The Flow Experience in Jazz Pianists: Positive Psychological Motivation and Cognition

This article explores the flow experience in the domain of jazz piano music. Developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and colleagues, this theory of optimal motivation and engagement argues, in part, that enjoyment and enhanced performance result if certain conditions- the nine components of flow- are met. These elements include: having clear, specific goals; receiving immediate feedback; maintaining a balance between the challenges of an activity and the skills one brings to it; feeling a sense of control; increased concentration; experiencing an altered sense of time; sensing a merging of the action and awareness; a lack of self-consciousness; and the sense that the activity has become autotelic, an end in itself. This article demonstrates that the general flow experience may be modified to a degree for performing improvisational musicians, as the flow experience of pianists often involves an additional merging of action and awareness, including a sense that the musician has become one with both music and piano, and sometimes, with an audience. Data for the article include interviews with well-known jazz pianists, as well as autobiographical and biographical material. Implications of this flow state in jazz pianists for enhanced performance, pedagogy, motivation, task persistence, and personal growth and enjoyment are discussed.