Creativity is such a multidimensional concept that there is no unified theory describing it in a commonly accepted way. Most views, however, agree that it is directly related to art, and especially to carrying out an artistic activity. The music ensemble courses included in the curriculum of music schools provide conditions of collaborative learning and teamwork, aimed, among other things, at developing skills of discipline, ensemble performance, cooperation and solidarity. Creativity lies at the heart of teaching, especially considering that the concept appears in the title of one of the two courses: “Music Ensemble (musical expression and creation)”.
The aim of the paper is to examine the benefits of using the digital score in teaching music ensembles. More specifically, in what ways the digital score can serve the needs of the course, taking into account the Zone of Proximal Development at both the individual and the group level. The originality of the approach lies, among other things, in the fact that this new medium is placed not only in the hands of the teacher but also at the disposal of the students. The student no longer acts only as a performer but also as a creator of the music they perform: from “consumer” they become a producer of the artistic product they present. This is made possible by two important achievements in the field of Information and Communication Technologies: a) the Internet and b) Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS), especially open-source applications for score editing. Thanks to these, the student has the appropriate infrastructure to edit existing music or, if they wish, to compose original music.
As regards methodology, the method of theoretical research is followed, drawing on findings from the relevant literature. In addition, the application of the proposed approach is described, from the teaching of the course “Music Ensemble (instrumental or other)” at the Music School of Preveza in the school year 2015–2016. At the end of the year, the ensemble taught by the author presented, at the school’s final event, a performance consisting mainly of arrangements and original compositions by the students. In conclusion, it is underlined that modern teaching media and new technologies can contribute to the democratic and creative school of the future through innovative practices, and especially through the use of the arts.
Presentation. The paper was presented at the conference “The Arts in the Greek School: Present and Future”, at the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens (11–13 October 2018), on 12 October. The full text was published in the conference proceedings (2024).