Experiences of music therapists sharing improvisation remotely during lockdown

Abstract

Music therapy has faced challenges to practice during lockdown. In this reflexive study, the authors explored the creative possibilities of multi-tracking as a way of sharing improvised dialogues. This involved the creation of recorded improvised ‘prompts’, a few minutes in length, which were then ‘answered’ using audio software. Through reflections which draw on the principles of auto-ethnography, we seek to describe and explore these experiences and draw meaning from them. Both authors are improvising musicians, music therapists and music therapy educators. While the project began as a way of maintaining motivation for musical activity, affective experiences shared by the authors surfaced the need for more systematic reflection on the therapeutic and pedagogical potential of the process.