Diogo Monzo – författare

This book presents a new model to visualize and understand the creative process in free improvisation: the Interactive Dimensions of the Creative Flow (IDCF). Drawing on theoretical work on distributed creativity and the author’s background as a professional pianist, this short monograph establishes provocative dialogues between the field of music and the cultural psychology of semiotic dynamics to investigate human interactions involved in the act of creating.New empirical data and literature research on improvisation are used to discuss the historical and sociocultural factors behind collective and collaborative processes.  In this context, the Distributed Free Improvisation Model offers a new theoretical and methodological innovation to the study of musical improvisation, which is presented as the result of a musical practice that develops in a community, in sociocultural contexts, through multiple interactions from which the senses and meanings of what is produced emerge. An inspiring read for students, professionals, and researchers in the field of cultural psychology, music improvisation, and creativity studies, this book opens new pathways to the study of creative processes and affective semiosis.

This book presents a new model to visualize and understand the creative process in free improvisation: the Interactive Dimensions of the Creative Flow (IDCF). Drawing on theoretical work on distributed creativity and the author’s background as a professional pianist, this short monograph establishes provocative dialogues between the field of music and the cultural psychology of semiotic dynamics to investigate human interactions involved in the act of creating.New empirical data and literature research on improvisation are used to discuss the historical and sociocultural factors behind collective and collaborative processes.  In this context, the Distributed Free Improvisation Model offers a new theoretical and methodological innovation to the study of musical improvisation, which is presented as the result of a musical practice that develops in a community, in sociocultural contexts, through multiple interactions from which the senses and meanings of what is produced emerge. An inspiring read for students, professionals, and researchers in the field of cultural psychology, music improvisation, and creativity studies, this book opens new pathways to the study of creative processes and affective semiosis.

This book investigates the creative processes within musical improvisation, combining perspectives from musicology and psychology. Drawing on research results, theoretical analyses, and sociocultural experiences, it discusses a new theoretical and methodological framework to study the actions, processes of self-constitution, musical making, and creativity of improvisers. Its central claims position improvisation as inherently creative due to its production of novelty within performance constraints, driven by unpredictability that demands constant adaptation and expands creative possibilities.Building on an introductory chapter that sets out the interdisciplinary scope of the project –with insights from cultural psychology, performance studies, and musicology– the authors use theoretical frameworks as well as empirical and practice-based research to reframe improvisation as a fundamental site of human creativity, with a particular focus on Brazilian academic contexts. An insightful reflection on the social and political potential of improvisation as a space for navigating uncertainty, embracing the unknown, and fostering collective creation, this book is the perfect read for scholars in cultural and cognitive psychology, music studies, creativity studies, philosophy, and related disciplines.