Metaphoric Music Listening
inside and outside music therapy
The Ear in Music
Norwegian Academy of Music May 11-12th
Lars Ole Bonde
Dept. Of Communication/Music Therapy , Aalborg University
Center for Music and Heath, Norwegian Academy of Music
Overview
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PART 1:
OUTSIDE THERAPY / INSIDE EVERYDAY LIFE
Ways of listening
Theoretical models
PART 2:
INSIDE THERAPY /OUTSIDE EVERYDAY LIFE?
Ways of listening
Metaphorical listening – practice and theory
Conclusions
Ways of listening: Howard’s End
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From E. M. Forster: Howard’s End, Chapter 5:
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It will be generally admitted that Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is the most
sublime noise that has ever penetrated into the ear of man. All sorts and
conditions are satisfied by it. Whether you are like Mrs. Munt, and tap
surreptitiously when the tunes come - of course, not so as to disturb the
others - or like Helen, who can see heroes and shipwrecks in the music's
flood; or like Margaret, who can only see the music; or like Tibby, who is
profoundly versed in counterpoint, and holds the full score open on his
knee; or like their cousin, Fraulein Mosebach, who remembers all the time
that Beethoven is echt Deutsch; or like Fraulein Mosebach's young man,
who can remember nothing but Fraulein Mosebach: in any case, the
passion of your life becomes more vivid, and you are bound to admit that
such a noise is cheap at two shillings.
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Mrs. Munt: Automatic kinaesthetic responses Helen: Multi-modal Imagery
Margaret: Musical Imagery?; Tibby: Visual Analysis
Fraulein Mosebach: Nonmusical associations Young man: Emotional associations
Layers of meaning (Frede V. Nielsen)
E. Clarke: An ecological model
(Ways of Listening, 2005)
The Info-processing model
Alternative model:
Cultural
”Resonance is not passive: it is a
perceiving organism’s active,
exploratory engagement with its
environment.” (Clarke p. 19)
Mental
Aesthetics
Cognition
Physical/M Psychoacoustics
Physical
Acoustics
Affordances and appropriations:
”I mean simply what things furnish, for
good or ill. What they afford the
observer, after all, depend on their
properties.” (Gibson 1966).
However, affordances are not determined
by the object and its properties, but
”through an interaction between
people, interpretations and decisions
and the use of materials. Affordances
are the products of practices of
appropriation, achieved in and through
practical action and how to locate
affordances may have to be learned.”
(DeNora 2007)
Intensive listening to the musical
timespace (Erik Christensen)
Other ways of listening
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Body listening (Bonny)
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”Of course listening to music
with the body is nothing new.
Spontaneous movement to
music is the genesis of
dance. However, at some
point in time we have
forgotten the educational
functions of the body – what
we could call body
improvisation. Basically it is
about feeling the music in the
body and then let the body
express the emotion in
movement.”
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(Helen Bonny 1993)
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Fireside listening (Bastian)
”When we listen to contemporary
music it is probably irrelevant to
expect a Shakespearean plot. In
the moment we may not be able
to grasp the melody, the rhythm or
the harmonic progression – we
don’t recognize the ’characters’. In
this case the best listening mode
is what I call fireside listening. We
decide not to make presumptions
or judgements about what may
come from the inside or the
outside. Instead we concentrate
on how the music is reflected in
mind and body. What actually
happens is what counts.”
(Peter Bastian 1987, s. 149)
Theory
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Imagery as a representational mode
(Horowitz)
Music as metaphor and analogy (based on
Lakoff & Johnson and Paul Ricouer)
Theory: Imagery as one of
Three modes of representation
A theoretical model by Mardi J. Horowitz (1983)
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Enactive representation: includes innate and learned response mechanisms.
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Image representation: allows information processing (often spontaneous)
after perceptual events in several subsystems or -modalities:
kinesthetic, olfactory, gustatory, visual, auditive, emotions.
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This is (metaphorical) thinking "as if…”
Lexical representation: intimately connected to language.
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This is bodily 'thinking through enactions'
This is traditional ’thinking in words and concepts'
Metaphor: The metaphoric language is a special language enabling verbal
representation of imaginal and enactive experiences.
Metaphor theory – Lakoff & Johnson
Meaning in natural language begins in figurative,
multivalent patterns.
These patterns and their connections are embodied and
cannot be reduced to a set of literal concepts and
propositions.
The body-based patterns of meaning are condensed in
image schemata.
Image schemata are the basis of metaphors.
Metaphors are cross-domain mappings in the conceptual
system.
Certain image schemata lend themselves readily to the
description of music experiences, e.g. PATH, FORCE,
BALANCE
Ricoeur on metaphor and narrative
The rule of the metaphor (1977) Time and narrative (1984)
Metaphor is a SEMANTIC EVENT made
possible by 3 KINDS OF TENSION:
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Tension within the statement
Tension between literal and metaphorical
interpretation
Tension between identity and difference in the
interplay of resemblance
”Musik in ihrer schönsten Form ist die Sprache der
Liebe, die Alles heilen kann.” (Richard Wagner)
 ”Jede Krankheit ist ein musikalisches Problem - die
Heilung eine musikalische Lösung” (Novalis)
PART II: Music therapy
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Receptive music therapy methods:
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and
Music (BMGIM) – individual format
Music-Centered Guided Imagery and Music
(MCGIM) – individual format
Music and Imagery – group or individual format
The BMGIM session
BMGIM was developed by Helen L.
Bonny in the 1970s in USA.
Definition: ”A modality of therapy involving
spontaneous imaging, expanded states
of consciousness, pre-designed
classical music programs, ongoing
dialogues during the music-imaging,
and non-directive guiding techniques”
(Bruscia 2002)
Session duration: 90-120 minutes
1. Prelude (15’-25’) Identifying a focus
2. Induction/relaxation (5’-10’)
3. Music imaging (”Travel” to a ’program’)
(25’-50’) with ongoing dialogue
4. Transition w. drawing (5-10)
5. Postlude (20’-30’) Making meaning of the
experience
Prelude and Postlude: Sitting up
Transition
Induction and
’Music travel’: On
the couch
Summer: A double metaphor
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BMGIM/Drift dive:
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Changing music is the
strong current that
pushes the individual
into new territory for
active and open
exploring
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MCGIM/Manta dive:
No current. Repeated
music makes the
individual stay in one
place for a receptive,
focused contemplation
of a singular experience
3 levels of metaphoric thinking
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Three levels or types of metaphoric thinking in GIM has been
identified in the GIM literature (Bonde 2000, 2005):
(I) The narrative episode, configured around a core
metaphor
(e.g.a crossroad in life -> an exploration of a new path)
(II) The narrative configuration of the self
(e.g. ’the jester’ as a self metaphor, exposed to a situation)
(III) The full narrative (including emplotment)
(e.g. a story of the jester being first praised and then
rejected and abandoned by the king – and maybe supported
by the queen…)
What is configuration?
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Configuration is the specific construction or arrangement of
elements in a given context
In a narrative context Configuration is the distribution of elements
in the ’image’, ’scene’ or ’narrative’:
 what is foreground/middle ground/background?
 who is the protagonist/antagonist(s)?
 who is the helper (a person, an animal, a force or artefact)?
In therapy a C can be changed = reconfiguration
This demands a change of the ’plot’: the dynamic web of causes
and effects (the ”who dunnit” question)
In BMGIM and M&I there is a spontaneous configuration of
images/metaphors, and in a dynamic process there may be a
reconfiguration -> ”A New Story” may begin.
Music and Imagery Examples
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Exercise: Listen to a piece of music with
focus on:
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Bodily reactions
Emotional reactions
Imagery
Sound properties
Structural observations
….
Or follow the contour of the following slide
m
ummn
r ): mp icy
y
, s
ele d
)
:
) ,
:
o
Tveitt: O be ye most heartily welcome
TRANQUILITY
MOOD: 4
MINORModal
Mood: 5
Mood: 3
A THREAT
UNEASINESS
CRESCENDO
Mood: 2
Mood: 3
RETURN TO TRAQUILITY?
SOFTER, MORE DELICATE
FRAGILE?
DRAMATIC INCREASE
IN TENSION
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Mood: 2-> 9
Mood: 3 or 4?
Section C2
Bassoon takes over
Dynamics raise to climax
Declining base line
Section A
Pluckings
Bassoon theme
0:00
0:20
Section A1
Waves and pluckings
Theme in strings /flute
0:40
1:00
Section B
Section C1
Flute continues Dynamics raising
melody
Bassoon returns
1:20
1:40
TIME (MIN:SEC)
Section A3
Clarinet
Original theme
Soft w aves
Section B1
Flute plays B
theme again
2:00
2:20
2:40
3:00
Coda
Clarinet brings
them to end
3:20
3:40
Hevner’s Mood Wheel
Tveitt #1 Soundscapes
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Aksnes & Ruud (2008)
”In the analysis the wellbalanced and "floating"
character of the music was
understood in terms of amodal,
body-based schemata that are
operative within music
cognition.(Furthermore, the
slightly darker turn towards the
end of the piece is also reflected
in several of the narratives).
In the comparison with the
reported travels, it was
concluded that the schemata
evoked by the music afforded a
sensation of being held and
carried by the music. ”
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A psych. Patient (HL f 54)
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In the beginning a positive
mood and beautiful nature
imagery. However, the
darkness and tension in the
middle section spoiled the
good mood, and even if she
could hear the mood of the
beginning return in the end,
she could’nt reenter this mood.
She accepted the suggested
interpretation - that the music
experience repeated one of
her ’scripts’: the music didn’t
hold its promise, and she
couldn’t get out of the negative
response this evoked in her.
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Group Music and Imagery
with psychiatric outpatients
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Groups of up to four psychiatric outpatients with a
score of 51 or above on the Global Assessment of
Function (GAF) Scale.
Diagnoses: Paranoid schizophrenia, Anxiety
disorders, Personality disorders, PTSD, OCD…..
90 minutes session: Long prelude (up to 60’) –
Induction (3-5) – music listening (4-10) – mandala
(5) – prelude (10-20).
Music with a mixed supportive-challenging profile
used in most cases
Tveitt #1 Patient assessments (1)
Patient Patient’s imagery
Incl.
CK
M 49
Positive nature imagery (spring, light, fresh air,
leaves and trees). Going into a forest and out
again. Mood: Like Mozart’s Elvira Madigan.
Yes
EB
M 65
Gave a precise description of the music as a flow in No
time, with changing moods. Liked the music, but
had no imagery or emotional reactions.
RB
F 27
The music was perceived as sad and even a bit
scary twice, before it returned to the initial mood.
Associations to ’someone dying in a hospital’.
LL
F 49
Darkness – thorugh a tunnel – a flash of light –
Yes
darkness again – an eye -> eyes behind
sunglasses. Strange, but not scary, imagery makes
sense.
Yes
Tveitt #1 Patient assessments (2)
Patient Patient’s imagery
Incl.
FJ
M 42
Gave a precise description of the music and also a
title (”The road of life”). Reflections on the music
affording representation of dynamic states
Yes
HH
M 42
Nature imagery (meadow, forest, water). Did not
want to draw or discuss the imagery
No
VM
F 44
A fairy tale of a person visiting a forest with light
Yes
and darkness. A ’troll’ was hiding in the shadows,
but it came forward and took what it needed before
leaving, as the light returned. Not scary. Fine music
LO
M 41
No visual imagery, but strong bodily sensations of
the music and its development. The shift to a
darker mood made him relax and feel calm. Not
scary- liked the music.
Yes
Some clinically based conclusions
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This piece of music – with a mixed profile – has
proven an excellent in/exclusion tool, independent of
diagnosis.
Patients react to the music in a variety of modalities,
and their readiness to report is easily assessed.
Patients seem to have stronger sensibility and
reactions to the ’darker’ sections of the music, and
their reactions show if they are able to work with the
metaphoric imagery in a constructive way.
Differences from the imagery reported in
Aksnes/Ruud study may also be related to the
different setting.
Perspectives in/outside therapy:
Music Imaging as ’health musicking’
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Music imaging is a natural phenomenon
It is used in therapy (e.g. BMGIM), but also in everyday
life as ’a technology of the self’ (DeNora)
Affordance & appropriation (Gibson): Music affords
imaging and music imaging can be appropriated in
multiple ways: listening self-care, musical selfmedication (regulation of physical, psychological and
spiritual wellbeing) (Ruud 2008)
Music imaging is both a mode of thinking (introjection)
and a mode of expression (projection).
Sharing music images can be powerful group process –
also outside therapy
Theoretical perspectives
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Music can be categorized by intensity profiles and
applied in receptive music therapy at different levels:
Supportive: Trust building and encouraging aims.
Music must provide a catalyst for immediate positive
interpersonal interaction. (Small containers)
Reeducative: Change through insight in conscious
conflict material. Music provides experiences leading
to greater self-awareness and –understanding.
(Small to medium containers)
Reconstructive: Change and transformation through
insight also in unconscious conflict material. (Medium
to large containers)
(Summer 2002, referring to Wolberg 1967)
Intensity profiles:
Graphic representations of experiential intensity
Peak
Intensity
*
Clim ax
Buil ding /
Releasing
Tens ion
(almost)
No tension,
even intensity
Plateau
0 = No music
Time axis :
Episode s:
Cues:
Peak
Time
(Bars / The mes / Form)
(Prim ary/seconda ry instruments, texture, key , mood, dyna mi cs)
*
Clim ax
Buil ding /
Releasing
Tens ion
Plateau
0 = No music
Some tension
(in the middle),
ABA intensity
Time axis :
Episode s:
Cues:
Peak
*
Clim ax
Buil ding /
Releasing
Tens ion
Plateau
0 = No music
Time axis :
Episode s:
Rich in tension,
high intensity,
unpredictable
A grounded theory: the contribution of the
musical elements
Helen Bonny developed the ‘affective contour’ model to
represent the changing levels of intensity in a GIM music
program in a graphic form. The ‘intensity profile’ presented
here is used to give an easily understood graphic
representation of the course of experienced intensity in one
music selection. It is obvious that supportive, mixed and
challenging music have very different profiles. The build-up
and release of tension in challenging and mixed music, or
the absence of tension-building in supporting music, is the
main feature of a profile. The intensity of a given music
selection influences the imagery in many ways, and
increasing or decreasing intensity of the music is
immediately reflected in the imagery. The music parameters
with the greatest influence on intensity, and thus on the
imagery, are mood, form, intensity(profile) and melodic
conciseness.
The end: A cancer survivor’s imagery
Supportive
• Faure Pavane
(Hillary)
• Faure Pavane (Bill)
• Mozart Vesperae
Solemnes, Laudate
Dominum**
• Canteloube Songs of
the Auvergne,
Brezairola **
• Beethoven Piano
Concerto #5, mvt 2 **
• Schumann Funf
Stucke im Volkston,
Langsam
Re-educative
• Debussy String
Quartet, Andantino
• Copland Rodeo,
Corral Nocturne **
• Bach (orchestrated)
Prelude in Eb minor
• Mascagni Cavalleria
Rusticana, Regina
Coeli
• Strauss
Death&Transf,
Transfiguration
• Brahms Symphony
#3, mvt 3 **
Reconstructive
• Rodrigo Concierto de
Aranjuez, mvt 2 **
• Wagner Siegfried Idyll
• Beethoven Violin
Concerto, mvt 2 **
• Respighi Pines of
Rome, Giancolo
• Debussy Danses
Sacred and Profane