Balancing Improvisation and Composition in Music Therapy

Abstract

This chapter presents a consideration of how improvisation has been central to my work as a composer, music therapist, and educator of music therapy. A common thread that runs through this chapter is the recognition that less is more. In music, this is made most apparent through the use of silence and space. I highlight this significance in three ways: (i) the theoretical relationship between improvisation and composition; (ii) the analysis of a non-clinical choral composition and how musical components might be used in clinical practice; and (iii) a framework and method for improvisation in music therapy.