Tapping into the jazz potential
Sun, Sep 22nd 2019, 09:25 Last updated 1 day, 9 hours ago
One of the events during this year’s Science in the City will explore whether the positive effects of jazz on creativity can also be experienced by those who are not musicians. Jazz musician Diccon Cooper tells Ramona Depares all about it.
Music and science are, perhaps unfairly, considered as opposites. What is your reaction to this?
I think in terms of inspirational moments, they are very similar. I think that science is very creative.
Many scientific discoveries are described as insprational acts – Achimedes’s Eureka moment or Newton seeing an apple drop from a tree. When designing an experiment, or thinking of solutions to problems in science, creativity is a big part to make that connection between cause and effect or to link different ideas in new ways.
In the same way, a musicalperformance is seen as a wholly creative process ‒ there’s a lot of science there in terms of technique, research, practice and learning. Few composers create music solely as an act of raw inspiration. In many cases, composing or practising is a process of problem solving and making decisions on how to achieve the idea and in that way it’s very similar to science.
There are differences in the nature of the scientific problem and the musical composition or performance, but much of both processes can be thought of as problem solving to achieve a specific aim, whether that is to play a piece in a certain way or whether that is to build a bridge, and the most effective solutions are usually arrived at through creativity.
How did your interest in jazz start?
My dad had a collection of jazz records, so I used to listen to it a lot. When I moved to a new school, they had a jazz band that needed a bass player, so I joined.
I found that, for me, compared to orchestral playing, it was a style of music that I really enjoyed on the bass – I think it brings out the best in the instrument.
Improv jazz is also perceived as sometimes ‘inaccessible’. Is this justified?
There are many different types of jazz, so there’s inevitably some kinds that command a niche audience – this is the same for most artforms such as modern art. However, there’s lots of jazz that is also very popular, so it’s a broad spectrum. I don’t think it’s justified to see it as inaccessible as a generalisation, but it certainly applies to some of the more avant-garde forms.
How important is it to understand jazz, rather than feel it?
These aren’t alternatives. I think the attraction to anything like music, poetry or art is the feeling. This may prompt you to try and analyse it, but this comes from trying to understand the feeling it gives you. If it doesn’t give you any kind of feeling, then there usually isn’t an interest in trying to understand it.
Is this the first project that you are approaching from a scientific angle?
I played in a Science in the City project two years ago and that, too, was related to jazz and the brain. Last year, I did a project with professor Cristiana Sebu that explored mathematics and music. This is the first time I’m exploring aspects of music from a psychological angle and focusing upon the process of jazz improvisation in particular.
What is your personal experience of the correlation between improvisation and creativity? Do you feel that it is real?
I think the correlation is real, but most importantly I think that it can be learnt. It’s not just a case of sitting there waiting for the ideas to fall out the sky, but there are ways to create the ideas if you’re short of inspiration, and techniques you can learn once you have the ideas to use them in a new and interesting way. I think that it is a mistake to think of creativity as something innate in the sense that some people have it and some people don’t – I believe everyone can learn it.
What is the audience to expect during this year’s Science in the City event?
We’re going to ask the audience to complete some tests on how creative they are and to listen to some music. As it’s an experiment, I don’t want to give too much away as it might spoil the results, but I think they will find it interesting and fun.
Leonie Baldacchino, director of the Edward de Bono Institute at the University of Malta, explains how the idea to combine jazz and science was born.
How was the idea for this event born?
I was approached by members of the Science in the City team, as they were planning a research project with Diccon to explore the link between jazz and creativity. I roped in my colleagues Sandra Dingli and Margaret Mangion and, together, we brainstormed various options on how to develop this project.
The perception is that arts and sciences are considered polar opposites – what are your thoughts on this?
I disagree. While there are differences between the two, there is a great deal of science in art and there can also be art in science.
Artists nurture their talents by learning skills and techniques and by conducting research and developing expertise. Scientists design experiments and solve problems by engaging in creative processes, and there are many examples of scientific creations in fields such as engineering and architecture that display undeniable aesthetic beauty.
The arts are also increasingly used in clinical settings as a form of therapy, as scientific research indicates that engaging in creative activity is an effective way of boosting mental health.
Moreover, the emphasis on ‘STEM’ (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in education has evolved to include the arts and is now referred to as ‘STEAM’ (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).
I see this as an important development, as history has shown us that in major periods of enlightenment, such as the Renaissance, scientific discoveries and artistic masterpieces often went hand in hand and contributed to each other’s development. A prominent example of this may be found in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, who was the embodiment of both scientific and artistic genius.
What made you decide to pick improv jazz as the basis for this research, as opposed to other genres?
Jazz is arguably one of the most creative genres of music, since jazz musicians need to think on their feet to spontaneously create music on the go.
Past research has indicated that jazz musicians show higher divergent thinking abilities than musicians with other types of training. We would like to know if the positive effects of jazz music on creativity can also be experienced by people who are not musicians.
What have been your findings so far?
We do not yet have any findings as our research shall take place during the ‘Creative Jam’ event. In order to be successful, we require a large number of participants, which is why we are organising four sessions during the evening, each one starting on the hour as from 7pm.
What do you hope will be the legacy of your research and of this event?
From an academic perspective, we are addressing a gap in knowledge regarding the relationship between jazz and creativity, so we hope to publish our research findings and contribute to this area of study.
From a practical point of view, we hope to discover new ways of stimulating people’s creativity through jazz music. These could be added to the variety of methods that we use and teach at the Edward de Bono Institute to enable people to maximise their creative potential.
Creative Jam, a fusion of jazz and science, will take place at Palazzo Parisio, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Merchants Street, Valletta, during Science in the City – European Researchers’ Night, on September 27. It will run on the hour from 7pm to 11pm.
The event is part of the EU-wide celebration European Researchers’ Night. It is funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the Horizon 2020 Programme of the EU, and a number of corporate sponsors. It is recognised as a festival by Europe for Festivals and Festivals for Europe (EFFE).