Erratum

Abstract

The following article was published in the last edition, erroneously attributed to Katrina Skewes as sole author. It was co-authored by Katrina Skewes and Tony Wigram.

A Review of Current Practice in Group Music Therapy Improvisations

Katrina Skewes and Tony Wigram

Abstract

The information contained in this article has been derived from a series of interviews conducted by the authors with selected specialists in music therapy group improvisation. Although the music therapy literature barely addresses the musical material created in group improvisations, it is not true to say that there is no expertise in this area. Rather, it is likely that the difficulties in communicating these musical processes via the written word or transcribed score has discouraged researchers and clinicians from publishing current theories and understandings. For this reason, selected specialists were approached to take part in in-depth interviews aimed to solicit their current understandings of music therapy group improvisations. The results in this article are made up solely of the information shared in these interviews in response to a series of open-ended questions posed by the authors.

Introduction and Brief Literature Review

Music therapy group improvisations are a powerful tool for working with groups of clients who do not communicate successfully using verbal means. Additionally, this technique has grown in popularity for those interested in using creative experiential modalities for gaining insight into self and their relationships with others, as well as for the teaching of music therapy students. Interestingly, there is little documentation regarding the faci Iitation of this music therapy technique, although it is addressed within Bruscia's text Improvisational Models of Music Therapy (1987) and the Nordoff-Robbins literature (Aigen 1997; Ansdell 1995; Pavlicevic 1995a; Nordoff & Robbins 1977). As far as the authors are aware, empirical research into the musical material generated in music therapy group improvisations is yet to be conducted.

More recently, the literature has included discussion of the relationship between music therapy group improvisation and group analytic theory, proposing that the music therapist's role is similar to a conductor and that the musical material often develops in a fugal fashion (Towse 1997). Amason (1997) has explored the experience of group improvisation for a number of music therapy clinicians who met for the purposes of ongoing professional development. Drawing on the principles of phenomenological music analysis (Ferrara 1984, 1991) and Langenberg's (1995) resonator function, Amason has created a useful model for reflecting on the musical material generated, suggesting that musical analysis of improvisations changes clinical work from a purely ‘doing’ level of practice to a reflexive level of practice. A number of models have also been proposed for exploring music therapy improvisation work with individual clients (Ansdell 1991; Langenberg, Frommer & Tress 1993; Lee 1992, 2000; Pavlicevic 1994, 1995b), however the literature on group improvisation is sparse and based primarily on theorising and borrowing results from related research.

Katrina Skewes is an Australian music therapist who recently completed her PhD examining the experience of group music therapy for bereaved adolescents. She works at the University of Melbourne, at the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital and at Very Special Kids, a children's hospice.

Tony Wigram is Professor and Head of PhD Studies at the University of Aalborg, Denmark, and Head III Music Therapist at Harper House Children's Service, Radlett, England.

Skewes, K. & Wigram, T (2002) ‘A Review of Current Practice in Group Music Therapy Improvisations' British Journal of Music Therapy 16(1): 46–55