Some conclusions
Altogether, the listening project appears to constitute a reasonably adequate phenomenological in-
vestigation, which can provide guidelines for further sessions of experimental listening. The applica-
tion of listening strategies in the sessions suggest the following conclusions:
Repeated phenomenological variations can disclose previously unnoticed features, details,
and relationships.Alternation between open, music-focused and hermeneutical listening can elicit novel
observations.Spatial focus and temporal focus entail different kinds of experience.It is possible deliberately to alternate between wide, broad and narrow focus, spatially as well
as temporally.Significant changes in the mode of listening can occur, revealing new perspectives of the
musical experience.Listening for the appearance and the disappearance of sound can disclose undetected
aspects of the music.Phenomenological variations promote reflections on the listening experience.Hermeneutical interpretation of music is multivariable.2.4.5. Potential applications of experimental listening.
Experimental listening requires attention, patience and perseverance. Typical participants are skilled
and motivated music listeners, such as musicians, music therapists, educators, and music research-
ers.
In general, experimental listening can facilitate the appropriation of music, enhance the con-
sciousness of expressive and structural qualities, and promote the discovery of unnoticed features
and relationships in the music. The outcome of the sessions suggests that experimental listening can
be useful for a number of purposes:
Description and microanalysis of excerpts from music therapy improvisations, such as pivotal mo-
ments (Grocke 1999), significant moments (Trondalen 2004), segments which have attracted special
attention (Ruud 1990:232), particular moments indicated in consultant listening (Lee 2000:153-154)
Preparation and verification of musical intensity profiles (Trondalen 2004, Bonde 2004).