Date of Award

8-2015

Degree Name

Master of Music

Department

Music

First Advisor

Edward A, Roth, M.M.

Second Advisor

Dr. Ben Atchison

Third Advisor

Dr. David S. Smith

Keywords

Flow, social, improvisation, feasibility, singing

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of experimental research procedures and gather initial data in studying the experience of social flow within the context of group music production tasks. Participants completed two different group vocal music production tasks: Performance of a pre-composed song and an improvised performance. The Flow State Scale-2 (FSS-2), a 36-item survey in which a mean score of 45 implies the ultimate flow experience and a score of 9 implies that no flow was experienced during the event in question, was used to assess the level of social flow experienced by the participants in each condition. Results indicate that the participants experienced social flow in both the standard performance (M = 37.06; n = 4) and in the improvised condition (M = 34.25; n = 4). Because the primary purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of the design and procedures, a small sample was used, smaller than what might even be used in a pilot study. As such, statistical analyses comparing the two group means were not conducted because the study was insufficiently powered. Data collection went as planned and the initial data suggests that the experimental research procedure employed in this study could be an effective approach in further investigating people’s experience of social flow in varying group music production tasks.

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