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PIANO-IMPROVISATION SKILLS OF

MUSICIANS VERSUS NON-MUSICIANS:

IMPLICATIONS FOR MUSIC THERAPY

by

Laurien G. Hakvoort

A Thesis Submitted to the

Faculty of the Graduate School

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of

MASTER OF ARTS


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PIANO-IMPROVISATION SKILLS OF

MUSICIANS VERSUS NON-MUSICIANS:

IMPLICATIONS FOR MUSIC THERAPY

by

Laurien G. Hakvoort

Department: Conservatory of Music

Major: Music Therapy

University of the Pacific

Stockton, California

May 18, 1994

APPROVED BY:

Thesis Advisor: Dr. David E. Wolfe

Committee Member: Professor Audree S. O'Connell

Committee Member: Dr. Michael A. Allard

Dean of the Graduate School: Professor Dr. David A. Fries


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My gratitude goes to Dr. David E. Wolfe for his patience and guidance during this thesis

project. His efforts to correct my English and to clarify all of my difficult explanations made me more

knowledgeable not only for this topic, but also concerning the English language. He has been, and will

continue to be, an inspiration to me. Also I would like to thank Professor Audree S. O'Connell for her

reading, comments and revising of this thesis, and especially her cheerful attitude when I had a difficult

moment. I would like to thank Dr. Michael A. Allard for his comments on statistical issues and his

patience when it took me time to understand some of the statistical analyses. I am also thankful to Clare

J. Macfarlane, who shared her scholarship-award with me, so we both could study for our Masters

Degree in music therapy at the University of the Pacific. Finally I would like to thank Dr. Ren

Torenvlied for his many hours of discussion and comments about topics, subjects, and methods, and

more importantly, to thank him for his help, encouragement and cheerfulness when I was uncertain,

discouraged or excited.


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ABSTRACT

PIANO IMPROVISATION SKILLS

OF MUSICIANS VERSUS NON MUSICIANS:

IMPLICATIANS FOR MUSIC THERAPY

The purpose of this study was to examine the improvisation skills of musicians and non-

musicians. Fifteen musicians and thirteen non-musicians completed a pre- and post-performance

questionnaire and played a free improvisation on the piano. Three independent observers using the

Music Improvisation Rating scale rated the free improvisations, and the responses on the

questionnaires were tabulated.

Results showed no difference between musicians and non-musicians for duration, expectation,

self-reported interaction and satisfaction. There was, however, a statistically significant difference for

judged interactions between the two groups. This may suggest that a client should not be excluded

from music therapy because of lack of musical skills. The therapeutic and musical interactions,

however, have to be handled and interpreted differently by the therapist. Working with musically

skilled clients may require different interventions from working with musically naive clients.

Keywords: Musical Interaction, (Piano) Improvisation, Music Therapy, Interpretation differences,

Quantitative Research, Music Improvisation Rating Scale


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................................3

LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... ........................................................... ...4

METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................................................................11

Subjects ..................................................................................................................................11

Design ......................................................................................................................................12

Materials/equipment..................................................... ........................................................... .13

Procedures ..............................................................................................................................13

RESULTS .............................................................................................................................................14

DISCUSSION.........................................................................................................................................24

APPENDIX

A. Questionnaire A...................................................................................................................28

B. Questionnaire B ...................................................................................................................30

C. Musical Improvisation Rating Scale ..................................................... ...............................31

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................33

NOTES ...................................................................................................................................................36


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LIST OF TABLES

Tables

1. Major Instruments and Level of Study of Musicians........................................................................11

2. Major and Level of Study of Non-musicians....................................................................................12

3. Relevant Characteristics of Both Groups..........................................................................................12

4. Questionnaire Responses of Musicians.............................................................................................15

5. Questionnaire Responses of Non-musicians.....................................................................................16

6. Interaction and Time Scores for Musicians ....................................................... ...............................17

7. Interaction and Time Scores for Non-musicians...............................................................................18

RESULTS SCORED WITH MANN-WHITNEY-U-TEST

8. Interaction (Rated) ...................................................... ........................................................... ...........19

9. Expectations of Possibilities ........................................................... ..................................................19

10. Expectations of Sound ......................................................... ........................................................... .20

11. Enjoyment........................................................................................................................................20

12. Self-reported Interaction ...................................................... ........................................................... .21

13. Satisfaction.......................................................................................................................................21

14. Sound Rating....................................................................................................................................22

15. Comparison of Expected and Obtained Performance Sound of Musicians......................................22

16. Comparison of Expected and Obtained Performance Sound of Non-..............................................23

musicians


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LITERATURE REVIEW

Music therapy is a relatively young and growing profession with a developing empirical

foundation. Because of its youth there exists a diversity of judgments and expectations regarding

music therapy. One of the basic differences in the expectations of therapists and laymen concerns the

indication or contra-indication of music therapy for clients with varying degrees of musical knowledge

and skills. Music therapy is indicated (an appointed remedy for an illness (Kaufmann, 1985; Smeijsters

1992)) and a client is referred to music therapy when he or she needs a musical process to enforce a

psychological process (Smeijsters, 1992), or a social, emotional, behavioral, or academic one.

However, frequently a person's musical capability is used as an indicator for referral to music therapy,

instead of considering whether a musical process could be the remedy of consideration. Clients are

often referred to music therapy because they love music or enjoy playing a musical instrument, but

these qualities say nothing about the indication of this specific treatment. These indications do not

stem from thorough research, but from intuition or lack of knowledge. Research is necessary to answer

the question: Is there a relationship between one's musical skills and one's suitability for music

therapy?

In order to determine whether musical skills play a role in the suitability for music therapy, it

may be valuable to examine the words musicand therapy in order to better understand how these two

terms relate to one another. Music therapy is the use of music in a therapeutic setting, which implies

that music is used to enhance psychological processes.

Therapyincludes concepts like interaction, exploration, growth, process, satisfaction and

communication. This study will examine only the following concepts: interaction, satisfaction and

expectation. Interactionis a "reciprocal (or mutual) influence. In social interaction the behavior of

one [individual] acts as a stimulus for the behavior of another and visa versa." (Reber, 1985, p. 367).

Interaction distinguishes therapy from self-help. As Rogers showed, building a therapeutic relationship

is important (Ivey, Ivey & Morgan, 1993). The interaction within this relationship determines

(according to psychodynamic theory) whether the client is able to grow. Satisfactionis the feeling that

is gained from achieving goals or accomplishing tasks that one did not expect to accomplish. Learning

to accomplish a goal for oneself in relationship with others can be very important in therapy; it can

give the client a feeling of success (and therefore satisfaction) that may provide motivation for the

client to continue trying and attempting new goals. Expectationis the anticipation of a particular


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event. People will act or remain passive based on their expectations. There is the motivation to try

new things even if the expected outcome is low.

Music,the other important aspect of music therapy, can be handled in different ways and with

different techniques in a therapeutic setting. The techniques most frequently used are: 1. listening to

recorded music (e.g., as a prompt for discussion or for relaxation); 2. listening to live music (e.g., as a

focus for discussion, relaxation or reaching understanding (emotional matching (Bruscia, 1988)); 3.

singing along with recorded or live music (e.g., to create group cohesiveness, or to refresh memories);

4. dancing, painting, or acting to music (e.g., to give a single activity more impact (Moreno, 1991)); 5.

improvising (e.g., to give form to more unconscious processes (Bruscia, 1987; Schalkwijk, 1984)).

For a specific therapeutic use, improvisation clearly offers many opportunities for an active,

personal involvement in a musical process. "In [improvisation] lies the possibility to hear in a dynamic

way the individual as a whole self, as well as in a relationship with another person" (Aldridge, 1991, p.

64). It may also be a musical form where the most sophisticated musical skills are involved. If that is

the case, it may be expected that there could exist a distinct difference in the ability to improvise

between musicians and non-musicians.

What is improvisation and in what context is it relevant for music therapy? There are many

different definitions. Bruscia (1986) states that music improvisation is "the [unprepared] creation of

expressive sound forms or music" (p. 11). This definition puts emphasis on the following aspects of

improvisation: spontaneity/unpreparedness and expressiveness/creativity of the improviser.

Furthermore, it does not matter whether the sounds do match (strict) criteria for being music. This

definition is completely neutral with respect to being a musician or a non-musician. According to

Campbell (1991) improvisation "is the spontaneous generation of melody and rhythm without specific

preparation or premeditation. It is the musical response to unpredictable impulse or feeling" (p. 21). It

apparently should include melody and rhythm, which already requires some musical background or

understanding. The unpreparedness is combined with feelings and unpredictable impulse (such as

other musicians) that emphasize the interaction with others or within a person. Flohr (1985) indicates

in his definition that spontaneity is the important element of an improvisation: "Improvisation is a

spontaneous invention and shaping of music. It is a creative art involving thinking and performing

music simultaneously" (p. 79). The cognitive aspects here are combined with spontaneity and could be

strongly influenced by expectations and satisfaction.


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Pressing (1988) uses a very complicated formula to describe musical improvisation. The three

main factors of his theory are: 1. the manner in which people improvise; 2. how they learn to

improvise; and 3. the origin of novel, or new musical behavior. He does not describe any pros or cons

for musicians or non-musicians, nor does he describe what is expected of an improvisation in musical

terms. For him the unpreparedness, the (inter)action and the improvisational procedures are important.

The New Grove Dictionary (Sadie, 1980) leaves skill necessities undetermined when it defines

improvisation very generally as "the creation of a musical work, as it is being performed. It may

involve the work' s immediate composition by its performers, or the elaboration or adjustment of an

existing framework, or anything between" (p. 31). It could be inferred from these definitions that one

does not need to be a musician, possessing musical skills or knowledge, in order to be involved in

improvisation.

On the other hand, Zentz (1992) states, that "improvisation is the art of skillfully combining

the elements of music with refined technical proficiency" (p. 53). This is a completely different

approach. It demands highly skilled improvisers. One cannot be satisfied until these high standards

are met. In the same line, Rutkowski (1992) argues, that "improvising should never be considered as

choosing random tones in random rhythms in some random forms. The skilled improviser has a plan

and knows what his or her sounds will be" (p. 53). Here, cognitive aspect includes musical skills.

Kalmar and Balasko (1987) see musical improvisation as a "structuring activity [that] implies

rules one has to comply with" (p. 77). Rules may include all kinds of regulations, but rules imply also

' sanctions' , or at least interaction with others who state the rules. Farber (1991) states that: "One' s

improvisatory imagination usually stays within one' s technical competency" (p. 32). What a person

puts in an improvisation therefore depends not only on his technical skills. The improvisation as such

will give him all the exploration possibilities he needs. Skills are not necessary.

Reading these statements regarding musical improvisation, one can distill two main

approaches: a. spontaneous, unskilled improvisation and; b. skilled, controlled improvisation. Again, a

major difference is made between musicians and non-musicians. For the totally controlled

improvisation one needs to be a musician, with an established feeling for beat and rhythm (Gray,

1983), and possess many other musical skills (Bash, 1991; Dobbins, 1988; Meadows, 1991; Rose 1985;

Rutkowski 1992). These kinds of definitions may influence laypeople to perceive that involvement in


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music therapy, especially in its improvisational form, requires the client to have highly developed

musical skills. However, some authors combine spontaneity with musical skills as a continuous

process of improvisation in music education (Farber 1991; Kratus 1991). Musicians certainly will be

more advanced in musical skills. But how does that influence their therapeutic process, if indeed it

does? It is important to know what the research or opinions are concerning musical skills regarding

indication or contra-indication for music therapy.

Concerning the applicability of music therapy for non-musically trained individuals, Senator

Cohen asked:

Is it necessary to have any prior musical background for a patient to be responsive to it? [Have

they] either studied music in the past, [or] had their parents forced them to play the piano as

they were growing up, as many of us were? Is there anything that goes back to prior

experience? Can you have someone who has no experience other than perhaps listening tomusic as a teenager? Is anything required in the way of prior experience? (Special Committeeon Aging, 1992, p. 20).

The essence of this layperson' s questions is: Should youhave (had) any musical experience before

going to music therapy? It would seem that many clients who come to music therapy are afraid that

they have limited capabilities or are incapable of being actively involved in music therapy because they

have had no formal musical experience.

In contrast, some music therapists prefer to work with non-musicians in music therapy. Two

different reasons are given. First, musicians have a more analytical way of handling music (Hanser,

1990), and their musical processes are more consciously regulated (Schalkwijk, 1984). Therefore,

musicians may not seem to be as open towards new musical experiences as non-musicians. Being

receptive to new experiences is a precondition for successful therapy and has strong links with

expectations. Secondly, musicians have stricter musical norms, which could present problems during a

free-improvisation. They also seem to be too product oriented because of their traditional education,

according to Aranosian (1982). The musical norms may very well restrict the analogy between the

client' s personality and his musical expression (Smeijsters, 1991). Other music therapists state that it

does not make much difference to them, whether they work with musicians or non-musicians. They

believe that improvisation may be inappropriate for some clients.

Music therapy can create different expectations. Summarizing the above, there would seem to

be three general assumptions that contradict each other: 1. Clients need to be highly musically skilled

before they can enter music therapy; 2. Clients should be musically naive to make them more sensitive


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to new experiences in music therapy; and 3. the influences of having musical or non-musical

experience on the therapeutic process are non-significant.

Who is suited for music therapy: Musicians, non-musicians, or both? Davidson and Welsh

(1988) found that "in music one can be both an expert and a novice at the same time, depending on

whether the task is a (...) perception task or a production task" (p. 284). There does not seem to be any

difference in music processing of timbre and rhythm for either group (Prior & Troup, 1988).

For this study, musical improvisation is defined as:A structured use of rhythm, melody and

other musical elements to shape, in interaction with oneself or others, an unprepared spontaneous

expression. This section discusses this definition of improvisation in more detail. The first aspect

important for improvisation is structure. Structuring is important in music therapy and in

improvisation. Without structure the composition is chaotic and becomes boring or even frightening

(Brom, 1984). Musical improvisation is possible within structural constraints, no matter what the

general intellectual status is of a person (Hermelin, O' Connor, Lee & Treffert, 1989). "Where [one]

introduces form and order in the creative act, a higher form of human articulation is promoted"

(Aldridge, 1990, p. 195). It takes many trials before one finds his or her own way(s) of structuring and

developing his or her own form. A formal structure means that a basic improvisationformis provided

(Grabau & Visser, 1987), to assure a guide for the improvisers. Dalcroze suggests that two people play

on the same piano. They communicate with musical phrases, one after the other. After a while the

improvisers can change this form and start playing at the same moment, listening to one another. The

only other task required is that they finish the improvisation together.

The second aspect of improvising includes the musical elements: melody, rhythm, harmony,

dynamics, clusters, timbre, duration, etc. Some of these aspects are always included in a musical

improvisation. Because the more skilled an improviser is, and the more musical elements he will use

and combine, there is a difference in improvisation between musicians and non-musicians. Farber

(1991) stated that people can express themselves with the techniques they have and therefore musical

elements seem to be a less important value in music therapy. It might be assumed that the elements

will make a big difference between musicians and non-musicians. Fortunately the musical elements

used are not as important in music therapy as form, the way people improvise, interact, and compose


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(Schalkwijk, 1984). But it is interesting to see whether there is a difference in duration of an

improvisation between musicians and non-musicians.

The third aspect of improvisation is the interactionbetween improvisers. The way they

interact and react to one another determines the freedom of the improvisation (and probably the

duration too). Therefore the interaction might be an important indicator for improvisation.

The fourth aspect is the spontaneous and unprepared expressionof emotions. Expression

is difficult to define and hard to measure. Not only because the subjects enter with different moods and

personalities, but also because up to the present time there has been no clear description of how to

measure expression. Webster' s Dictionary (1986) describes expressionas that which "clearly shows or

communicates an idea, mood or emotion forcefully or vividly, [those expressive] features of musical

performance other than mechanical reproduction of the notes" (p. 803). Seashore (1938) defines

expression "as a fundamental proposition [in which] we may say that the artistic expression of feelings

in music consists in aesthetic deviation from the regular" (p. 9). According to Seashore, expression is

measurable, but is an intertwining and combination of many different factors.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a difference in improvising between

musicians and non-musicians, and if so to draw some conclusions as to whether that difference is

relevant to clients' referral to music therapy. This research was limited to the levels of interaction

during the improvisation and its duration. Expectations, enjoyment, and satisfaction concerning one' s

own improvisation were compared to give a therapeutic foundation for the musical findings.

Null hypothesis 1:

There will be no statistically significant difference between musicians and non-musicians in

judged musical interaction level.

Alternative Hypothesis 1:

There will be a statistically significant difference between musicians and non-musicians in

judged musical interaction level.

Null hypothesis 2:


the duration of the improvisation.

Alternative hypothesis 2:


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There will be a statistically significant difference between musicians and non-musicians in the

duration of the improvisation.

Null hypothesis 3:


their expectations concerning the improvisation.



their expectations concerning the improvisation.

Null hypothesis 4:


their enjoyment of the improvisation.



their enjoyment of the improvisation.

Null hypothesis 5:


their satisfaction about the improvisation.



their satisfaction about the improvisation.

Null hypothesis 6:


self-reported musical interaction level.

Alternative Hypothesis 6:


self-reported musical interaction level.


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METHODOLOGY

Subjects

Twenty-eight students from a private university in Northern California participated in the

study. Fifteen subjects were musicians. They included second semester freshmen through senior level

students enrolled in a conservatory of music and none having formal training in musical improvisation.

Subjects were selected on a voluntary basis from the university' s orchestra and choirs to assure

instrumental variation (see Table 1). Thirteen other subjects had no musical experience or education.

They had neither formal musical training nor experience playing the piano, keyboard, organ or

synthesizer. These subjects were selected on campus and asked to cooperate on a voluntary basis (see

Table 2). For a comparison of relevant characteristics of the musician and the non-musician groups,

see Table 3.

Table 1

Major Instruments and Levels of Study of Musicians

Instrument Study Level

1 Bassoon 2 French Horns 1 Freshman

1 Cello 4 Piano 3 Sophomores

1 Clarinet 1 Violin 6 Juniors

2 Flutes 3 Voice 5 Seniors


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Table 2

Majors and Levels of study of Non-Musicians

Major Study Level

2 American literature 1 History/ Black

studies

1 Freshman

1 Biology 1 Engineering 1 Sophomore

1 Communication 1 Psychology 2 Juniors

2 Counseling 1 Spanish 5 Seniors

1 Education 2 Regional/International

4 Graduates

Table 3

Relevant Characteristics of Both Groups

Musicians N= 15 Non-musicians N= 13

Sex Male 5 33% 5 38%

Female 10 67% 8 62%

Age Mean 21.7 years 22.8 years

Range 19 - 31 years 19 - 26 years

Musical experienceMean 10.4 years -

Range 3 - 16 years -

Mean times ofimprovisation 0.87 times -

Design

The two groups, musicians and non-musicians (independent variable) were compared under

the same treatment. The dependent variables under study were: 1. expectations before the

improvisation; 2. interaction during the musical improvisation; 3. duration (in minutes/seconds) of the

improvisation; and 4. degree of satisfaction and enjoyment following the improvisation. A post-test


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only design was used to assess the video taped piano-improvisations of the subjects. The design can be

illustrated as:

X1 O1

X1 O1

Each subject completed a questionnaire before and after the improvisation.

Materials/equipment

Two different questionnaires (see Appendix A and B) were designed for this study. One was

administered to the subjects before the improvisation and the other was given to them following the

improvisation. To play an introduction tape, especially developed for this experiment, a video-recorder

and monitor were available. A classroom of 7 by 15 meters was used. There was a Yamaha grand

piano in the room and a piano-stool. A video-camera was used to record the sound of the

improvisation and the hands of the instructor and the subject.

Procedures

Each subject was seen individually for approximately fifteen minutes. Each had to complete

Questionnaire A before any other instructions were given. Next they viewed a five-minute videotape,

which explained the musical form that would be practiced during the free piano improvisation. After

viewing this tape, questions concerning the procedure were answered by the instructor. Then the video

camera was started.

The piano-improvisation was a free improvisation. There were no rules, except that both (the

subject and the instructor) would play the piano and that they would observe certain musical structures.

The formal structures were developed by Dalcroze (Farber, 1991) and adapted for this study by the

researcher. The instructor started with one tone. As soon as its sound ended, the subject had to play

one tone. When this tone had faded away, the researcher played a different tone, etc. During this

process the subject could change the improvisation by, for example, playing more tones, other rhythms,

interrupting the note of the instructor. As soon as that happened, the improvisation was free, with the

restriction of the experimenter and subject finishing the improvisation together. When the composition

was finished, the video camera was stopped and Questionnaire B was completed. Then the experiment

was complete.


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RESULTS

The video tapings were analyzed by three independent judges/observers and scored on the

Music Improvisation Rating (MIR) for interaction levels (Pavlicevic & Trevarthen, 1989)(see

Appendix C). Interaction was measured by the way in which the instructor musically influenced the

subject and the manner in which the subject musically reacted. The results are presented in Tables 6

and 7. The judged interactions were analyzed using a Mann-Whitney-U-test resulting in a statistically

significant difference (p= .002) between musicians and non-musicians (see Table 8). Therefore Null

hypothesis 1 was rejected. Combining the figures of both groups, a Spearman Rank Correlation

Coefficient revealed a high correlation between years of musical training and the level of interaction (r

= .71; critical r = .448,p= .01). Within the musician' s group there was no correlation between years of

musical experience and the interaction level (r = .07, p > .05). Three independent observers judged the

interactions with an average reliability of 62% among the three of them (see Tables 6 and 7 for more

details).

The duration of each subject' s improvisation was timed (see column 6 of Tables 6 and 7), and

was analyzed using a t-test for independent measures. The t-test revealed no differences in duration of

the improvisations for musicians and non-musicians (t= .307, df = 26;p> .05), therefore this result

failed to reject Null hypothesis 2.

In addition, the responses to Questionnaires A and B (see Tables 4 and 5) were compared

using the Mann-Whitney-U statistics. The results revealed no statistically significant differences in

expectations, enjoyment, satisfaction and self-reported interactions. Therefore Null hypothesis 3, 4, 5

and 6 failed to be rejected (see Tables 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13).

A comparison of the expected and obtained performance sound rating yielded a statistically

significant difference for both groups (see Tables 15 and 16). Musicians thought their improvisation

sounded better than expected (U = 45.5; critical U = 56,p= .02), just like the non-musicians (U = 24;

critical U = 26 forp= .002). There was, however, no difference for the final sound rating for

musicians versus non-musicians (see Table 14).


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Table 4

Questionnaire Responses of Musicians

Subject Impr1 Pos

2 Sou

3 Enj

4 Inte

5 Sou

6 Sati

7

1. F 0 1 1 6 3 3 5

2. F 0 4 3 4 5 4 4

3. F 0 4 3 5 5 3 4

4. F 5 6 2 3 5 3 4

5. F 4 2 3 4 3 3 4

6. M 0 3 3 4 3 3 4

7. F 0 5 4 6 5 5 5

8. F 1 1 1 5 1 4 3

9. F 0 4 3 6 6 4 6

10. M 0 4 4 6 6 4 6

11. F 0 2 1 6 4 4 5

12. M 1 2 3 6 5 4 6

13. M 1 1 1 4 3 2 2

14. F 0 1 1 5 3 2 1

15. M 1 4 4 6 5 4 4

M = Male F = Female


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Table 5

Questionnaire Responses of Non-musicians

Subject Impr8 Pos

9 Sou

10 Enj

11 Int

12 Sou

13 Sati

14

1. M 0 3 3 4 2 3 4

2. M 0 5 3 6 2 4 4

3. M 0 1 1 5 3 2 3

4. M 0 4 3 6 4 3 4

5. F 0 1 1 6 6 4 6

6. F 0 2 3 6 4 4 6

7. F 0 2 3 6 3 3 4

8. F 0 1 2 6 2 4 4

9. F 0 4 3 6 2 4 4

10. F 0 1 2 6 4 4 5

11. M 0 2 1 6 3 4 5

12. F 0 2 2 5 4 4 4

1315

.F 0 1 1 6 6 5 6

M = Male F = Female


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Table 6

Interaction and Time Scores for Musicians

Subject Rater 1 Rater 2 Rater 3 Final Duration

1. 7 7 7 7 2' 44" 2. 6 7 6 6 2' 50"

3. 6 7 6 6 2' 42"

4. 6 6 6 6 3' 32"

5. 6 6 6 6 3' 09"

6. 6 2 5 5 3' 16"

7. 7 6 6 6 3' 32"

8. 5 5 5 5 6' 00"

9. 6 7 7 7 3' 23"

10. 6 6 6 6 3' 35"

11. 6 7 6 6 3' 14"

12. 7 7 7 7 2' 09"

13. 6 6 6 6 2' 15"

14. 4 2 2 2 2' 46"

15. 7 7 7 7 2' 12"

Mean time = 3' 10"

Mean score = 5.9

Reliability of 53% between rater 1 and 2.

Reliability of 73% between rater 1 and 3 and between rater 2 and 3.

Numbering of levels of judged interaction.

1 = No contact

2 = One-sided contact3 = Reverse contact

4 = Tenuous responsive contact

5 = Established responsive contact

6 = Tenuous mutual contact

7 = Established mutual contact


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Table 7

Interaction and Time Scores for Non-Musicians

Subject Rater 1 Rater 2 Rater 3 Final Duration

1. 4 4 4 4 2' 44"

2. 3 3 3 3 1' 52"

3. 2 5 2 2 2' 30"

4. 6 4 4 4 3' 31"

5. 4 4 4 4 2"34"

6. 2 4 5 4 3' 03"

7. 4 1 4 4 2' 28"

8. 5 5 5 5 3' 30"

9. 6 2 4 4 2' 23"

10. 4 5 4 4 2' 28"

11. 4 4 4 4 2' 50"

12. 6 2 6 6 6' 18"

13. 4 5 5 5 3' 24"

Mean time = 3' 03"

Mean score = 3.6




Numbering of levels of judged interaction.

1 = No contact

2 = One-sided contact

3 = Reverse contact

4 = Tenuous responsive contact

5 = Established responsive contact

6 = Tenuous mutual contact7 = Established mutual contact


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RESULTS SCORED WITH MANN-WHITNEY-U-TEST

Table 8

Interaction (Rated)

Musicians Non-Musicians

Score Rank X1 Total Score Rank X Total

2 1.5 1 1.5 2 1.5 1 1.5

3 - - - 3 3 1 3

4 - - - 4 8.5 8 68

5 13.5 2 27 5 13.5 2 27

6 20 8 160 6 20 1 20

7 26.5 4 106 7 - - -

R1= 294.5 R2= 119.5

Mean = 5.9 Mean = 3.6

U = 195 + 120 - 294.5 = 20.5

U = 195 + 91 - 119.5 = 166.5

Critical U = 32 if p= .002

RejectNull Hypothesis 1.

Table 9

Expectations of Possibilities (1 = definitely impossible; 6 = definitely possible)


Score Rank X Total Score Rank X Total

1 5 4 20 1 5 5 25

2 13 3 39 2 13 4 52

3 17.5 1 17.5 3 17.5 1 17.5

4 22 5 110 4 22 2 44

5 26.5 1 26.5 5 26.5 1 26.5

6 28 1 28 6 - - -

R1= 241 R2= 164Mean = 2.9 Mean = 2.2

U = 315 - 241 = 74

U = 286 - 164 = 122

Critical U = 54

Fail to reject Null hypothesis 3.

1

X is the number of present rankings.


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Table 10

Expectations of Sound (1 = horrible; 6 = always very good)



1 5 5 25 1 5 4 20

2 11.5 1 11.5 2 11.5 3 34.5

3 19.5 6 117 3 19.5 6 117

4 27 3 81 4 - - -

5 - - - 5 - - -

6 - - - 6 - - -

R1= 234.5 R2= 171.5

Mean = 2.4 Mean = 2.2

U = 315 - 234.5 = 80.5

U = 286 - 171.5 = 114.5

Critical U = 54


Table 11

Enjoyment (1 = not at all; 6 = very much)



1 - - - 1 - - -

2 - - - 2 - - -

3 1 1 1 3 - - -

4 4 4 16 4 4 1 4

5 9 3 27 5 9 2 18

6 20 7 140 6 20 10 200

R1= 214 R2= 222Mean = 5.3 Mean = 5.7

U = 315 - 214 = 101

U = 286 - 222 = 64

Critical U = 54

Fail to reject Null Hypothesis 4.


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Table 12

Self-reported Interaction (1 = never; 6 = always)



1 1 1 1 1 - - -

2 - - - 2 3.5 4 14

3 9.5 5 47.5 3 9.5 3 28.5

4 16 1 16 4 16 4 64

5 21.5 6 129 5 - - -

6 26.5 2 53 6 26.5 2 53

R1= 246.5 R2= 159.5Mean = 4.1 Mean = 3.4

U = 315 - 246.5 = 68.5

U = 286 - 159.5 = 126.5

Critical U = 54

Fail to reject Null Hypothesis 6.

Table 13

Satisfaction (1 = not at all satisfied; 6 = very satisfied)



1 1 1 1 1 - - -

2 2 1 2 2 - - -

3 3.5 1 3.5 3 3.5 1 3.54 11 6 66 4 11 7 77

5 20 3 60 5 20 2 40

6 25.5 3 76.5 6 25.5 3 76.5

R1= 209 R2= 197

Mean = 4.2 Mean = 4.5

U = 315 - 209 = 106

U = 286 - 197 = 89

Critical U = 54



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Table 14

Sound Rating (1 = horrible; 6= always very good)



1 - - - 1 - - -

2 1.5 1 1.5 2 1.5 1 1.5

3 7 6 42 3 7 3 21

4 19 7 133 4 19 8 152

5 27.5 1 27.5 5 27.5 1 27.5

6 - - - 6 - - -

R1= 204 R2= 202

Mean = 3.5 Mean = 3.1

U = 315 - 204 = 111

U = 286 - 202 = 84

Critical U = 54

No statistically significant difference for sound rating between musicians and non-musicians.

Table 15

Comparison of Expected and Obtained Performance Sound from Musicians

Musicians before Musicians after


1 3 5 15 1 - - -

2 6.5 1 6.5 2 6.5 1 6.5

3 12.5 6 75 3 12.5 4 50

4 23 3 69 4 23 8 184

5 - - - 5 29.5 2 596 - - - 6 - - -

R1= 155.5 R2= 299.5

U = 345 - 299.5 = 45.5

Critical U = 56 for p= .02

There is a statistically significant difference between the expected and obtained performance.


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Table 16

Comparison of Expected and Obtained Performance Sound from Non-Musicians

Non-Musicians before Non-Musicians after


1 2.5 4 10 1 - - -

2 7 3 21 2 7 2 14

3 14 6 84 3 14 3 42

4 - - - 4 22.5 8 180

5 - - - 5 - - -

6 - - - 6 - - -

R1= 115 R2= 236

U = 260 - 236 = 24

Critical U = 26 for p= .002

There is a statistically significant difference between the expected and obtained performance.


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improvisation, in an effort to better understand the factors that may have influenced their rating. Was it

the musical sound, personal concepts of a perfect performance, or the determinations of the

experimenter' s piano skills? It may seem that the possibility for musical growth within a musical

relationship (improvisation) is not as great for musicians compared to non-musicians. If so, this may

appear to limit the strength of the therapeutic intervention of the relationship between therapist and

musician. On the other hand, if this musical relationship is easily established, the therapist/improviser

can start more quickly and with less effort with the processing of other aspects of therapy (e.g.

exploration of emotions, social behavior, rationales).

Denying a person' s involvement in improvisational music therapy should not be determined

solely by whether a person possesses musical skills. However, the therapist should be aware of the

existence of musical skills because of their influencing character in the therapeutic interaction. Contra-

indications for music therapy will still depend largely on personal and theoretical values, such as:

1. Clients indicated with certain psychological, emotional, social, physical or behavioral

problems (compare e.g. Reinhardt, Rohrborn & Schwabe, 1986)

2. Clients indicated with problems linked to certain musical qualities, such as people with

communication, arranging, shaping, expression, time, or tempo problems (Fockema Andrea &

van der Sterren, 1978), or people who need activity therapies, where final products or tangible

objects are absent (in comparison with, for example, art therapy where there is a final

product), or a therapy with regressive, surrounding sounds (Schwartz, 1990).

3. Contra-indications for certain psychological states (such as clients with acute psychoses

(Schalkwijk, 1984)).

Before medical insurance companies will reimburse music therapists for their professional services,

there must be specific therapeutic reasons for referral -- specific objectives, goals and treatment plans.

Music therapists concentrate on providing change-oriented, musical experiences. Musical skills seems

to be important for only certain parts of improvisational therapy and even then a music therapist can

rearrange the activity to assure a success-oriented start for both musicians and non-musicians. Most of

the subjects in this study played more musically than expected. This kind of musical success can be

highly motivating to people engaged in music therapy. It was noted throughout the study, that many of

the subjects expressed a desire to participate in additional improvisations with the researcher.


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The researcher did not attempt to analyze the outcomes according to gender. It was difficult

to find males who were both performance majors and lacking in improvisational experiences. In future

studies it may prove interesting to examine the differences in improvisational skills between men and

women. Since all the subjects who participated in this study were volunteers, it may also be interesting

to examine those less willing to participate (e.g. college students enrolled in a course in which

participation in such a project is required) and how they would perform under similar experimental

conditions. Their possible reluctance, like unwillingness of some clients to involve themselves in

therapy, may interfere with their performance.

As a result of the low reliability figures obtained for the interaction ratings, more discrete

observation categories and more time devoted to observing and recording these categories may be

helpful in planning future studies. One of the major biases reported by the raters occurred upon

viewing the improvisation video tapings. They were able to recognize whether they were judging a

musician or a non-musician by the hand position of the subjects. Once the rater observed this, the

musicians tended to receive a higher rating (the percentage of correct answers for musician versus non-

musician was 79% for rater 1 and 86% for rater 2). The reverse process, assigning lower ratings to the

non-musicians could also have taken place. The use of an audiotape rather than videotape might

control for this factor. However, using only an audiotape would make it difficult to discriminate the

improvisation and intervention efforts of each improviser (researcher versus subject). Reliability may

also be increased among the judges by providing more practice and discussion of the important aspects

of the rating procedure. For example, sometimes a 6 (tenuous mutual contact) and a 2 (one-sided

contact) were assigned by the raters for the same improvisation, because it was not clear whether a

subject was not able to respond or whether he or she played out of personal initiative. Also, higher

reliability may have been achieved if a specified amount of time was observed using interval recording

(e.g. two minutes of observation, divided into 10 seconds to observe and 10 seconds to record the

scores). One of the problems that arose during the scoring was the great variance in interaction level

during the improvisation, which made it sometimes difficult to decide whether a subject should get a 1

(no contact) for his interaction in the beginning or a 6 (tenuous mutual contact) like his intervening role

in the improvisation at the end.


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Another uncontrolled variable may have resulted from the experimenter' s improvisations. For

example, some subjects stopped after a short period of time, yet the instructor continued to play in an

effort to encourage the subjects toward further improvisation. These initiatives by the experimenter

may have influenced the actual duration of the improvisation performed by the subject. The two

exceptions of six minutes and six minutes and 18 seconds were complete initiatives of the subjects.

The instructor also seemed inconsistent with her inventions across performances. For some subjects,

the musical interventions performed by the experimenter were more challenging than with other

subjects.

For future research it might be interesting to examine the musical content and expressiveness

of improvisation efforts of musicians and non-musicians. Another intriguing area of research might

deal with the role interaction plays in therapy, in general, and in music therapy specifically. Other

fascinating ideas for research could involve the examination of improvisation with: 1. different

populations (mentally challenged, psychologically challenged (Pavlicevic & Trevarthen, 1989);

physically challenged); 2. children of different ages (Flohr 1981, 1985; Hassler & Feil, 1986; Kalmar

& Balasko, 1987; Thaut, 1988) to clients of older ages; and 3. different musical skills (improvisation

skills versus no improvisation skills; piano major versus other performance majors). The use of other

instruments, other musical improvisation forms, or more continuous sessions for each subject may

provide additional insight into the way in which improvisational music therapy influences people.

There is a strong need for additional research in indication and contra-indication for (improvisational)

music therapy in order to establish a coherent research base.


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APPENDIX A

Questionnaire A

"Musical Improvisation is the unprepared creation of expressive sound forms or music"

(Bruscia, 1986).

# (M) ______ F/M Age _____

Please read carefully and fill in or mark the appropriate answers.

1. What is your major? ___________________________________________

2. What year are you in? Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Graduate.

3. What kind(s) of music do you like to listen to and/or play?

(Check as many as you like).

Baroque ________ Blues __________ New Age ________

Renaissance ____ Jazz ___________ Pop ____________

Classic ________ Rock & Roll ____ Alternative ____

Romantic _______ Rock ___________ Ethnic__________

Impressionistic Hard Rock ______ Gospel _________

Expressionistic Heavy Metal ____ Country & Western

Modern Classical_ Hip Hop ________ Rap ____________

Folk music _____ House __________ Musical ________

Others (please explain):________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

4. Have you had any (formal) musical training? No _____ Yes _____

If so, how many years of musical training have you had? ______

What is your major instrument? ___________

What other instruments do you play or have you played? ____________________

5. Have you ever participated in a musical improvisation? No ____ Yes____

If so, approximately about how many times? _________

What kind of improvisation(s)? Jazz ___ Cadenza ___ Free ___ Blues ___

Others (please explain) ____________________________


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6. Do you think you are capable of playing an unrehearsed piano-improvisation with

someone else? Please circle only one number.

1. Definitely impossible 4. Possible

2. Almost impossible 5. Very possible

3. Somewhat impossible 6. Definitely possible

7. How do you think this improvisation will sound? Please circle only one number.

1. Horrible 4. Mostly good

2. Mostly horrible 5. Mostly very good

3. Not always horrible 6. Always very good


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APPENDIX B

Questionnaire B

# (M) ______

Please circle only the appropriate number.

1. How did you enjoy the improvisation?

1. Not at all 4. Moderately

2. Hardly 5. Pretty much

3. Somewhat 6. Very much

2. Did you have the feeling that you could play together with the other pianist?

1. Never 4. Often

2. Seldom 5. Most of the time

3. Sometimes 6. Always

3. How do you think the improvisation sounded?

1. Horrible 4. Rather good

2. Most of the time horrible 5. Most of the time very good

3. Rather horrible 6. Always very good

4. How satisfied are you with the overall performance of this improvisation?

1. Not at all satisfied 4. Moderately satisfied

2. Hardly satisfied 5. Pretty satisfied

3. Somewhat satisfied 6. Very satisfied


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Subject and researcher share mutual musical partnership, the musical initiatives and modeling.

Improvisation shows a flexible use of musical components. Researcher and subject are musically

independent within a highly dynamic, interactive musical context.


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1Number of times of past involvement in an improvisation.

2Expectations of possibilities to play a piano improvisation.3Expectation of how the improvisation would sound.

4Enjoyment of the improvisation.

5Rating of the interaction capacity (according to subject).6Sound rating of the performed interaction.

7

Satisfaction about the improvisation.8 Number of times of past involvement in an improvisation.9 Expectations of possibilities to play a piano-improvisation.

10Expectation of how the improvisation would sound.

11Enjoyment of the improvisation.12

Rating of the interaction capacity (according to subject).13

Sound rating of the performed improvisation.14Satisfaction about the improvisation.15

Physical handicapped.

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