Music Therapy 1992,Vol. 11,No. 1, 120-141 A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach to Music Therapy: The Lived Experience of Clinical Improvisation MICHELE FORINASH RESEARCH CONSULTANT, NORDOFF-ROBBINS MUSIC THERAPY CLINIC, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY; MUSIC THERAPIST, HEBREW REHABILITATION CENTER, BOSTON This study attempts to shed light on the therapist s experience of Nordoff-Robbins Clinical Improvisation. Eight clinicians and two directors at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic at New York University in 1991 were interviewed about their lived experience of Clinical Improvisation. The data generated by the interviews were subjected to phenomenological analysis. Results of the research are presented and discussed. Interviewees were presented with the results and discussion, and their responses are incorporated in the Conclusion. Introduction Clinical Improvisation is the basis of the Nordoff-Robbins approach to music therapy and rests on the assumption that in every child, regardless of ability or disability, lives an inborn musicality and musical sensitivity. This inherent musicality is referred to by Nordoff and Robbins (1977) as the Music Child :... the term has reference to the universality of musical sensitivity--the heritage of complex sensitivity to the ordering and relationship of tonal and rhythmic move 120
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 121 ment; it also points to the distinctly personal significance of each child s musical responsiveness. (p. 1) Clinical Improvisation is the technique of engaging a child through the therapist s creation of a musical-emotional environment, thus accessing the Music Child. In this environment the child s responses and expressions, however restricted, are accepted as meaningful and used to facilitate further contact and communication. The therapist s role in this process is to improvise clinically significant music, music that will reach the child and provide the possibility for a relationship in which the child can grow and develop. The improvisations are usually conducted at the piano, and the ability of the therapist to clinically improvise resides at the core of this approach. While the therapist s technical ability to improvise has been discussed, and techniques developed for expanding it have been explored (Nordoff & Robbins, 1977), the therapist s complete experience of Clinical Improvisation has not been addressed in music therapy theory or research. Technical ability as a music therapist is an essential skill, yet the assumption of this research study is that the process of Clinical Improvisation is more than merely utilizing one s musical expertise. The complex nature of Clinical Improvisation was observed by Aigen (1991), who cites both the need for exploration of this phenomenon and the difficulty in doing so: Any model which purports to represent clinical improvisation must account for the contribution of involvement in the creative process, a notoriously difficult area to define and research. But these difficulties are no reason to avoid exploration here as clinicians function in this realm on a daily basis. (Aigen, 1991, p. 239) Continuing, Aigen (1991) points the direction for research: If one accepts that research in Music Therapy should be oriented towards explaining meanings and phenomenal experience.. then it is this experience which must be the source of the explanatory mechanisms, and to which such explanations must be adequate. (p. 260)
122 Forinash Following Aigen s reasoning, in order to investigate the complex phenomenon of Clinical Improvisation, the researcher turned to the experience of improvisation among clinical practitioners as the source of data for this project. This study was conducted by actively seeking descriptions of the experience of Clinical Improvisation from music therapists who practice this technique at the Nordoff-Robbins Clinic at New York University. It is hoped that the results of this investigation will increase our understanding of the therapist s experience of Clinical Improvisation in the therapy context, and that further understanding of this experience will impact on our ability to teach the concept of Clinical Improvisation to therapists in training. Method The research was conducted by asking music therapists for a retrospective account of their experience of Clinical Improvisation in a music therapy session. The researcher conducted one interview on the subject of Clinical Improvisation with each of eight therapists participating in a one-year training program at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic at New York University, and with the Co-Directors of the Clinic, Dr. Clive and Carol Robbins. Dr. Clive Robbins, who along with the late Dr. Paul Nordoff originated the technique of Clinical Improvisation, has been practicing Clinical Improvisation since 1959. Carol Robbins studied with Drs. Nordoff and Robbins and has been working with Dr. Robbins since 1968. The therapists at the clinic represent a range of experience and backgrounds. At the time of the interview, one therapist held a bachelor s degree in music therapy, six held masters degrees in music therapy; one held a doctorate in educational psychology in addition to a master s in music therapy. All were Certified or Registered Music Therapists. Their clinical experience ranged from 2 to 17 years and covered a variety of populations: learningdisabled children, multiply-handicapped children, emotionallydisturbed adolescents, adult psychiatric patients, cerebral-palsied adults, and geriatric clients.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 123 Since each therapy session conducted at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic is videotaped, the eight therapists were each asked to choose a videotape of a music therapy session in which they had clinically improvised. The videotape was then viewed by the therapist and the researcher simultaneously; questions regarding the experience of Clinical Improvisation were asked by the researcher. Each interview was transcribed, and this transcription served as the data base. The data collected was treated by phenomenological analysis, asapplied by Giorgi (1984) and Forinash (1990), in the the following sequence: 1) The researcher reviewed each interview transcript to get an overall senseof the lived experience of Clinical Improvisation. 2) Each interview was then reviewed more slowly, with the researcher assuming a bracketing critical consciousness, that is, suspending previous beliefs or opinions about the phenomenon in question and directing consciousness to the phenomenon as it appears. In this step the researcher transformed the descriptive data from the interview into meaning units (Giorgi, 1984, p. 19) that indicate where a transition in meaning occurred in the data. 3) The meaning units formed the basis for the translation of descriptive material into psychological language in which the researcher searched for the invariants of the phenomenon, those events that are necessary for the constitution of the meaning of the phenomenon as experienced. 4) The researcher again assumed the bracketing critical consciousness, while reflecting on the meaning units, in order to provide a description of the structure of the lived experience of Clinical Improvisation (Giorgi, 1984): 5) The researcher submitted the written results of the study to the eight therapists for their validation that their experience of Clinical Improvisation was indeed described in these written results. Their responses were incorporated in the Conclusion section.
124 Forinash Results After each interview transcript was synthesized, the following meaning units emerged: Natural Ability; Musical Biography; The Unknown; Vulnerability; Pressure; Hard to Define; Spontaneity, Creativity, and Intuition; Interplay of Intuition and Rationality; Rational, Conscious Choice; Self; Music; and The Child. In the following examination of the results, each meaning unit is identified; therapists statements are included to clarify how these concepts were experienced by the therapists. The results are presented chronologically: experiences from the therapists pasts that had direct bearing on their experiences in the moment of Clinical Improvisation; their experiences in the actual improvisation; and their experiences in the post-session analysis. Supporting quotations taken directly from the audio-taped interviews with the therapists are presented for each of the meaning units discussed. In keeping with the phenomenological ideal to study experience in its lived form, the interview material is included as it transpired. The therapists and researcher were responding spontaneously as the research situation unfolded. Therefore, some of the quotations may have a rough, processoriented quality to them rather than the more finished phrasing usually given to one s thoughts when they are allowed to develop over an extended period of time. Consequently, the reader is encouraged to read through quotations several times to allow for a full comprehension of the meaning. Natural Ability Three of the eight therapists and both of the Co-Directors interviewed stated their awareness of bringing a natural, inborn ability to their Clinical Improvisations. They described this natural ability as being twofold in nature, referring both to their own innate relationship to music, and to their natural affinity for relating to and working with people. Natural musical ability was viewed as an inner quality that enabled the therapist to spontaneously and fully feel and exist in the music-making process. Those interviewed stated that a thera-
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 125 pist s musical affinity could be heard in improvisation as a natural feel for music: Co-Director 2: Improvisation comes from someone who lives music and from someone for whom music is a life force, someone who sees a situation and can put it into music. Therapist 6: You hear their natural feel for phrasing. It is an inborn musicality. You hear what risks they are willing to take, and in what area: melody, harmony, dynamics, rhythm, or tempo. While acknowledging that natural ability in music is necessary, the interviewees recognized an equal demand for a natural clinical awareness or an empathic perception of the needs of others. This was summarized by one of the Co-Directors: Co-Director 2: Sometimes people will realize that, although they may be really good musicians, they may not make good therapists because they cannot put themselves into another being. They are in themselves. Performers are trained to be this way. You have to be if you are going to make it in a performance world. You may also have people who have very, very, very warm hearts, but have very little musical training. While they have the feeling, they don t have the musical skill to bring out their feelings musically. You can work a tremendous amount just through improving your skills if you have the innate feeling for it. What we really try for is a balance of the two. While natural musical ability was seen to be necessary to the process of improvisation, one therapist mentioned the problem of sometimes getting carried away in the music making because it was so natural and instinctive: Therapist 2: I have to be careful about what I play because I can very easily get carried away in the music. I can loose my focus when I get so immersed in the music.
126 Forinash These results suggest that the natural ability needed for Clinical Improvisation includes an innate feeling for the music and the needs of people, as well as the ability to bring that feeling into the clinical session. A clinical improviser must be able to be fully expressive in the music-making process, while maintaining a sound clinical awareness of the clients, and have the ability to relate to clients in a meaningful manner. Musical Biography Five of the therapists and both of the Co-Directors interviewed spoke of the significance of their own unique musical background in Clinical Improvisation, their musical biography : their history as a musician, which encompasses their musical preferences, training, and personality. One of the Co-Directors summarized the contribution of musical biography as an awareness of one s musical background and an ability to use one s natural resources to build from these assets. Co-Director 1: Musical biography is not only your gifts but what you have been exposed to, what you have acquired, your tastes and prejudices. The therapists interviewed represented a diversity of musical biographies. Some of them learned to play music by ear and grew up playing primarily popular music. One therapist related an early musical memory of hearing and imitating music. He spoke of the subsequent connections that he made between emotions and music and how this affected his present improvisations: Therapist 2: I remember watching TV as a child and connecting certain scenes to emotions, certain kinds of music with certain emotions. Like on Star Trek when Kirk saw his love. [Therapist plays music from that scene.] Those things stick with me. It becomes part of my history. What happened in my musical history has shaped why I play what I play.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 127 Other therapists grew up with classical training and technique. In describing an improvisation from a particular session, one therapist spoke of the influence of her classical training: Therapist I: I didn t grown up with that [improvisation]. I tend to play in a more classical style. Even this theme [referring to the videotape] is more Bachian because I have been listening to that music all my life. The styles of Schumann and Copland, these are the names that I have lived with. Although the interviewees saw musical history as essential, they assumed that no one particular musical biography was correct for pursuing Clinical Improvisation. They saw the therapist s personal musical biography as an important part of preparation for improvisation and as a strength in improvisation. They did not view it as a limitation to be overcome, but as a building block from which to grow. Co-Director 2: Therapists have to be willing to realize that there is a big world of music out there to be explored. The Unknown When asked to describe the experience of improvising, six of the eight therapists interviewed and both Co-Directors spoke of improvisation as facing the unknown, which they recognized as a very powerful force: Therapist 1: It is like a mystery story where the end is unknown. It has yet to happen. The only way to find out is to do it. Therapist 5: There is a lot of living in the moment to see what will happen and not even knowing what I will be playing. Therapist 8: I think for me in doing this I suspend something. I don t know what exactly that is. It puts me in the moment with this child, and I have no idea what is going to come out.
128 Forinash Therapist 2: I have a sense of preparation and direction, but I do not know what will happen. I must be open to that. Both Co-Directors stressed the reality of facing the unknown in this clinical work: Co-Director 1: It is a stepping into the unknown. It is a mysterious thing about the creative process. Co-Director 2: You don t ever reach the point where you feel that you know what to do all of the time. It just doesn t happen. There isn t any formula. These statements indicate that Clinical Improvisation involves a necessary willingness on the part of the therapist to step into the unknown, to enter into a relationship in the moment that precludes a known outcome. Vulnerability Three therapists and both Co-Directors spoke of the feeling of vulnerability that accompanies stepping into the unknown: Therapist 5: It is a vulnerable situation because defenses are stripped away. It is really letting yourself go and it is a vulnerable place to be in. Therapist 8: You are vulnerable in that you don t have a plan. Even if you do have a plan, it might be totally not what is needed at the moment. You have to be vulnerable. If you were controlling and rigid, I don t think you could do this kind of work. While the therapists interviewed felt this sense of vulnerability was uncomfortable to some degree, they saw their discomfort as unavoidable and something to be accepted as part of the improvi- Perhaps this therapist sums it up most clearly: Therapist 2: You can t hide. It comes out in the music.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 129 sation experience. The experience of these therapists suggests that permitting and accepting the feelings of vulnerability are critical to the therapist s ability to participate in Clinical Improvisation. Pressure A possible unique aspect relevant to the clinical work at the Nordoff-Robbins Clinic is that every session is videotaped and reviewed at a later time by the therapist. The therapist s awareness of being videotaped and having to analyze the tapes often adds to the stress. This sense of pressure was mentioned by five therapists and one Co-Director: Therapist 4: It is the moments before the improvisation, it is a pre-performance anxiety. People will say Who is on next? meaning who is on stage next. Therapist 8: The anxiety is much more when the camera is on and there are people watching. Therapist 2: I am aware of wanting to play a pretty chord because everyone is watching. It will be important in future research to examine this experience of pressure and to determine whether the experience is different in improvised sessions that are not videotaped. It will also be important to explore other factors that create pressure, such as supervisory review and peer review. Hard to Define As each interview progressed, and the therapists set about describing the actual moments at the keyboard, clinically improvising with a client, the difficulty of putting this experience of improvisation into words became apparent. The complexity of the phenomenon was evident in all of the interviews conducted. It was specifically mentioned by four of the therapists and one of the Co-Directors: Therapist 6: The experience is very hard to capture, there are so many different levels to it. It is hard to verbalize this.
130 Forinash Therapist 8: It is really hard to talk about because it is essentially something that happens on a nonverbal level. Therapist 3: This feels very vague. It is really hard to talk about. Comments made by Therapist 8 accurately summed up a basic difficulty that is significant for those practicing Clinical Improvisation: Improvisation is a process that happens on a nonverbal level, and this is what gives it a unique strength. This research recognizes that improvisation can accessexperience on a nonverbal level and can afford a means of communication to those either emotionally or physically unable to utilize spoken or written language. At the same time, the nonverbal quality of improvisationmakes it difficult to put the experience into words. Spontaneity, Creativity, and Intuition In Clinical Improvisation, therapists experience moments of spontaneity, creativity, and intuition; spontaneous, indicating the therapists ability to freely respond to the therapy situation; creative, suggesting therapists ability to develop and expand both their own and their clients responses; and intuitive, implying therapists sense of knowing in what direction to proceed without any apparent external reason. The combination of these three words suggest one aspect of the total experience. All of the eight therapists and both of the Co-Directors described moments when both musical and verbal ideas spontaneously emerged, when they were able to create a musical environment out of a child s responses. All struggled with the explanation of the origin of their intuitions. Co-Director 1: I don t know where it comes from. I have a hunch, gut feeling, intuition, perception that says to do it, or has me doing it and then realizing it. Co-Director 2: A great deal of the time I can t explain my interventions; I can t say why. It was the intuition at the moment.
A Phenomenological Analysisof Nordoff-RobbinsApproach 131 One of the therapists spoke of intuition as a type of musical instinct: Therapist 6: When I am improvising, it feels like the music or the instinct for music comes from a place in me that is so deep. Another spoke of intuition as feeling like magic: Therapist 8: To me it feels like magic. I don t know how this happens. I don t understand it. It is magic. It is not a logical, verbal process. It is a very different kind of process. It is another state of consciousness. The fifth therapist also spoke of the creative aspect as existing in another dimension: Therapist 5: In the creation I am unaware on some level. It is not really conscious at that point. After the improvisation is over it is a sense that you have been someplace else. It is a feeling of being transported to some other dimension. It is a sense of timelessness. I get lost in time. These observations indicate that, during the process of Clinical Improvisation, there is movement from the more spontaneous, intuitive aspects to the more rational and planned. Improvising is not simply creating; it is also analytically examining what one has created musically as therapist and making intentional therapeutic decisions. Interplay of Intuition and Rationality At times in the Clinical Improvisation experience, both intuition and rationality are working together in a balance. Five of the therapists and both Co-Directors articulated this interrelationship, the constant interactionbetween their spontaneous, intuitive choices and their conscious attitudes and choices. They suggested that a therapist might instinctively begin the music in a session but once started the music can become more conscious and clinically directed.
132 Forinash Co-Director 1: You see the child, get to know him, a musical idea comes up and even as you think it, you play it and as you play it you think it. Therapist 4: The music comes out, you are hearing it, and then you catch up to your fingers. It is a split. After you start improvising, then your mind is listening and develops it. You have to become conscious of what you are playing. It may come from an unknown place, but you have to know it and be aware of it to bring it back to the child even as it is happening. Therapist 3: [Referring to the videotape] This improvisation became very conscious. In order to stay in that musical structure, I had to know what I was doing. The transformation, then, is from the spontaneous, creative impulse to deliberate, clinically significant intentionality. The reverse may also happen. A therapist may decide to play a certain musical style but, once begun, the development may occur spontaneously. Therapist 5: For this improvisation I had picked a mode based on one instrument the child was playing, though when I played it he was actually on a different instrument. But I decided to stay with the music because, I don t know, it just felt right to stay with it. I don t know what gave me the idea. Therapist 4: When I improvise, I am thinking of setting an initial mood in the room, and then the fingers take over. It is apparent that there is a flow that occurs during the sessions from pure intuition to rational choices and from rational choices to intuitive choices. Rational, Conscious Choice In the experience of Clinical Improvisation, there are moments when rational, conscious choices are made and enacted in the session. These can be decisions based on goals and objectives set for the child during long-range planning, or they can be decisions
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 133 made in the moment based on the child s reaction and response in the session. All of the therapists and both Co-Directors mentioned this level of conscious choice: Therapist 7: There is something intellectual that goes on [in improvisation] that says, Oh, you should do something with this [the child s response]. Therapist 6: We [the clinical staff] had been talking a lot about it: Give these children songs. So I went into this session thinking, Get a song. It was on my mind. Therapist 4: The mood change [in the music] was conscious. I wanted to bring in something lyrical and gentle. I wanted to change the mood at that point. There is a multidirectional flow in Clinical Improvisation among the experiences of spontaneity, creativity, and intuition; the interplay of intuition and rationality; and rational, conscious choice. One therapist and one Co-Director spontaneously summed up these relationships during the interviews: Therapist 2: I think there are probably three levels. One, where I am really, really connecting to what s happening, to the situation. I am not thinking about what I am doing, and I am totally focused on the child. Then there is the middle part where I am somewhat consciously thinking that I want a particular sound or I want something that will kind of pick upon what the child isdoing. Then there is the third part when I am thinking, Okay, what am I going to do now? Co-Director 1: There is a magic to it [improvisation], but there is also a painstaking carefulness. There is also trial and error. It is all of these things. The aspect of conscious, rational choice also applies to the analysis that occurs after the session. For these therapists, the experience of Clinical Improvisation does not end the moment the actual session is over. After each session they go through a process of indexing the videotape of the session. This involves watching the videotape, notating significant events that occurred during the
134 Forinash session, and transcribing important musical improvisations that occurred during the session. In this way therapists reexperience the improvisation from a more analytical perspective. This reexperience of improvisation, though noted by several of the therapists to be quite difficult and uncomfortable at times, affords them with increased opportunities to learn. This learning comes in the form of a deeper understanding of self, of music, and of the child in the session. It affects the therapists ideas about music and therapy, and directly influences their future Clinical Improvisations. Self This post-session analysis of Clinical Improvisation also includes the therapists understanding of themselves. This review experience can provide them with insight into their own personal feelings and issues, and increased understanding of how these affect their improvisations. Therapist 3: I need to first get in touch with where I am musically and emotionally. Therapist 2: I have to trust and accept that what I do will be okay. I have to have a belief in myself. Therapist 5: A lot of it for me is anxiety. Questions flow through my mind. The thoughts go so fast, they are not even clear. Therapist 7: I was thinking that it [the improvisation] wasn t going anywhere. Whether it was or not, that was what was going on in my head. Therapist 8: [Referring to the videotape] That improvisation came from my own anxiety that I wasn t able to plug into where the child was. These statements indicate that an awareness of the self plays a significant role in the improvisation experience, that acknowledging and allowing one s own feelings and trusting in oneself is vital for those who practice Clinical Improvisation.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 135 Music Clinically-improvised music is at the center of the clinical work studied in this project. In addition to discussing their individual musical biographies, all of the therapists and both of the Co-Directors spoke of experiencing insight into their individual relationships to music from the post-session analyses. At times they experienced an increased awareness of their own specific musical preferences: Therapist 3: I like to play a lot with very open fifths and sixths. There is something so supporting in itself-it is going to feel integrated. Therapist 7: [Referring to the videotape] That [the music] just came out. I always play fourths. They also had experiences of increased awareness of the conceptual ideas about the kind of music that might work in future sessions and new understandings of what kind of emotional feeling they would like to put into the music: Therapist 4: I would like to be able to put the feeling from a romantic period piece of music into the music I improvise. Therapist 2: I cannot hear exactly what I want to play. But I can hear more of the feeling I want to give. [Referring to the video-tape] It took about four times for me to get the sound that I heard in my head onto the keyboard. I knew that I wanted to do it [this theme] again, and I wanted to develop it. The therapists also spoke of their awareness of moments of frustration with their music, with their own musical limitations, pointing toward their need for continued musical growth and development: Therapist 7: I have felt frustrated in that I haven t been able to bring into the sessions what I musically planned to do. In one session in particular, I couldn t get into any of the chord inversions I had practiced, I couldn t re-
136 Forinash member any of the seventh chords one of the other therapists had taught me. I just was stuck. Therapist 5: When Iam trying anew mode, Iworry about which notes I can play and which not. A lot of it is just having the chords, getting to know the scales, so I can forget about the notes. The therapists spoke, too, of their beliefs about improvisation in music therapy and the intentions they brought to the session: Therapist 2: There are certain things that I may have done in a session that portray... who that person is in the session with the music that I have created. A certain harmonic portrait, I would say, and even melodic phrases that might describe that person. Therapist 4: The music is a reflection of the attitude of the therapists, their acceptance, and their expectations. Therapist 8: To me, music therapy isn t just about making music; it is about making music on the surface level, but what it is really about is expressing a very deep part of yourself. Thus, the aspect of music is quite complex. It includes the therapists own musical history, conceptual ideas, abilities and limitations, and philosophical beliefs. The Child All of the therapists and both Co-Directors mentioned their experience of multileveled awareness and learning that takes place in their relationship to the child in the session. This awareness has to do with the therapist s ideas about how to relate to the child in the session and their purpose in relating to the child. Therapist 7: I have to be aware of the child, and trying to match what I am doing with what will help the child. That has to do with knowing where he is and where he is going to go. I have to be aware of what he is doing musically and nonmusically, how I feel about him, and what he might do.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 137 The skill of observing and listening to the child was stressed by the therapists and Co-Directors: Co-Director 2: In doing this you are closely observing what the person is doing, trying to read them, not always getting it right, but being willing to admit that you don t have it all the way right. Another therapist described a way of focusing on a child: Therapist 2: I focus on the child as much as I can. [Referring to a particular session] I am thinking about the tunes that her mother told me she likes and incorporating her inquisitiveness. I am watching and capturing her qualities. The therapist s focus on the child is multilevel in that it encompasses a relationship in the moment while maintaining an openness to future potentialities. In addition, the therapist must consistently verify their reading of the child through observing and listening. Discussion The results of this research indicate that, for those interviewed, the experience of Clinical Improvisation encompasses more than the mere interaction that occurs between the children and the therapists during the session. While interaction in the session is important, the experience also extends back in time to the therapists individual and complex musical histories, which are brought to life in the session. In the same way, the experience also reaches forward in time to encompass the therapists learning and growth, which occurs as they reexperience the improvisation during the post-session analysis. When the therapists were interviewed, there was an anticipation on the part of the researcher (author) that they would focus exclusively on the moments during the sessions, yet clearly each person s experience of the event encompasses much more than the 20-35 minute session times when they are improvising with
138 Forinash the child. Since the therapists histories and musical biographies live in the therapy sessions, an awareness and exploration of these aspects of the experience cannot be overlooked. Additionally, from the therapists perspectives, the learning that takes place in the post-session analysis is a vital component of the experience of Clinical Improvisation. For the therapists interviewed, the improvisation experience was complex and intricate. The therapists also conveyed that there is a profound sense of facing the unknown in Clinical Improvisation. As both researcher and music therapist, the author has experienced this sense of the unknown and the accompanying vulnerability, yet rarely formally identified it and discussed it withcolleagues. Hearing these therapists discuss their willingness and openness in this experience brought home the realization that this is an experience that must be addressed more directly and fully in our attempts to teach and train therapists. Another insight into the experience of Clinical Improvisation came in the therapists discussions of the aspects of spontaneity, creativity, and intuition; the interplay of intuitionand rationality; and rational, conscious choice: There is a place--and a necessity- for all three of these aspects of the experience. While it is probably easier to teach the more rational and intellectual aspects of Clinical Improvisation, the experience of these therapists suggests that the creative, intuitive aspects are significant and viable parts of the experience. Formally acknowledging this complexity of experience, allowing and in fact encouraging therapists to practice using their intuition and developing their creativity, would then be vital to a comprehensive training of therapists. Conclusion In summary, the therapists interviewed described the experience of Clinical Improvisation as bringing personal, unique musical ability and history to life in the present moment of improvisation. They experienced it as stepping into the unknown moment of clinical interaction with a child and meeting that moment with musical and therapeutic creativity and rationality.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 139 They saw the need for awareness and acceptance of the event and a necessary sense of trust and ability to let go into the process. And they concurred on the importance of an essential willingness to be open and vulnerable to the experience, and to the selfscrutiny that will result in the therapist s continued growth and development. In qualitative research the validity of the results of a project are often measured by the meaning it has for those who are most intimately familiar with the experience being studied. For that reason, the results from this research were submitted to those interviewed at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic, and their responses to the portrait of the experience are offered here. The most pervasive response was each therapist s discomfort at reading their sometimes searching and faltering process asthey explored the experience in Clinical Improvisation during the interview process. When given their interviews to review, almost all wanted to refine their sentences and perfect their thoughts. As researcher, I made the decision to share the thoughts and explorations of the therapists as they occurred in the interview process. The hope is that this honest portrayal of Clinical Improvisationand the difficulty in sometimes finding the words to describe the experience-will ring true for readers who practice some form of improvisation and will encourage them to continue to struggle with articulating this complex process. Additional comments from the therapists indicated that they were pleased and somewhat surprised that their experiences were paralleled by other therapists. It seems that, while an individual therapist may not have been able to verbalize an aspect of the experience clearly, they all gained deeper understanding by reading someone else s attempt to describe the experience. Therapist 1: I found the comments from my colleagues to be insightful and interesting. Especially one [Therapist 2] in particular saying, You can t hide. It comes out in the music. Therapist 4: While I couldn t verbalize it myself, the words facing the unknown with their accompanying feeling of vulnerability rang true for me. These elements make the work so challenging and a bit scary at times,
140 Forinash but I can say now that, with time, it is a little easier to make the leap! Once we feel more confident about what can come from the unknown, the vulnerability lessens. This research is only a beginning, yet it points the way for several possible avenues of continued exploration. One such recommendation is to focus a study on a more in-depth description in one of the areas that emerged from this research. A further exploration of the experience of creativity seems especially needed at this time, as it is one of the least articulated and understood aspects of clinical work, yet one of the most important. Other areas for possible exploration include therapists relationships to the music; their personal processes in dealing with issues, such as facing the unknown and feelings of vulnerability; and the learning that occurs in the post-session analysis. This research was conducted in the Spring of 1991 when all of the therapists interviewed were completing their first year of Clinical Improvisation study with the Robbins. In talking informally to the therapists and Co-Directors in more recent months, it has become clear that the experience of Clinical Improvisation changes over time. The results discussed in this article reflect the experience of therapists in their first year at the Nordoff-Robbins Clinic. It would be important to do a follow-up study with the therapists at a later point in their work at the clinic to determine if and how this experience changes. It is hoped that these results may help lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding of the therapist s experience of Clinical Improvisation and for clearer ideas of how this skill might be taught to therapists in training.
A Phenomenological Analysis of Nordoff-Robbins Approach 141 REFERENCES Aigen, K. (1991). The roots of music therapy: Towardsan indigenous researchparadigm. Doctoral Dissertation, New York University. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI order 91-34717. Forinash, M. (1990). A phenomenolgy of music therapy with the terminally ill. Doctoral Dissertation, New York University. Am Arbor, MI: UMI order 91-02617. Giorgi, A. (1984). A phenomenological psychological analysis of the artistic process. In J.G. Gilbert (Ed.), Qualitative evaluation in the arts: II (pp. 10-37). New York: New York University SEHNAP. Nordoff, P., & Robbins, C. (1977).Creativemusic therapy.new York: Samuel Day Publishing. Michele Forinash, D.A., ACMT-BC, served as the Research Director of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic, New York University, during the writing of this article. She now resides in Concord, Massachusetts, and is a music therapist at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged in Boston. The author would like to thank Clive and Carol Robbins and the Therapists at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Clinic at New York University for their willingness to participate in this study. Their openness and honesty are very much appreciated. Thanks also to Barbara Hesser and the NYU community for their support.