool when goals include expression and creativity (Newton, 2015; Sarath, 2015; Southern, 2020; Tan et al., 2020).
Those who suffer from Performance Anxiety may also find mindfulness practice helpful (Diaz, 2018; Diaz et al., 2020; Farnsworth-Grodd, 2012).
Surprisingly, even a brief encounter with mindfulness has revealed benefits related to focus and the application of skills during music practice and performance (Czajkowski et al., 2020; Diaz et al., 2020; Flamini, 2020; Langer et al., 2009; Tan et al., 2020).
Although research connecting music and mindfulness practices is a developing field of inquiry, there are four decades of mindfulness research inspiring curiosity about the phenomenon and its relationship to other fields. Mindfulness became a practice of relieving suffering in the United States as a result of Jon Kabat-Zinn, founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic established in 1979 (“UMASS Medical School: Center for Mindfulness,” 2017). Kabat-Zinn’s operational definition of mindfulness is frequently used in research studies: “…the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Since the inception of western mindfulness in the 1970s, researchers have been investigating physical, psychological, and educational benefits as a result of practicing mindfulness (Baer, 2003; Creswell et al., 2016; Dunning et al., 2019; McKeering & Hwang, 2019; Querstret et al., 2020).
Meta-analysis and systematic reviews reveal consistencies among research studies investigating mindfulness interventions in educational settings. Outcomes include a reduction in anxiety, stress, anger, suicidal thoughts, depression, affective disturbances, behavior challenges, psychosocial problems, as well as increases of positive attributes to support emotional well-being (Carsley et al., 2018; Felver et al., 2016; McKeering & Hwang, 2019; Sheinman et al., 2018).
It is my intention as a researcher and educator to contribute to the body of knowledge concerned with consciousness and artistic expression. This includes mindfulness, flow or optimum experiences, and transcendent experiences. I am grateful to those who have built a research foundation despite skepticism that surrounded their efforts. Please see the following sources to benefit your own search for knowledge in this area.
Sources
Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: a conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 125–143. 10.1093/clipsy.bpg015
Creswell, J. D., Taren, A. A., Lindsay, E. K., Greco, C. M., Gianaros, P. J., Fairgrieve, A., ... Ferris, J. L. (2016). Alterations in resting-state functional connectivity link mindfulness meditation with reduced interleukin-6: A randomized controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry, 80(1), 53-61. 10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.01.008
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. Jossey-Bass.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper and Row.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1993). The evolving self. Harper and Row.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. Harper Collins.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. Harper Collins.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014a). The systems model of creativity: The collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Vol. 1). Springer. 10.1007/978-94-017-9085-7
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014b). Flow and the foundations of positive psychology: The collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Vol. 2). Springer. 10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014c). Applications of flow in human development and education: The collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Vol. 3). Springer. 10.1007/978-94-017-9094-9
Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Csikszentmihalyi, I.S. (1988). Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (2018). Flow, altered states of consciousness, and human evolution. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 25(11-12), 102-114.
Czajkowski, A., & Greasley, A. (2015). Mindfulness for singers: The effects of a targeted mindfulness course on learning vocal technique. British Journal of Music Education, 32(2), 211-233. http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1862306365?accountid=13158
de la Cruz, O. L. & Rodríguez-Carvajal, R. (2014). Mindfulness and music: a promising subject of an unmapped field. International Journal of Behavioral Research and Psychology, 2(301), 1-9.
Diaz, F. M. (2011). Mindfulness, attention, and flow during music listening: An empirical investigation. Psychology of Music, 41(1), 42-58. 10.1177/0305735611415144
Diaz, F. M. (2018). Relationships among meditation, perfectionism, mindfulness, and performance anxiety among collegiate music students. Journal of Research in Music Education, 66(2), 150-167. 10.1177/0022429418765447
Diaz, F. M., & Silveira, J.M. (2012). Dimensions of flow in academic and social activities among summer music camp participants. International Journal of Music Education, 31(3), 310-320. 10.1177/0255761411434455
Diaz, F. M., & Silveira, J. M. (2014). Music and affective phenomena: A 20-year content and bibliometric analysis of research in three eminent journals. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62(1), 66-77. 10.1177/0022429413519269
Diaz, F. M., Silveira, J. M., & Strand, K. (2020). A neurophenomenological investigation of mindfulness among collegiate musicians. Journal of Research in Music Education, 68(3), 351-374. 10.1177/0022429420921184
Dunning, D. L., Griffiths, K., Kuyken, W., Crane, C., Foulkes, L., Parker, J., & Dalgleish, T. (2019). Research review: The effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on cognition and mental health in children and adolescents – a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(3), 244-258. 10.1111/jcpp.12980
Farnsworth-Grodd, V. A. (2012). Mindfulness and the self-regulation of music performance anxiety [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Auckland. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/19993
Flamini, V. (2020). Fostering flow: Investigating flow experiences in vocal and choral music education [Doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University]. Penn State University Libraries. 22496 (psu.edu)
Langer, E., Russel, T., & Eisenkraft, N. (2009). Orchestral performance and the footprint of mindfulness. Psychology of Music,37(2), 125-136. Sage.10.1177/0305735607086053
Newton, J.Z. (2015). Musical creativity and mindfulness meditation: Can the practice of mindfulness meditation enhance perceived musical creativity?. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 34(1-2), 171-185. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rfh&AN=ATLAn3847697&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Querstret, D., Morison, L., Dickinson, S., Cropley, M., & John, M. (2020). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological health and well-being in nonclinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Stress Management, 27(4), 394-411. 10.1037/str0000165
Sarath, E. (2015). Improvisation and meditation in the academy: Parallel ordeals, insights, and openings. Journal of Philosophy of Education, (49)2, 311-327. 10.1111/1467-9752.12143
Southern, A. (2020). Creativity through mindfulness: The arts and wellbeing in education (AWE) professional learning programme. International Journal of Education through Art, 16(3), 319-332.doi.org/10.1386/eta_00036_1
Tan, D., Diaz, F. M., & Miksza, P. (2020). Expressing emotion through vocal performance: Acoustic cues and the effects of a mindfulness induction. Psychology of Music, 48(4), 495-512. 10.1177/0305735618809873