Chapter 1. Introduction
The present thesis includes parts of a previous publication, The Musical Timespace (1996), in ac-
cordance with the ”senior’s model” for PhD theses in Music Therapy Research at Aalborg University.
The background of the relationship between this book and music therapy is the following;
The Musical Timespace presented an investigation of the listening dimensions in music. Soon after
the publication of the book, Lars Ole Bonde suggested that this investigation might be useful for de-
scribing clinical improvisations in music therapy, and invited Inge Nygaard Pedersen and the author
to a conversation on that theme. This conversation was published in Danish in The Nordic Journal
of Music Therapy, in two parts (Bonde 1997a, 1998). The conversation confirmed the relationships
between the approach of the book and the experience of space and sound in music therapy impro-
visations. Included in the conversation were discussions of recorded music therapy improvisations,
presented in publications of Gary Ansdell (1995) and Colin Lee (1996). Bonde suggested that The
Musical Timespace represented an attempt at putting forward ”a language for phenomenological
description that is as exact as possible, especially in relation to the qualities of sound” (1997a:143).
Reviews of the book by Bigand (1997) and Bonde (1997b) have pointed out certain limitations in its
theoretical underpinning, in particular a lack of discussion related to cognitive science and music phe-
nomenology. In order to remedy these limitations, the present thesis presents investigations of neuro-
science and music phenomenology in relation to music therapy and the listening dimensions in music.
Chapter two explores the potential of phenomenological description in music listening and music
therapy research.
Chapter three reports the outcome of four conferences on the neurosciences and music, and dis-
cusses the validity of neuroscientific research.
Chapter four presents a concise version of the author’s publication The Musical Timespace.
Chapter five describes a project in collaborative research, which resulted in the design of Present
Moments, a new program for Guided Imagery and Music Therapy.
Chapter six summarizes research that is important for understanding the functions of the auditory
system in the brain.
Chapter seven focuses on investigations of embodiment, including body listening, forms of vitality,
and the effects of neurotransmitters in the brain and the body.
Chapter eight discusses the results and limitations of the present project, and presents suggestions
for future research.