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Good Reverberations? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450

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  • Karol Jan Borowiecki

Abstract

Teachers and mentors in creative fields shape their students’ skills and views of the craft and thus the work they produce. How significant and persistent is this influence? 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, during which musical lineages are well documented, the content of composers’ 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 where creative ideas come from, why certain ideas get produced as opposed to others, and what the ramifications might be.

Suggested Citation

  • Karol Jan Borowiecki, 2022. "Good Reverberations? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(4), pages 991-1090.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/718370
    DOI: 10.1086/718370
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    Cited by:

    1. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Caterina Adelaide Mauri, 2024. "Originality, influence, and success: a model of creative style," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 48(2), pages 221-258, June.
    2. Etro, Federico, 2024. "Art and Markets in the Greco-Roman World," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 84(2), pages 432-478, June.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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