Improvisation in Music Therapy for Persons Living with Dementia

Abstract

Musical improvisation can bring new and promising acts of playfulness and spontaneity for persons living with dementia. It can provide a sense of connection with moments of focus and immersion. In music therapy, improvisation is an integrated part of sessions and is seldom researched as an isolated technique. Preliminary research suggests that improvisation improves physical and emotional engagement, motivation, cognition, mood, and social interaction. In this chapter, I will explore the relevance of play rules, repetition, receptive techniques, vocal improvisation, meaning-making, and what these elements mean in regard to the skills required of music therapists, and in avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. An improvisational attitude implies a focus on how communicative signals are musically expressed. The music therapist engages in improvisation with an embodied approach and by enduring simplicity and exploring repetition, an approach that integrates listening, attunement, vocal holding, and the merging of precomposed melodies.