Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Vignette 4.1
Stephen was 14 and had been excluded from two schools before he began at
The Centre School. His behaviour was difficult to manage, especially in
groups, and he usually found it difficult to share in any activity with others,
often becoming aggressive when he was not in control. In individual music
therapy sessions he came prepared with a playlist of different music for us to
listen to together and he talked confidently about the bands he liked and
respected. Stephen liked to drum along to his favourite bands and at first I
tried to jam with him, either on the electric guitar or bass, but it felt as if I was
musically following him which he did not acknowledge. I felt cut off from
what he was doing, rather like sharing the same stage but being in a different
band. His command over the recorded music using the remote control to
frequently change tracks, made it difficult to keep up and I felt he wanted me
to stop playing so I listened to him and affirmed his drumming instead.
It was obvious that playing along to music like this was enjoyable for him and
he was very settled and motivated by it, which strongly contrasted with his
erratic behaviour in school. Stephen used recorded music in this way every
week and rather than creating a barrier, I felt that his commitment to the
sessions was communication itself and that, by listening to him, I was able to
share his music despite his resistance to the two of us playing together.
As well as actively listening and verbally responding to his playing, I found
other ways to join in. I held the microphone for him so that he could sing
while he drummed, I worked meticulously on the PA system and even danced
about playing the air guitar, much to his entertainment. I matched his energy,
grabbed every chance to interact with him musically and gradually was
allowed to join in with his music and his band. Stephen began to play in a
more interactive way even to the extent of asking me what I thought of it
afterwards, how we could improve the sound and eventually allowed me to
take charge of the remote control to stop and start the tracks.
Recorded music provided the necessary backing to live playing and gave me
the opportunity to join him and develop a relationship through it.
! ))!