The Presence of Groove in Online Songwriting Projects
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Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE May 2017 The Presence of Groove in Online Songwriting Projects David Lamar James Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation James, David Lamar, "The Presence of Groove in Online Songwriting Projects" (2017). Dissertations - ALL. 735. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/735 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Collaboration for groups with members who are disconnected by geography or time is convenient for many reasons, but remains a challenge due to time zone differences, network congestion, and the attenuation of nonverbal communication cues. Virtual collaborators engaging in creative work often deal with these challenges, even more so when tasked with expressing their emotions to distant partners. This study seeks to determine the social factors and tools that impact the quality of an online creative collaboration. Members of the Kompoz.com music composition community were surveyed to solicit projects that had the potential to be optimal collaborations. Judges listened to these songs and measured how much each song prompted them to move. This measure, called groove, was used as an indication of a successful collaboration. Judges assisted in selecting one case that was an exemplar of groove, and another that urged them to move much less, to stand as an exemplar of diminished groove. The comparative case method was used to compare and contrast the tools, social practices, and skills employed in each project, and offers guidelines for the design of and participation in online creative communities. THE PRESENCE OF GROOVE IN ONLINE SONGWRITING PROJECTS by David James B.S. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 2006 M.S. Syracuse University 2009 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Information Science and Technology Syracuse University May 2017 Copyright © David L. James 2017 All Rights Reserved Acknowledgements This document was submitted in pursuit of a degree that I did not earn with my own strength. The sacrifices of my family members and the support of my friends provided the wherewithal to persevere through this process. I’m thankful to God for the strength to reach this point, because he acted through all of you. I thank my endlessly supportive wife for all the late nights she endured to give me the space to finish. To my mother, stepfather, and brother for driving and flying from Texas to watch my children while I worked on this document. To my mother-in- law and aunts for trips from New York and Atlanta to care for my family while I pushed to complete this document, and traveled back and forth to Syracuse. To my advisor and committee for being a constant source of encouragement and constructive feedback, while I developed as a writer and a scholar. To my brothers and sisters in the Ph.D. program, the meals, beverages, and conversations I had with you kept me going, when my belief in doing so waned. This degree isn’t just for me here in Maryland, but for all those whose sturdy shoulders I leaned upon to complete this journey. To my Aunt Ruby for reminding me that the ancestors are watching, and that I CAN do this. This degree is for Brooklyn, Mount Vernon, Texas, and Atlanta, because all of us have earned it together. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 Contributions ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Background/Motivation ............................................................................................................................ 2 Definition of Phenomenon ........................................................................................................................ 4 Why is Distributed Collaborative Composition Important to Study? ................................................... 6 Distributed Collaborative Composition is Virtual Collaborative Work ............................................................. 6 Distributed Collaborative Composition is a Creative Task ................................................................................ 7 Distributed Collaborative Composition is Flow Inducing .................................................................................. 9 Best Practices in Online Creative Collaboration Research Studies ..................................................... 10 Research Problem ................................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: Literature and Theoretical Perspectives ........................................................................... 17 Current Studies of Online Music Composition Systems – Virtual Music Making .................................... 17 The Bridge Approach (Simulated FTF Interaction) .............................................................................. 17 Construction Kit Approach (Asynchronous Collaboration) ................................................................. 19 Differences between Face-to-Face and Distributed Music Collaboration .......................................... 21 Representations of Music in Computer Music Systems ..................................................................... 24 MIDI as a Music Representation in Computer Music Systems ....................................................................... 30 Music (and Representation)-Making Processes for Expert and Novice Musicians ........................................ 32 Summary of Literature Discussion .......................................................................................................... 35 Theoretical Perspective: Group Flow versus Other Popular Theories Used in Virtual Work Studies ...... 36 Group Flow Description ...................................................................................................................... 37 The Group Flow Experience ................................................................................................................ 38 Extrinsic Collective Goal ...................................................................................................................... 40 Pre-Existing Structures ........................................................................................................................ 41 Distributed Task, Time, and Place ....................................................................................................... 44 Groove as a Proxy for Group Flow ...................................................................................................... 45 Advantages of using Group Flow and Groove over Other Approaches .............................................. 48 Chapter 3: Research Design/Methodology ........................................................................................ 50 Criteria for Choosing a Research Method ............................................................................................... 50 Case Study ............................................................................................................................................... 52 What is a Case Study? ......................................................................................................................... 52 Limitations of the Case Study Approach ................................................................................................. 53 Multiple Case Research Design ........................................................................................................... 54 Site and Participant Description .............................................................................................................. 55 Contributing to a Kompoz Project ........................................................................................................... 55 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................................ 62 Descriptions of Group Flow in Initial Survey ....................................................................................... 63 Data Collection Details and Sources ................................................................................................... 65 v Positionality......................................................................................................................................... 66 Why Funk? .......................................................................................................................................... 66 Role of the Researcher and Impact on Projects .................................................................................. 68 Recruitment of Judges ............................................................................................................................. 69 Description of Analysis ...........................................................................................................................