MAPPING EIGHT DECADES OF MUSICAL CREATIVITY RESEARCH: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF INTELLECTUAL STRUCTURES, GLOBAL TRENDS, AND EMERGING FRONTIERS (1939–2025)

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of musical creativity research spanning 1939 to 2025. Drawing on data from the Web of Science Core Collection, 1,205 peer-reviewed journal articles were analyzed using CiteSpace and Bibliometrix to trace the intellectual evolution, thematic organization, and global distribution of the field. The analysis reveals three major phases of development: an early period of scattered, individual-focused studies; a consolidation phase beginning in the early 2000s marked by educational and cognitive research growth; and a recent diversification phase driven by technological innovation and interdisciplinary methods. Core thematic clusters include cognitive and neuroscientific approaches, pedagogical models, music therapy, collaborative creativity, and emerging technological paradigms. Citation burst analysis identifies artificial intelligence, computational creativity, and music education as recent research frontiers, reflecting shifts toward digital mediation and neurocognitive inquiry. Geographically, research production is concentrated in North America and Western Europe, with growing but uneven contributions from Asia and Eastern Europe. International collaborations are expanding, though structural inequalities persist. The findings highlight a field that has matured into a dynamic interdisciplinary domain, while also revealing gaps in cross-cultural representation, methodological inclusivity, and integration of emerging technologies. Future research should expand multilingual coverage, adopt cross-regional comparative designs, and develop frameworks for evaluating human–machine co-creativity. This study provides the most comprehensive longitudinal overview of musical creativity scholarship to date, offering insights into its historical foundations, current structure, and likely future trajectories.

Keywords. Musical creativity; Bibliometric analysis; Intellectual structure; Interdisciplinary research; Artificial intelligence; Global research trends