Breathing New Life into Old Forms: Collaborative Processes Supporting Songwriting and Improvisation

Abstract

The primary aim of this practice-based research was to reinvigorate my artistic practice in composition, and in so doing provide a useful model for vocalists and singer-songwriters in the contemporary jazz genre. These aims are achieved by identifying the dialectics – the collaborative inputs – in composing, lyric writing, rehearsing and recording. The thesis provides a narrative of processes undertaken in the creative practice journey involved in the production of the albums Get Out of Town (2012), Mandarin Skyline (2013) and Weave (2016). Leading Australian musicians and composers were selected for the writing and recording processes. Through a detailed examination of their input and contribution to the music, along with the input of non-musician participants, an enhanced understanding of the musical and wider interactions related to collaborative processes is revealed. The collaborative processes are outlined song by song and analysed in every stage of music creation, including preproduction discussions, communications with selected co-writers, musicians’ contributions to arrangement and composition, informal discussions related to “best” practice, and negotiation regarding stylistic interpretations pertaining to genre, harmonic movement and improvisation. Improvisation emerges as a key factor in not only the personal creative compositional process, but also in the collaborative process. The concept of collaboration was stretched to encompass personal creative processes, informed as they are by issues of stylistic identity, inspirational figures and the creative milieu within which musicians hone their skills. This process shone light on strategies within the collaborative spectrum that promoted the extension and development of my songwriting and improvisational practices.