Network science is the study of connectivity within networks where researchers map and analyze relationships between network attributes and outcomes. Our research positions music improvisation as a complex system where the underlying cognitive mechanisms used in improvisation associate with melodic patterns frequently used by improvisors. We liken the use and development of improvisational language to that of spoken langue as complex systems differing by modality. Our research has demonstrated human sensitivity to melodic distance within a network (Marshal et al., 2023), or how related two different melodic passages seem. We also uncovered results suggesting expert jazz improvisors have developed a personal vocabulary of musical patterns linked to associated motor movements (Norgaard, Bales, & Hansen, 2023).

The lab is collaborating with Occupational Therapy to design at-home piano therapy for stroke patients (Chen & Norgaard, 2023). We have received positive feedback on self-motivation from the recent piloting of a new therapeutic piano app we’re developing in collaboration with Gil Weinberg’s lab at Georgia Institute of Technology . We hope to enter into a second phase of testing soon and are preparing several related grant applications.

The lab is collaborating with Fayette County who is piloting a new Community for Creativity program. We are currently analyzing data from divergent thinking tests to see if participation in the program affects students’ creative ability.

Lab members are engaged with research involving other faculty in Music Education including a current study investigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the student teaching experience. Another collaboration involves community outreach, an area in which GSU music education has been at the forefront through our Center for Educational Partnerships in Music.