23.7. 1993 Vitoria-Gasteiz / Spain - World Federation of Music Therapy

had too little time to practice.
3. Several students particularly valued having a regular
movement session. One person described being able to
listen more accurately with her body echoing patient's
rocking movements and postures.
4. All valued making particular connections with their
student colleagues in sensitive moments of listening
and playing in improvisation groups. These were high
points of their student experience. They also felt that at
times staff had role-modelled a concentrated way of
listening which had been very helpful to copy and use in
their work.
5. Finally, though many students had found their
experiential musictherapy group a very demanding and
tough experience , all felt it had contributed greatly to
their ability to listen and be heard effectively.It had
helped to identify personal blocks and preocupations
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about other people's playing.
Three other areas of the training syllabus to which I
would draw attention in regard to the development of
integrated and sensitive listening are :
1. Students' work. in keyboard musicianship and
contemporary improvisation without using your eyes.
This would involve either having eyes shut or playing
back musical patterns without being able to see the
teacher's hands at the keyboard. Although visual cues
are often vital to our clinical observation, working
without vision concentrates attention on and awareness
of the aural messages.
2. Doing exercises in group dynamics on preparing
chamber music in small groups. The students do the