Undergraduate Symposium Abstract

As it stands today, true music collaboration still only finds itself born out of person-to-person connection. Whether it be on the level of a simple jam session or the writing of a major composition, the spark of ingenuity, feelings of euphoria that come from real creative chemistry, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from a well written song are extremely personal connections that exist between people working closely together. Contemporary solutions for bringing musicians together act simply as tools to extend the range of communication between people working together on any given project. This is not a bad thing in and of itself, but of the more than fifty websites dedicated to music collaboration online, the majority claim to be established upon the idea of bringing together musicians that have never even seen one another, and yet the evidence of this kind of connection is surprisingly hard to find. In light of this discovery, I will be researching the processes and methods of musicians and the aspects of a working musical relationship that make things "click." Using personal interviews, previously recorded interviews, surveys, shadowing and other similar research methods, I will seek out and refine to something more tangible the driving force and incentive that makes music collaboration work. In gathering several viewpoints on the subject, it should become easier to break these ideas into types or categories, which will allow for application into a new system of collaboration.Upon identifying an incentive and a connecting force by which collaboration becomes natural, I will design a system that serves as a platform for "true" collaboration, one hinged on the very thing that draws musicians to work together.

yup.