more important than musical syntax and form. And he proposes that a discussion of the pragmatic
level, that is, the therapeutical effect and meaning of the improvisation, is a suitable replacement for
Ferrara’s considerations of the music’s and the composer’s ontology.
2.3.2. Forinash and Gonzalez (1989):
A Phenomenological Perspective of Music Therapy
Michele Forinash and David Gonzalez (1989) apply a modified version of Ferrara’s procedure to
describe a music therapy session. This is a pioneering article, introducing phenomenology in music
therapy in order to develop a qualitative research method that is directly applicable to clinical experi-
ences. The authors present phenomenology as ”the study of knowledge gained through appearance
or experience” (p. 36), and discuss phenomenological concepts with references to Ihde (1976),
Smith (1979), Kaelin (1981), and Ferrara (1984).
Modification of Ferrara’s procedure
On the background of personal communication with Ferrara, the authors modify his progression in
order to adapt it to the music therapy process, resulting in a seven-step procedure:
- Client background: The psychosocial history of the client and family.
- Session: Description of the therapy session and the evolution of music and interactions.
- Syntax: Analytical description of the music played in the session.
- Sound as such: Description of the qualities of all sounds that appear in the session, including
music, sounds of the therapist and client, and environmental sounds. - Semantic: The therapist’s experience of referential meaning of the session.
- Ontology: Awareness of the client’s life world, the existential reality of the client in the moment.
- Metacritical evaluation, reviewing strengths and weaknesses of the phenomenological method.
Session description
The session is extraordinary. A client named Sara, 42 years old, is terminally ill with cancer, and Fori-
nash together with the hospice music therapist give musical support to Sara in her last hours of life.
Step 1: Client background
The client’s social background is miserable. Her alcoholic husband has committed suicide, and she
has been worried about the future of her two children.
Step 2: Session
The therapists sing and play guitars. They vocalise on soft vowels, sing comforting songs, and im-
provise songs with peaceful images and words. Realizing that Sara is dying, they decide to continue
improvising until she stops breathing.
Step 3: Syntax
The precomposed music follows well-known chord progressions. For improvisations, the therapists
choose maj7 and sus4 chords.