Approaches to improvisation in music therapy: A quest for orientation within a spectrum

“Integral to the work of music therapists, improvisation appears commonly in the literature, yet only in a small number of books devoted to the topic” (Sutton, 2019, p.2). Currently, there is a growing interest in the topic of improvisation, including research in Music Therapy Improvisation (MTI). This necessitates clarity about how we define MTI, writes Sutton (2019). In her article Improvisation: Our controversial discussions, Sutton sets out to explore different approaches to MTI, with a particular focus on free improvisation as documented in the literature in recent decades. The purpose of this exploration is to provide a thorough clarification of the complexity in meaning and definitions of free improvisation, an area which has been neglected to date according to Sutton. By doing so, Sutton strives to combat the stagnating polarization between different approaches in music therapy, and to initiate an open space for discussion. There is a theoretical duality regarding free improvisation which Sutton situates between a “music centered” and a “psychodynamic” approach. Instead of arriving at a spectrum of diversity, in which different approaches can inspire each other and stimulate dialogue, this polarization has led to a definite split; a field of tension in which therapists are forced into a “camp” or “framework”, often strengthened by confusing and contradictory attempts to define free improvisation. Every approach using free improvisation in music therapy is embedded within a spectrum of techniques, methods and meta-theory, writes Sutton. However, currently there is a lack of coherence and concrete definitions within this spectrum. Clear definitions could defuse the defensive polarizations in music therapy and lead to a better understanding of similarities and differences. After this powerful introduction, Sutton tries to work via a description of historical movements and counter-movements, towards a collective (conciliatory) understanding of free improvisation. Her writing reflects an exploratory search for similarities in defining free improvisation between the field of performance, musicology, psychoanalysis and music therapy. However, it becomes clear that her intention is too ambitious to fully explore in this paper. In her passionate attempt to remain faithful to the complexity of free improvisation, her writing ismarked by a dense tangle of suggestive non-concretized conceptualisations.