Good Reverberation? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450

Karol Borowiecki

No 5/2021, Discussion Papers on Economics from University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics

Abstract: Teachers and mentors in creative fields ranging from scientific research to the arts may shape their students' skills and views of the craft, and in turn the work they produce. How significant is this influence, how long does it last, and are there consequences for the variety and quality of students' inventive output? We study these questions in the context of Western music composition over five centuries, a historically important cultural institution, and in a setting where composers' musical lineage is well-documented, the content of their work can be directly compared, and its lasting value can be measured. We find strong evidence of influence, document when it arises and persists, and evaluate its consequences. The results provide insight into the production of creative or intellectual output, specifically around questions of where ideas come from, why certain ideas get produced as opposed to others, and what the ramifications might be.

Keywords: Teacher influence; creativity; cultural transmission; transmission of ideas; music history (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 J24 N30 O31 Z11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 94 pages
Date: 2021-05-25
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cul, nep-his, nep-lma and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.sdu.dk/-/media/files/om_sdu/institutte ... _2021/dpbe5_2021.pdf Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Good Reverberations? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450 (2022)
Working Paper: Good Reverberation? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450 (2021)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:sdueko:2021_005

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Discussion Papers on Economics from University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics Department of Economics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Astrid Holm Nielsen ().