Technological Support for Online Communities Focusing on Music Creation

Abstract

People have always found music significant in their lives, whether for enjoyment in listening, performing, or creating. However, music making in modern life tends to be restricted to the domain of the professional artists, instrumentalists, and singers. Since the advent of Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications, the authors' research group has been investigating the use of Web-based technology to support novice-oriented computer-based musical activities. The main motivation of their work is the belief that no previous musical knowledge should be required for participating in creative musical activities. Consequently, any ordinary user—non-musician or novice—may enhance his creativity through engagement, entertainment, and self-expression. The goal of this chapter is to propose several concepts that emerged during their research concerning novice-oriented cooperative music creation and musical knowledge sharing (a sophisticated activity distinct from the common and well-known music sharing for listening). The authors also discuss key characteristics of Brazilian culture and the creativity styles that inspired their work. They illustrate their perspective by showing how concepts implemented and derived from cases investigated in Brazil represent a comprehensive context for embracing cooperation, flexibility, cross-cultural diversity and creativity. The resulting communityware has music as its intrinsic motivation.