This thesis explores how conscious breathing can support violinists’ technique, presence, and expression by reducing tension, enhancing focus, and deepening phrasing, while emphasizing its role as an integrated long- term artistic practice rather than a standalone method.

Summary of all parts of the thesis. 

 This thesis is about exploring methods of practicing and performing music through the concept of flow. Inspired by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s theory of flow and Kenny Werner’s Effortless Mastery, the work investigates how these ideas can be applied both in individual practice and in ensemble contexts, with the goal of promoting greater musical freedom. Which methods and concepts do these authors describe? How can they be used to reduce tension and promote a more natural, effortless way of playing? Can flow-based approaches strengthen ensemble interaction and, if so, in what ways?

In search of answers to these questions, specific exercises such as Werner’s Four Steps and Diamond Model were tested in personal practice, while ensemble rehearsals incorporated silence, guided improvisations, and reflective discussions. Rehearsal notes and observations were analyzed in relation to the flow diagram, examining how balance between challenge and skill influenced the group’s playing.

The artistic result of this work is a series of ensemble rehearsals and performances where flow was used as a guiding principle, alongside a deeper understanding of how these methods can shape both individual freedom and collective musical synergy. The study shows that working with flow can enhance presence, reduce performance anxiety, and create conditions for more interactive and creative ensemble playing.

This thesis is a violinists study of diminutions (ornaments; improvisation around an already composed melody) composed by Johann Helmich Roman over the first movement of Archangelo Corelli’s violin sonata no 4 op 5. In order to perform the diminutions the author of this thesis made a transcription of Roman’s handwritten sheet music. This thesis also contains necessary background information for the subject, such as biographies over Roman and Corelli. In the end of the thesis the author is discussing why Roman wrote these diminutions, the author’s thoughts on performing them and if the transcription helped preparing the performance.

This project examines our interplay as musicians and dancers in Swedish folk traditions through motion cap- ture (mocap). Our performances of polska and schottis were recorded and transformed into visual and sonic mediations that we engage with as musicians, dancers, and pedagogues. These representations make rhythm, phrasing, and pulse perceptible in new ways, enriching our embodied understanding of our co-perfomance. By reflecting on mediations of the data, we aim to uncover artistic and pedagogical strategies rooted in the ong- oing dialogue between playing and dancing in folk tradition.

In this keynote, we examine the dynamic interplay between Swedish folk musicians and dancers from the perspective of a musician who plays for dancing. Drawing on my recent thesis, Music-Dance Mediations: Per- formative Explorations into an Asymmetrical Type of the Swedish Polska, which combines performance data analysis, design approaches, and artistic research, we will explore how motion capture, through sonification and visualisation, can reveal new insights into the interaction between music and dance.

This work explores the interaction between intuition and theory in music composition through an artistic process that combines analysis and creativity. The research is based on my own musical compositions and reflections on how cultural background, musical practice, and improvisation influence the creative process. The work includes both text and musical examples that illustrate the relationship between feeling, structure, and artistic freedom.

Denna uppsats har haft som syfte att undersöka enskild undervisning respektive undervisning i grupp för instrumentalelever i åldrarna 6-15år, beskrivs i aktuell forskning. Uppsatsen beskrivs som en kvalitativ studie med kvantitativa inslag och undersökningen gjordes i form av en litteraturstudie. Grundmaterialet söktes upp via databaserna Google schoolar, JSTOR, DiVA, och ASE/ERIC. Downe-Wambolts metod för analys användes i kodningen av materialet. Tre kategorier lades på förhand upp för att sortera in informationen.; Didaktiska effekter, sociala effekter och yttre faktorer. 

I resultatet framkom att så väl enskild undervisning som gruppundervisning har sin respektive fördelar i den didaktiska kategorin. Detta beror till största del på det syfte och mål som finns med den valda undervisningsformen. I det sociala temat visade denna uppsats att en majoritet av undersökningarna beskrev stora sociala och didaktiska vinster med gruppundervisning. Kategorin yttre faktorer syftade till att beskriva de ekonomiska förutsättningar som finns för respektive undervisningsform. Undersökningen visade att enskild undervisning idag enbart erbjuds till de elever som har de ekonomiska förutsättningarna att själv kunna finansiera den och erbjuds endast av studieförbunden.