Adaptation of the Extra-Ordinary Music Camp during a pandemic:
resilience as vector of innovation
Abstract
The Extra-Ordinary Music Camp is a research project whose
objectives are: (1) to offer an inclusive environment for musical
creation adapted for extra-ordinary youths, and (2) to study how
participatory, informal, inclusive, and adaptive musical creation
activities impact extra-ordinary youths’ communication and social
interaction abilities. The present article addresses adaptations made to
the project following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, which
disrupted the originally planned activities. Using viewpoints from four
undergraduate and graduate student facilitators who served as session
leaders and researchers on the project, the Extra-Ordinary Music
Camp’s evolution from an in-person to a remote research project will be
described. First, the initial study design is introduced. Then, we
detail the ways the project was adapted online as a consequence of the
COVID-19 pandemic: we present the adaptations made to musical training
(pedagogical plan), research tools, and modalities of collaboration
between team members. Finally, certain preliminary results are presented
and contextualized in light of these significant adaptations to the
organizational, scientific, and pedagogical plans.