Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

‘Through improvisation the therapist can give permission and support to the
child to express feelings that the child perceives as forbidden, dangerous and
overwhelming. The musical structure and context of the song makes it safer
for the child to experience feelings kept out of consciousness because of their
threatening nature’ (ibid. p.378).
Improvising is also about making use of what is available and students are resourceful
and constantly find new ways of playing instruments, such as beatboxing down a
penny whistle or making the most elaborate drum kit by hanging a ukulele or as many
percussion instruments as possible on various stands. The enjoyment of setting up and
preparing the ground for playing is important, not to mention testing out the
instruments’ strength before starting!
Some students set about imitating a band or want to learn a riff from a certain song.
This exercise can often lead the student to improvise as it provides a motivating and
familiar starting block with musical structure in place. Some students want to learn
how to play and need to pursue this for a while before they can enjoy playing more
spontaneously. Improvisations might be talked about before or afterwards. It is
usually helpful to have a chat with the student at the start of a session and find out
how they are feeling before they begin.
The following five sections describe different forms that improvisation can take.
These are accompanied by the examples 1 - 6 on the DVD.
4.4.1.1 Improvisation supported by familiar rhythmic structure
(DVD clips 1 and 2)
The first video example (4.4.4.1.1a) shows Elliot, 12, who is a naturally musical boy
and enjoys improvising but he is very easily distracted and struggles to stay on task so
this clip is exceptional in that he stays focused, reassured by the familiar rhythmic
structure. In the clip, when Elliot plays glissandi, he looks at me when he realises that
there is moment of meeting (Stern, 1985). Then he pauses but the strong beat I am
playing continues to hold his attention and he re-engages with the music and starts to
create new musical ideas using the instruments nearby: “I’m playing both same
! )#!