Music as an interaction ritual: A post-cognitivist framework for understanding musical interaction within Jazz

Musical performance requires improvised interaction between performers. Though the degree of improvisation and the nature of interactions may vary between different types of music, it is clear that our ability for synchronized action and improvisation is integral to musical performance. Music is also a product of human interaction on a macro or societal/cultural level. But how can the interpersonal interaction within musicians be explained, what cognitive processes underpin this interaction and how does this fit in with our conceptions of music as a social product? This dissertation aims to explain the interaction that musicians engage in through a model based on Randall Collins' interaction ritual theory (2004) and a modification of Garret Michaelsen's (2019) model of divergent interactional strategies. It also explores the cognitive underpinnings of musical interaction from a post-cognitivist perspective – viewing cognition from an embodied and ecological standpoint.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

College of Music

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Mosola, Bonga

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Herbst, Theo

• Music
• Performance

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41800

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41800