Developing collaborative creativity in university music performance students through paired essay writing

This chapter focuses on collaborative online music performance essay writing, and in doing so reviews literature on collaborative writing as part of a discussion on a project engaging second-year music performance students with essay writing in pairs within a collaborative music-making subject. None of the literature is about music, but it comes from a range of disciplines in which teachers are researching students' and their own responses to this learning approach through collaborative writing, as I am doing. The essays are analyzed, seeking the writing collaboration styles adopted by the paired students, and then discussed in relation to the responses of the students through peer evaluation comments plus student feedback. Staff marks, the online medium for collaborative essay writing, the shape of the essay task, how pairs were selected and preparation given to students on the topic of collaboration are also included, but the content and quality of the essays is not part of the discussion. All aim to build a picture of the possibilities of, and challenges raised by, engaging students with the collaborative activity of online essay writing, an innovative practice with potential for developing creativity within a university subject focused on collaborative music-making.