ries of her work have appeared in English in the form of articles (2003, 2005) and a book chapter
(2007).
Philosophical background for a phenomenologically inspired procedure
Trondalen devotes considerable energy and reflection to developing a procedure for description and
analysis of improvisations (2004:41-72). She considers it important to focus on the experiences,
events and interpersonal relations in clinical practice before applying theoretical explanations. With
reference to Creswell (1998:236) she makes the following demands:
- The researcher must suspend her own preconceived understanding of a phenomenon.
- She must be able to experience an object through her own senses (that is, being conscious of an
object), as well as seeing it “as real” outside herself. - She must be able to describe the individual experience and the meaning ascribed to it in
statements that capture the essence of the experience (2004:51).
In her search for a philosophical background for the procedure, Trondalen adheres to Føllesdal’s
understanding of Husserl, which implies that meaning is a primordial experience (Føllesdal 1969,
1993). She also acknowledges Polkinghorne’s emphasis on including description, interpretation, and
interpersonal relations (Polkinghorne 1989:45-47), and Merleau-Ponty’s fundamental idea that the
body is the basis for experience of the world.
Trondalen decides to include phenomenology, hermeneutics^32 and bodily experience in her inves-
tigations, and finds an adaptation of Ferrara’s procedures suitable for this purpose. She discusses
Ferrara’s 1984 and 1991 methods, compares adaptations by different researchers, and conducts a
preliminary test analysis (2004:60-72, 496-497). On the basis of these preparations and consider-
ations, she proposes a nine-step phenomenologically inspired procedure for description and analysis
of music therapy improvisations (2004:73-75, 2007:200-204).
Trondalen’s nine-step procedure
- Contextual step
Clarification of the client’s personal, social, biological and musical history, and the client’s history
of treatment. - Open listening
a) Listening to the improvisation as one enduring whole many times, allowing different layers of
sensations, feelings and meaning to emerge.
b) Body listening: The researcher moves to the music in order to be aware of the bodily
aspect in the analysis. - Structural step
a) Description of sound and intensity experienced in time, and drawing of a graphic intensity
profile.
b) Structural analysis of the sound and music measured in time (SMMA)^33 , illustrated by a score.
It is important to notice musical codes and musical relationships between client and therapist at a
structural level.
32 Hermeneutics can be considered a ”second phenomenology”, as proposed by Ihde (1976:17-23, this chapter p. 9).
33 Trondalen (2004:495) applies an adapted version of Grocke’s Structural Model of Music Analysis (SMMA), described
in this chapter p. 34.