In my presentation I will elucidate the interplay of several forms of knowledge in composing process in art music. As a general term, “knowledge” includes forms of explicit, propositional knowledge as well as several forms of implicit, embodied practical knowing. My main episte- mic aim is to move from the description of artistic practices to a deeper understanding of artistic agency.

The empirical material originates from a research project called “Tacit Knowing in Musical Composition Process”, which I recently carried out in Vienna together with two sociologists and two musicologists. Using qualitative empirical methods we accomplished five case studies to document composition processes in actu, that is to say from the beginning of the work up until the last rehearsal before the first public performance. The data set include com¬position diaries, various sketches, interviews, photos and in some cases observation protocols and videos of rehearsals. Additionally, we carried out 15 interviews with further composers. The coding and analysis of the empirical data was done according to Grounded Theory.

My theoretical approach differs from psychological research as well as from a lot of research on expertise and competence. The term “creativity” as is understood in psychological research leaves my central question regarding the development and manifestation of artistic agency unanswered. In most of psychological theories “creativity” appears as an inherent power, property, or disposition that acts as a “ghost in the machine” (Gilbert Ryle) and guides a creative person who lives in a creative milieu. I am similarly sceptical towards the concept of skills, which suggests artistic creation primarily implies practical challenges and problem- solving tasks. My main objection is that artistic challenges are not only related to “how-to-do- it” but also the “what”. Because, in my view, the concepts of creativity and skills only focus on some important aspects but fail to promote a comprehensive understanding of the artistic process of inventing and creating new works, I am trying to develop a third way.

At the moment I cannot anticipate the results of my analysis, which is still ongoing. However, I can broadly outline the third way that I would like to propose: a threefold configuration of knowledge (which includes different forms of knowledge and practical knowing), cognitive tools (such as notational systems) and material tools (such as music instruments and music computers). This configuration is efficacious and generative, that is to say it initiates and sustains artistic creative processes. Because knowledge and tools are per definition socially shared – there is no “private intelligibility” or “private know-how” (see also Wittgenstein’s argument against the existence of private language) – the configuration mentioned above is always embedded in socially established musical practices. Thus an individualistic approach to artistic creative processes is not viable within this conceptual framework. Theoretical musical knowledge, beliefs including aesthetic ideas, formal knowledge of notational systems become “actionable knowledge” (Chris Argyris), because in the particular case of music composers all these kinds of explicit knowledge are established in “regimes of competence” (Etienne Wenger) and specific “artistic paradigms” (Nathalie Heinich) that shape the actual role of explicit knowledge. Furthermore, the vast sensory and instrumental experience of composers sustains an intelligent “embodied mind” (George Lakoff) that becomes manifest in tacit understanding and intuitive reasoning, which is usually expressed in words like “I feel it fits”, or “you hear, it’s perfect now”. Such experiential, practical feeling or sense also applies to the concept of “affordances” (James Gibson, James Greeno) with relation to music instruments or music computers that are used to create intended or unintended sounds. All the various forms of knowledge and knowing are bounded in a “teleo-affective intentionality” (Theodore Schatzki) that is related to the object of composer’s efforts: the final artwork. Affects (emotions, sensations, etc.) therefore accompany the creative process on various levels and guide thinking and acting. Finally, as Nicolas Cook among others underlines, every particular composition process is practically and socially situated, and thus context-bounded. Taking contextual aspects seriously will promote an understanding of the particularity of creative artistic actions.