The purpose of this study is to explore academic approaches to music creativity by analyzing the current issues
and trends of music creativity research. Articles in eminent international journals from 2001 to 2015 were analyzed in terms of
the journals’categories, research subjects, research methods, and research areas. The major findings are as follows: First, a
total of 106 studies about music creativity were selected. They were included in 25 of the 70 most eminent scholarly journals
and half of the articles were included in five journals, suggesting that research on music creativity appeared only in certain
specific journals. Second, regarding the research subjects, 30.2% of the articles focused on musicians. Third, qualitative methods
were the most commonly used approach (43.4%), followed by literature studies. In the case of quantitative research,
which accounted for 22.6% of all studies, descriptive studies were most common. Fourth, regarding research areas, music creativity
research centered on the areas of music education (44.3%) and music psychology (26.4%).