ABSTRACT
One of the immediate problems facing researchers is to agree on a satisfactory definition of the term “creativity”. Swanwick and Tillman (1986) refer to it as being “an activity of original invention”, and there are many genres of performance where the musical material is indeed created during the performance, e.g., free jazz. But, as Swanwick and Tillman suggest, music creation includes a spectrum of activities ranging from improvisation during a performance through to formalised and notated composition made by one individual that is presented to an audience by another individual. The emphasis of this composition-performance spectrum depends on the cultural context, with Western art music performance being a presentation of a precomposed work, whereas many folk and jazz styles typically involve extemporising around a familiar work, or creating a new work in the moment of performance. Other musical cultures have different systems. So, in writing a chapter about creativity in performance, it is certainly important to identify the style and system of music being investigated, and to specify the precise nature of creativity to be examined.
