Keyword Definitions

In a field as pro­lif­ic and grass­roots as Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music, defin­ing key­words is noth­ing short of chal­leng­ing. Prac­tices are con­stant­ly evolv­ing and chang­ing to meet par­tic­i­pants’ inter­ests and needs, and ter­mi­nol­o­gy can inter­sect and vary in usage in sur­pris­ing ways. In the inter­ests of estab­lish­ing some com­mon ground, here are some work­ing def­i­n­i­tions of key­words and how they might intersect:

Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music: a mul­ti­tude of approach­es to cre­at­ing music in which every­one involved, regard­less of their pri­or expe­ri­ence in mak­ing music, has active input in the cre­ative process. Author­ship and deci­sion-mak­ing is shared to greater or less­er degrees, depend­ing on context.

Com­mu­ni­ty Music: music mak­ing by, for and with a group of peo­ple or indi­vid­u­als, often with a focus on rela­tion­ship build­ing and/or for the pur­pos­es of fos­ter­ing com­mu­ni­ty cohe­sion. The music being made may or may not be co-cre­at­ed by par­tic­i­pants themselves.

On the inter­sec­tion between Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music and Com­mu­ni­ty Music:

Com­mu­ni­ty choirs, orches­tras and bands rehears­ing and per­form­ing pre-exist­ing music are exam­ples of com­mu­ni­ty music. These groups cre­ate com­mu­ni­ty through music, some with mem­bers com­ing from a vari­ety of back­grounds and oth­ers serv­ing spe­cif­ic com­mu­ni­ties. Many are open to mem­bers with vary­ing lev­els of expe­ri­ence or train­ing in music.

Where these groups fol­low a cre­ative process in which the par­tic­i­pants con­tribute to the cre­ation of a work, this is con­sid­ered Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music.

Inter­ac­tive art: art­works and art-mak­ing con­ceived with pub­lic inter­ac­tion as a cen­tral ele­ment of the work. The pub­lic engages direct­ly with the pro­duc­tion, per­for­mance, or expe­ri­ence of the work, and the work responds to and is affect­ed by this interaction.

On the inter­sec­tion between Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music and Inter­ac­tive art:

The inter­sec­tions between Inter­ac­tive art and Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music are many. Where com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers par­tic­i­pate in a process that cre­ates music and sound, when author­ship is shared, and/or when music and sound works are affect­ed and changed through direct engage­ment, cer­tain Inter­ac­tive art­works are also con­sid­ered Par­tic­i­pa­to­ry Cre­ative Music.