Playing with Affects

Abstract

This text explores the phenomenon of affect attunement, elucidated through a musical improvisation with a young man suffering from an eating disorder. The empirical data stems from a qualitative research study, based on a phenomenologically inspired procedure for data analysis. Affect attunement is a term to elucidate the sharing of inner feelings states. In such a sharing there is a matching going on, a cross–modal way of relating. What is at stake is how the interaction moves along, rather than merely the themes or the musical actions per se. Essential elements in such a musical experience are timing, intensity, and form. Based on analysis, we propose a musical relating experience, followed by verbal processing, to provide a link between body and mind, which subsequently support a more coherent sense of self Hence, a musical narrative based on a real experience may contribute to semantic meaning, which supports symbolic emergence.

Keywords:

• Affect attunement
• improvisation
• male anorexia
• phenomenology
• music therapy