The experiences of professional artists in clinical improvisation: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

Clinical improvisation is a method used in music therapy to address the health and well-being needs of individuals within a variety of client populations. While professional artists can experience personal challenges as part of their vocation, the applications of clinical improvisation for professional artists as a client group had not previously been investigated. The aim of this pilot study was thus to explore the experiences of professional artists in clinical improvisation. Eighteen professional artists, of whom 13 were classical musicians, participated in clinical improvisation with a music therapist. Qualitative data were collected through participant interviews with 16 participants. Thematic analysis highlighted the artists’ experiences in terms of: (1) requirements of engaging in clinical improvisation; (2) experiences of self; (3) relationship with the music therapist; and (4) a unique experience for classical musicians. A discussion elucidates how these experiences of professional artists are congruent with those of other client populations in clinical improvisation and further research is suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• Improvisation
• music therapy
• classical musicians
• professional artists
• qualitative research

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the participants in the study, for your willingness to join me in this work and for sharing your music with me. Thank you to Dr. Laura Mitchell and anonymous journal editors for reviewing and offering suggestions on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Thank you to Owen Brush for rendering Figure 2. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Colin Andrew Lee whose work in large part inspired this research and whose encouragement regarding this project was much appreciated.

The author gratefully acknowledges the artist’s residence for financial support to attend the Artist in Residency program where this research was conducted, and the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Societé et culture (FRQSC) for doctoral funding which allowed me to write this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ Throughout this article, the term “artists” will be used to encompass creative artists of all disciplines, including but not limited to artists in fields of drama, music, visual arts, writing, and dance.

² “Clinical improvisation” is also identified as “improvisational music therapy” or “therapeutic music improvisation” in some literature. This text will use the term “clinical improvisation” throughout for clarity and to highlight that clinical improvisation is a special type of improvisation, distinct from other genres or styles that occur outside of music therapy practice.

³ Trondalen’s recommendations are grouped according to two music therapy models, Creative Music Therapy (also known as Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy) and Analytical Music Therapy (2013). It is likewise possible for other music therapy models to address musicians’ needs through clinical improvisation.

⁴ The artists’ residency program did not respond to my requests for information about the total number of participants during my stay. This figure is based upon my best recollection.

⁵ While most potential participants were attending the residency facility as individual artists, some were attending as part of a creative ensemble (musical or otherwise).

⁶ I was using recording technology that was new to me upon arriving at the residency and lost these recordings due to my misunderstanding of how the technology worked. Subsequently, I used a recording device I was familiar with as well as a backup recording device.

⁷ The two interviews not recorded were with a musician and a visual artist.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deborah Seabrook

Deborah Seabrook MMT BMT MTA is a music therapy clinician, educator and researcher, and an improvising pianist. Deborah specializes in music-centered and person-centered music therapy and has taught music therapy in Canada at McGill University, Concordia University, and Wilfrid Laurier University. Deborah works in mental health and with professional musicians and artists through her private practice (www.deborahseabrook.com). She has performed her research-creation project, Performing Wellness, in Canada and the United States. Deborah is currently a PhD candidate at Concordia University in music improvisation, health and wellbeing.