Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

they know well. Vignettes 4.4 and 4.5 illustrate two ways of song creation in
sessions.
Vignette 4.4
Ben, 14, often came over to the music therapy garage, to talk and fiddle with
the instruments but found it hard to stay for a whole session of 35 minutes.
After about ten minutes he usually asked if he could return to The Centre and
I would accompany him back and continue using our time together, talking
and playing countless games of table tennis. This pattern went on for a few
weeks but, as I gradually developed his trust, he started to share more of his
experiences, and was prepared to stay in the garage and use the instruments.
At this stage, improvisations felt far too uncertain for him so they were
usually short-lived. However, Ben liked the idea of creating a song: this gave
a clear purpose to the sessions and the idea of putting words to music made
sense to him. Towards the end of his second term of music therapy, he wrote
some words on the board, told me how to drum and, ready to play the electric
guitar with the amplifier turned up to distorted levels, he climbed onto a cajon
drum and, precariously balancing, announced at the top of his voice: “To
anyone…it’s better to not be afraid!” Then he sang this song:
When you know that
You did not do nothing
Wrong so why are you
Afraid of him
You know you did
Nothing wrong to me
So why are you afraid. The End.
Despite the emotional intensity of his song, he did not want to discuss it
afterwards. Instead, he finished the session by clearing away the instruments
and chatting about which lesson he had next.
! *%!