The structural and activity method of studying the universal creative personality (on the example of musical culture)

Abstract

The trend of the global educational process aimed at developing a universal creative personality is leading young people to expand their professional spectrum. The study of the universal personality of a musical artist is a prominent issue in the context of socio-cultural changes in the life of modern society. The aim of the research is to study the specific and characteristic features of a creative personality as well as to clarify the aspects of the formation of a musician’s universal personality. This article uses the following scientific methods to study the issue of universal creative personality of a music student: description, analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction and generalisation. The paper highlights the issues of formation and development of the universality of the creative personality in the representatives of musical culture. The authors studied the functions of leading and auxiliary activities in the process of forming a musician’s creative personality in view of personal motivation. The work analyses and highlights the ways of forming and developing the creative aspects of a musician’s personality. This study also examines the typology of the universal creative personality, which resulted in the formation of the following types of musical personalities, in particular, the musician-master and the musician-creator and the differences between them. The article explores the structure and activity of the creative personality of a composer, performer, musicologist, teacher and public figure. The authors’ work can be a subject of further investigation by researchers and teachers who will study the topic of universal creative personality of music students.

1. Introduction

The contemporary social and professional roles of a musician cover a wide range of activities. The education and development of a musician’s creative personality consist of a number of structural elements that continue to improve as the musician acquires professional knowledge, skills, and abilities, which leads to changes in activity and the formation of a universal musician’s personality [1,2]. Thus, there is an interest in deepening the understanding of the universal nature of the musician’s creative personality and the need to study this issue. The understanding, possession, and accumulation of professional tools by a creative personality helps to play various individual functions and roles, for example, as a public figure, performing musician, musicologist, composer, teacher, and to engage in the activities of a public person, which requires completely different skills and qualities of the artist’s personality. The presence of a wide choice of music activities raises the problem of studying the universal nature of the creative personality.

The musical issues presented in scientific research are quite broad. Many of them reveal various aspects of the formation and development of a musician’s personality. In particular, R. Lawendowski et al. (2019), who studied the perspectives of measuring a musician’s personality in view of dependence on learning, noted the need to pay attention to the training and education of a musician’s creative personality during the educational process [3]. The scientists argue that an important nuance of the formation and development of a musician’s personality among the student community of musical educational institutions is the problem of dependence on learning and the educational process, as this phenomenon includes the prerequisites and consequences of the formation of universality and creativity in the individual. The student’s dependence on learning implies an active involvement in the educational process and interest in general, but fostering a universal musician’s personality during educational activities requires assessment in more detail.

J.B. Lloyd’s (2022) study focuses on two main paradigms of human personality structure, in particular the five-factor model (traits) and the Myers-Briggs model (type) [4]. The scientist notes that the students of higher education institutions have personal traits that contribute to the universalization of musicians, and their separation occurs according to the type of activity. The features and typology of the creative personality demand a thorough study of the universality of the musician in the twenty-first century.

The education of a gifted individual should include social and emotional development trajectories, sensitivity, self-confidence, motivation, and general mental health. Based on a number of necessary aspects, the creative personality of a musician accumulates personal skills and abilities, which help to form a universal artist. It is necessary to take a closer look at the aspects that form the universal personality of a musical individual. The authors, F. Preckel et al. (2020), studied the structure of an artist's life and the factors influencing their development and professional achievements at certain stages of formation [5]. The researchers suggest focusing on psychological constructs that are a subject of measure and assessment of the achievements of artists, including musicians, at different stages of formation and development of the creative personality.

Another aspect of the study, the universal personality of a musician, was studied by Y.H. Solovei (2020) [6]. The Ukrainian scientist draws attention to the study of the value orientations of a creative personality through the process of integral spiritual and mental development of the artist, depending on the level of activity [6]. Based on the levels of functioning in relation to the subject (biological individual), monosubject (subject of specific activity), polysubject (personality), metasubject (individuality), and absolute subject (universality), the author pays special attention to the last level, namely the universality of the creative personality, which shows the highest degree of human spiritual development [7]. Therefore, it is necessary to study the level of universal nature of the musician’s personality in more detail to understand the value of social and personal incentives for the artist.

The purpose of the research is to study the creative personality of the musician, his main characteristics, and his inherent features, as well as to investigate the specifics that condition the artist’s universality. The work uses scientific research methods, including analysis, description, comparison, synthesis, abstraction, and generalisation, which helped uncover the subject of the universal creative personality.

2. Historical background to the concept of “universal creator”

The first reason for the creation of the “universal creator” was precisely the secular culture that developed under the patronage of kings and palaces of noblemen as well as under churches. Thus, the combination of two types (musician’s personality and master) manifested itself in the unification of the role of the performer in a choir chapel/chaplain as organist with a composer, which became a standard owing to the existence of numerous church and court choirs and the obligatory use of the organ in the Catholic tradition. If in the early periods, choral and instrumental music was used at court festivities (i.e. for entertainment), later these types acquired a more serious character and were associated with theatrical art”.

The personality of musical culture in the Middle Ages defined a historical prototype of the universal understanding of the artist, characterised by a synthetic type of giftedness that manifests itself in composing and writing poetry, reflecting the position of the creative personality as an artist, philosopher, and scientist, thus reflecting the universal nature of the creative person. The concept of a multilevel understanding of art in the Middle Ages regarded music as part of the “liberal arts”, which included other closely intertwined areas of culture. Studying the characteristic features and properties of the universal creative personality of a Renaissance musician, it should be noted that the performing activities of the artists were dominating over professional functioning and other types of musical profiles. This resulted in a generalisation of musicians' activities and a lack of differentiation of the musicians by type of activity, which means universalization (mixing of different types of performers' skills). The creativity became a product stipulated by the needs of entertainment services, resulting in the “underdevelopment” of the phenomenon of universalism in the musician’s creative personality, which could involve a mixture of two, rarely three types of artists' activities [8, 9].

The type of musician’s personality in combination with a master’s persona was primarily a merger of the roles of a performer in a choir chapel or chaplain as organist with a composer, which became a standard owing to the existence of numerous church and court choirs and the obligatory use of the organ in the Catholic tradition. The secular culture flourished under the patronage of kings and palaces of noblemen, serving their particular needs. This choral or instrumental music (e.g., lute) is featured at court festivals and for entertainment. Later, it was often associated with the theatre. The role of performance and the demand of society for a multi-instrumentalist performer were dominant among all types of musical activity up to the seventeenth century. The typological multifunctionality of the musician was also notable at that time. This indicates the priority of the practical type of musical activity and, perhaps, the requirement to push the boundaries, methods, and types of music making associated with the rapid development of music. The emergence of a universal creative personality as a contemporary model for artists occurs through the formation of a new type of musician, which is the musician-creator. These processes were the result of the fall of the monarchy, the establishment of a democratic society, the growth of individualistic tendencies, and the desire to overcome stereotypes. Among the musicians of the eighteenth century, Wolfgang A. Mozart of the last Viennese decade was one of the first messengers of a new type of universal personality.

Opera, as a living embodiment of theatrical art, became an important stimulus, which was reflected in the quality of its universalism. The history of the genre is devoid of vivid examples of a universal personality. This is especially noticeable in comparison to the practice of instrumental performance or church and court service. In particular, the representatives of eighteenth-century Italian or French opera, such as N. Piccini, D. Cimarosa, P-A. Monsigny, and A. Gretry, had already promoted themselves exclusively as composers, not performers. Probably, this tendency had some connection with the specifics of the classicist aesthetics, where the opera genre became a significant part of the eighteenth century. Some other factors were also notable. In particular, there is the synthetic genre specificity of opera and the multidisciplinary nature of its performing cast, which requires a significant concentration of efforts and a completely different attitude towards authorship compared to church or court art, namely its emphasis on importance and social significance, especially in the context of public theatre. Owing to all this, the profession of composer soon reached the heights of public recognition.

A new category of musician-creator that became popular in the nineteenth century produced numerous examples of a universal creative personality at the turn of classicism and early romanticism. It's important to note that the universalism of the musician-creator and the universalism of the musician-master will be very different in how they see similar activities that come together through the synergy of completely separate creative activities into a new whole structure. The new form of a musician’s creative activity, shaped by the personal individualism of the nineteenth century, would thus be devoid of random combinations, including those that arose involuntarily from the official position of musicians of the past centuries. The quality of the universal creative personality will weaken under the new conditions.

An example of a modern universal creative personality of the XXI century is the Ukrainian conductor, arranger, and musicologist M. Gobdych (Zalevska, 2021) [10]. The conductor founded the Kyiv Chamber Municipal Choir, and management of the choir as well as concert preparation are the artist's main activities. Another universal figure in the musical field is the personality of A. Tomlionova, who is a composer, teacher, and poet (Bukhniyeva, 2020) [11]. Contemporary musicians who operate with their own creative abilities and have a universal artist’s personality possess unique opportunities for self-realisation, forming the basis for the education of younger generations of musicians.

3. Universal artist and types of artistry depending on the dominant activity

Building upon the previous section, there are three main theories of psychological personality types in the scientific space: psychodynamic (clinical psychology), characteristic theory (cataloguing the dimensions of individual differences), and interpersonal (social interaction) (Hogan & Sherman, 2020). [12]. The study of the universal creative personality in musical culture has its own specifics. One of these features is the type of musician who evolves owing to progress in historical conditions, circumstances, the place and function of society, and ways of communicating with the audience. The key differences between the types of performers and creator musicians are in the artists’ perception of themselves and the perception of their own identity by others. The musician’s understanding of individual professional roles promotes the versatility of the creative personality, as the preference for one activity helps the artist identify personal capabilities and develop them. However, it is important to note that increasing skill level is likely to transform a creative person's musical identity towards a more differentiated identity as a musician.

The complex of types that inherited different ways of musician-creator’s activity includes six aspects. Five of these types emerged from the dominance of one leading activity in the musician’s general profile: the universal personality of a composer, the universal personality of a performer, the universal personality of a musicologist, the universal personality of a music director, and the universal personality of a teacher. Instead, one type, namely the classic universal, emerged from the balance of all types of activities. Finally, when choosing the leading activity as a criterion for a universal typology of personality, the rarity of cases combining features of different types in one person should be practically assumed. These cases can bear the name “on the verge of types”. The establishment of this type of musician-creator comes together with the emergence and development of new types of musician’s activities. There are five of them. The first type is the composer, whose status is the highest as fully meeting the requirements of a creative personality. The activities of a music editor and arranger generally fall within the composing field [13]. An example of this type of musician is the figure of M.D. Leontovych, a bright personality in the Ukrainian and world music spaces, whose universality as a musician-creator is worth noting. In addition to composing as the main factor in artistic functioning, M.D. Leontovych’s competence extended to choral conducting, teaching, collecting music folklore in Ukraine, and prolific musical and social activities [14].

The second type of activity is performing, although its status is lower than that of composing. The etymology of the word comes from performing something (a work) or realising the author’s idea rather than one’s own. Accordingly, the performer function embodies technological and operational workload rather than creative space. The performing activities include instrumental, vocal performance, solo, ensemble, and choral singing, along with conducting and directing roles as well as choirmaster. However, this complex of performers' achievements can be a manifestation of a single type of musician’s activity. It should be noted that in addition to talent and a direct understanding of the chosen specialty, a performing musician must have solid musical knowledge. Thus, the piano and conducting activities of C.M. Weber, F. Liszt, M. Lysenko, F. Yakymenko, and F. Mendelssohn fall into the performance category.

The third type is a musicological activity. Musicologists usually have extensive musical experience and theoretical knowledge. In addition to the suggested concept, this term also covers music-critical and journalistic activity in the broad sense of music literature, oriented towards a wide readership. The fourth type is a combination of musical and social activities, known since the nineteenth century. It develops the formation of national musical cultures and the need to educate, encourage, and raise the target audience, forming the basis of artistic expression. This activity involves the promotion of national art in a variety of forms, such as organising concerts, creating societies, giving lectures, and preparing and publishing popular music literature. Musical and social activities often played a key role in the overall configuration of a universal creative personality, for example, as in the case of M. Lysenko. The last type is a musical or pedagogical activity. It combines private lessons, teaching at music schools and conservatories, and the creation of manuals, textbooks, reference books, and management activities in the field of education. It should be noted that music teachers contribute to the development of their students’ musical literacy by supporting student autonomy, which is accepted by music teachers themselves [15, 16]. The definition of a musician’s versatility consists of three main aspects (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Algorithm for determining the universality of the creator. Source: created by the authors.

Based on the above, it can be assumed that a universal creative personality is a combination of at least three types of creative activity. At the same time, it is worth noting that the leading activity is the one marked by a special scale, duration, and value in the eyes of the artist, contemporaries, and descendants, where new types of activity and creative processes usually emerge and differentiate. The phenomenon of leading activity can involve the artist’s work of any period and all creative achievements in general, describing the general profile of the personality. The transition of a creative person from one stage to the next involves a period of growth and emotional instability.

The accumulation of musical experience and continuous musical training throughout life gives a creative personality much-needed stability, not only in the professional but also in the emotional field. An important aspect for a universal musician is the leading activity, determined by the scale, strength (including the impact on other areas), duration, and significance of this activity both in the eyes of the musician and in the eyes of the artist’s contemporaries and descendants. With changes in personality over the course of life, the definition of the leading activity implies ignoring some personal traits in favour of emphasising typological features. The first step towards the development of a universal creative personality is the formation and improvement of the personality of a musician-student under the influence of primary and higher music education institutions.

4. Approaches to understanding the emergence of universal personality in creative space

Attention should also be paid to the formation of a musician’s creative personality. It`s a complex, multi-component process shaped by a structure that consistently replaces one stage with another. In this regard, the continuity of the aforementioned process explains why the visible indicators of the consistent development of a creative personality are only present in some manifestations. However, if we observe this as a long-distance process, changes in the attitude of the individual towards the environment may be found, along with breaks in previous communication, professional evolution, and practical adoption of new circumstances [17]. These phenomena indicate a change of motive and a further path to the established goal of the universality of the creative personality.

According to M. Tetelea (2020), a creative personality forms through psychological characteristics, pedagogical characteristics, didactic factors, and artistic factors that generate artistic development [18]. The scientist draws attention to the fact that the very concept of “creativity” forms the individual’s desire to express themselves in an artistic way, as this phenomenon means a need for a creative personality to outline the individual's aesthetic values. The universal personality of a musician usually consists of a significant number of aspects and various manifestations of creative potential that help the artist with self-expression. S.M. Nordin-Bates (2012) notes in an early 2023 study that the experience, talent, motivation, and practical activities of a creative personality determine the growth and development of professional skills as well as psychological skills, creative expression, and emotional indicators [19]. The author’s findings suggest that the growth of professional skills leads to the acquisition of additional professional qualifications, which expands the versatility of the musician.

Therefore, the universal nature of a musician’s artistic personality increases with the growth of creative and professional experience and the presence of appropriate emotional and psychological characteristics.

The Swedish psychologist A. Nilsson (2014) suggests that personality’s study may involve trait constructs, referring to objective patterns of behaviour, worldview constructs, and subjective sources of meaning [20]. The authors of the study agree with the researcher’s position, since a structural approach to the formation of an artistic personality complex is a key point in the harmonious development of a musician. O. Yurchenko (2014), a researcher on the universalism of the creative personality, draws attention to the fact that music artists in Ukraine occupy several important niches [21].

First, it is a performing or concert activity, an educational field, which consists of popularising musical art outside the artistic community and scientific or scientific-methodological and pedagogical activities as a way of transferring personal knowledge, skills, and abilities to future generations. Given the newest findings of 2023, the potential areas of activity of a musician’s creative personality and fields of influence go far beyond the performing arts, which opens up a number of opportunities for artistic expression of the creative personality.

The study of the creative personality should note the importance of the potential for universality of the artist. According to researchers G.E. Corazza and V.P. Glaveanu (2020), it is important to take into account the individual, social, and material prospects of the artist as part of the universal personality of the musician in the context of creative activity [22]. Therefore, the context of the musician’s artistic activity requires integrative functions, as confirmed by the 2023 study. The researchers M. Benedek et al. (2014) investigate the creative activity of jazz musicians who are more likely to engage in musical activities outside of their studies as they deal with improvisation and eventually experience more significant success in the musical field than their colleagues [23]. The scholars also point out that jazz music performers demonstrate a much higher potential for creative activity, as highlighted by analysing the artist’s creativity and creative thinking skills. The 2023 study draws attention to the universal musician’s personality, manifested in the jazz style, and its performers as universal artists of musical art.

Ayyildiz and A. Yilmaz (2021) point out the influence of the artist’s personality traits on individual potential for creative thinking through a competitive educational environment and teachers’ attitudes as a stimulus for students [24]. The potential of the creative personality in synergy with the appropriate educational environment and the teaching staff of the educational institution produces a positive effect on the universality of the future artist [25, 26]. The American psychologist T. Lesiuk (2019) studied the typology of the creative personality [27]. The researcher applied a method based on the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory, which studied the personality traits of university students in six different music specialties (music business, music composition, music education, music engineering, music performance, and music therapy). This method addresses the influence of professional activity on the type of musician’s personality.

However, the researcher interprets personality separately from the activity of the person. In turn, the 2023 study of the universal creative personality focuses on a comprehensive approach to the musician’s personality in many important aspects.

The researchers P. Kostagiolas et al. (2017) note that a musician’s creative personality and self-efficacy are the result of searching and analysing a certain amount of professional literature, as the professional knowledge of the artists is a significant contribution to various types of creative activity of the musicians [18]. The scientists agree with the authors’ findings of 2023 that a creative person changes personal roles thanks to growing competencies and gaining new knowledge and experience. According to the study by K. Martowska and M. Romanowicz (2020), both female and male representatives of the music profession have significantly higher sensory, imaginative, and intellectual indicators compared to individuals not engaged in creative activities [29]. The study of 2023 confirms this position, since the creative personality of a musician has a number of characteristic features, including a greater tendency towards emotional manifestations.

The scientists G. Lopez-Iniguez and D. Bennett (2020) point out that professional musicians need “multidisciplinary” training to ensure a promising professional career, envisioning the development of a significant number of qualifications in the creative personality of a musician in addition to performing [30]. The universality of the musician within the professional field includes the development of a flexible musical identity for the artist, consisting of musical, social, personal, and educational identification of the musician’s creative personality. The researchers of the study agree with the scientists because identification of the creative personality of a musician produces a successful career for a musician.

The authors of the study assume that research on the universal creative personality through the prism of musical culture includes the study of the structures of behaviour and motivation of musicians, their social role, and musical activity since the influence of the musician’s life cycle on professional achievements is crucial in the formation of the universal personality of the artist.

5. Conclusions

The scientific study of the universal creative personality in the music industry has led to the following conclusions. The creative characteristics of the artist’s personality take numerous forms and occupy various fields of life as they ensure the overall cultural development and progress of the musician. Using the example of musical culture, the research paper managed to explore the nuances of studying the universal personality in view of the multifaceted aspects that engage the artist in developing relevant skills and professional qualifications. This research paper has studied the creative personalities of music artists through the prism of their activity, which helped to highlight the nuances of the musicians’ personalities. The authors analysed and highlighted the algorithm for identifying the creative personality of a musician and the main features of multifunctional figures of the artists of different times, in particular A. Mozart, M.D.

Leontovych, M. Gobdych, and A. Tomlionova. In addition, the researches managed to identify the main characteristics of the universal creative personality of music artists. They defined the main characteristics and reasons for the formation and development of the universal creative personality of musicians. The researchers studied the role of leading and auxiliary activities of music representatives in the formation of a creative personality and self-motivational field, which engages the artist’s personality to universalize their professional skills and experience. This research study examined the main activities of the creative personality of the musicians, their areas and specialties, as well as the changes that occur during each life cycle of a musician’s personality. The results of the research work can be applicable to scientists, art historians, and teachers who study the issues of the universal creative personality of a music artist. Future researchers on this topic should pay attention to the development and education of the necessary personal qualities for achieving the universal personality of a music artist.