Abstract

This webinar focuses upon dissertation research that examines the convergence of music learning with the expressive arts as a means to create a balance between internal and external ways of knowing. A workshop series consisting of four two-hour sessions was designed specifically for this study to explore free musical improvisation and art response with six participants who self-identified with music performance anxiety. In this workshop the participants learned to identify self-referents and expand their conscious awareness of inner dialogue, emotions, and physical sensations during music making. Analysis revealed that worldview and mental well being both influenced the participant’s perceptions of their music performance, and that expanded self-knowledge increased the participant’s sense of agency.

Tawnya D. Smith is a recent Ph.D. graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the area of Curriculum and Instruction. She also earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Smith is an integrative researcher who explores expressive arts therapy principles in arts learning environments to promote holistic learning grounded in the learner’s authentic and developing self. Her background in music education has led her to experiment with free musical improvisation and multi-modal art response as a means for learners to explore the self in a community setting.