Research Catalogue

"Wat heeft mijn leven nog voor zin?" In dit onderzoek neem ik je mee in mijn zoektocht naar hoe theater als kunstvorm én leermiddel studenten kan helpen om deze ontmoetingen met moed en empathie aan te gaan. Ik heb verhalen verzameld. Van studenten die zoeken, patiënten die worstelen, en van professionals die laveren tussen nabijheid en afstand. Die verhalen heb ik verweven tot een theatervoorstelling. Een levend leerlandschap waar zorg en kunst elkaar raken.

Improvised ambient music making is a multi-dimensional process where the musical and the artistical skills are implemented into a dance between the mind of the performer and the creative use of technology. Both the mind and the machine together create a symbiotic relationship which over a course of a longer improvisational process produces a calming effect on the body and the mind, a sensation which in this artistic research is referred to as ”the slow buzz”. Over an 18-month period from June 2023 to December 2024 I practiced the creation of improvised ambient music by keeping a routine which included mechanical guitar warm ups, a meditation session and a recording session for an improvised ambient music track. This routine laid a solid foundation for my artistic work, generating all in all 360 improvised ambient tracks, which were all listened and analysed along the way. All the know-how and the musical style that emerged from this routine eventually led to the creation of a continuous, flowing form of improvisational live-ambient music. I then rehearsed, filmed, and analysed the resulting ambient music 40 times during the autumn of 2024 in order to gain insight into the mindstates that are affiliated with the creation of improvised ambient music. The final outcome of this artistic research process was then to be presented in the form of a solo concert during the Global Spring Festival, on the 15th of May 2025.

Body posture is one of the most important topics in flute playing, it has been important for a long time. How should we actually stand and what is exactly right and wrong? Over the years, much has changed in music, which greatly impacts how we as musicians move and stand. Is what your teacher told you, the same as flute teachers ages before told there students?

Research Through Art & Design course introduces a variety of approaches, methodologies, issues and concerns in research through practice. In this course, research through practice refers to a broad continuum of artistic research approaches, arts-based, practice-led and -based research approaches, including also constructive design research approaches that are relevant across practices in Aalto University ARTS School of Arts, Design and Architecture. This exposition was created within an Artistic Practice Workshop offered as an additional part of the main course. During this part of the course, the students are familiarised with the Research Catalogue. During the workshop, participants work on their page within a group exposition, drawing connections between the creative and the given or discussed literature from the course and their creative practice.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, its role in the creation of music has raised profound questions regarding the nature of authorship and the ethical implications of algorithmic composition. Exploration of a fast-evolving relationship between music and AI broadens researches` horizons on the transformation of creative processes and the challenges it presents to traditional creativity. Delving deeper into the ethical considerations surrounding the ownership, originality, and emotional authenticity of machine-created music plays an important role in the understanding of modern music industry and helps to navigate creative development in today’s reality. Ongoing ethical aspects of AI presence in music and creative industry show the importance and actuality of this topic. This paper aims to provoke a deeper understanding of how AI is reshaping musical creativity and to encourage a critical dialogue about the future of art in a digitally driven world.

This thesis presents the outcomes of my artistic research conducted as a master’s student in the Improvisation and World Music Performance program at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The present study investigates how a musical identity is constructed and reshaped over time, drawing from my background as a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, and examining how exchanges with musicians from different fields and exposure to new artistic inputs can influence my creative practice. Central to the research is finding tools to broaden my expressive possibilities within the song format, through the integration of improvisation, diverse ensemble instrumentation, and inventive strategies for communicating artistic intentions and political concerns through music and stage performance. This work also explores possible approaches for overcoming creative blocks and performance-related fears, especially those related to improvisation, seeking to cultivate a state of freedom, openness, fulfillment and joy while playing.