Artistic Research at JAM MUSIC LAB

Art is identical with a state of capacity to make, involving a true course of  reasoning.

Aristoloteles

JMLU’s focus is on research that deals with, and caters for, all aspects of artistic practice in jazz and popular music, which involves the generation and reflection of specific forms of knowledge.

In Artistic Research labs, students and lecturers develop a range of experimental projects with the aim of exploring the diversity of individual and culturally shared forms of artistic expression in jazz and popular music. All projects at the Artistic Research labs contribute to the development of new artistic concepts and also benefit from JMLU’s ongoing interaction with the international music scene.

Artistic Research is a vital aspect of the educational program at JMLU. According to the institutional research concept, artistic and scientific research develops innovative ideas, concepts and approaches as nuanced forms of knowledge, which are then reflected and advanced in discursive formats.

This involves the challenge of overcoming the dichotomy that exists between arts and science, and the focus on fostering a greater mutual relationship between the autonomy and freedom of the arts and the standardized procedures in scientific research.

The quality of artistic research outcomes is monitored in accordance with the aims, processes and instruments defined in the quality assurance strategy of the JMLU. 

The assessment of the projects, which comprises of both creative-artistic and artistic research work, is based on criteria derived from peer-reviews by the internationally successful and experienced faculty at JMLU in collaboration with external experts. In adittion, the guidelines for artistic research, published in the 2015 white paper of the AEC (Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen) also apply to JMLU. In principle, all JMLU projects are planned, conducted and documented within the threefold conceptual framework: epistemological interest; aim and method; reflection, documentation and presentation’. 

The achieved insights are hereby disseminated to the public and account as an investment in the institution’s knowledge and research capital. In line with standardized procedures, the complete project progression – starting with an artistic and/or scientific interest, via the ‘work in progress’ section of the research activity through to the completion of the project by means of an adequate means of documentation – is made replicable and available for further studies.