ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an introductory review of some of the methodological approaches used in researching musical creativity and its development, including case studies, action research, narrative enquiry, mixed methods and quasi-experimental designs. The multidisciplinary nature of musical creativity research makes it comparable to other areas of high specificity such as language studies, in which experts in linguistics, education, psychology and physiology investigate the development of language. The music lessons for the experimental group were enriched with a variety of improvisatory activities, while those in the control group did not include any improvisation, but instead were didactic and teacher-centred. Children in the experimental group were offered several opportunities to experience improvisation through their voices, their bodies, and musical instruments. The children's thinking was 'assessed based on their ability to manipulate music in terms of extensiveness, flexibility, originality, and syntax', taking into account their age and cognitive development.
