Graphic Notation as a Tool in Describing and Analyzing Music Therapy Improvisations

This article presents a method of graphic notation—“aural scores”—that facilitates memorizing and analyzing improvised music therapy processes. The ways in which graphic notation can represent aspects of music not captured by conventional music notation are discussed. The author's method of training music therapy students in creating these notations is outlined. An elaborate example of a notation is shown for music taken from a well-known clinical recording from Nordoff and Robbins' (1977) text, Creative Music Therapy. In addition, other examples by students are cited and general issues, including the epistemology and cultural status of musical notation, are discussed.