In this article, Miki Akahane talks about her project of creating songs with individuals in a house-like setting. This article brings to mind three important aspects—a) the value of process over product, b) the importance of including people with disabilities, c) the incorporation of song into daily life. I feel that these aspects of her project are very important for music therapists and students such as myself to experience and incorporate into our work because they are at the core of music therapy. I think that creating an environment where artists, musicians, therapists, and persons with disabilities can come together and collaborate and where the focus is on creating music rather than correcting behaviors is invaluable. This process puts what we do into a new and different context and also creates new opportunities for people to be together and create. I also think that the use of improvisation in this context is very important for us to be aware of as music therapists because of the endless possibilities for experiences within it.
I am a student of music therapy at the University of Louisville. I also play saxophone in an improvisational ensemble. In the ensemble, we spend a lot of time playing pieces we have created and also “just improvising.” Through my experiences with this group, I have learned to value music for all of its possibilities. We play a few pieces which involve spoken text and movement. These features of music can also be seen in songs created by Akahane’s group such as “Which Section Do You Visit?” The form of the song is very different from most songs because it has four sections and begins with the question, “Which section do you visit?” This song also has a clapping game and a rock paper scissors tournament within it. This song reminds me a lot of what we do in our improvisation ensemble because there are chaotic sections where everyone is improvising. I think creating this kind of chaos within a form that has structure and leads to an artistic ending is an important concept that many may have never experienced.
In Akahane’s project, Uta-No-Sumu-ie, the goal is creating songs and discovering new song forms that can be repeated. This goal is much the same as in my improvisation group. Thinking of a group of individuals joined in this process of creating songs makes me very excited that persons with disabilities can experience the same joy that I experience in creating unique musical forms with others and repeating them. Through her project, Akahane has shown us the possibility of doing this kind of work, and she was successful in creating many interesting and unique songs which can be recreated. Now it is our job as music therapists to ponder ways to use what we have learned from her in our work.
I have often pondered Akahane’s question “How does one define what music (song) is?” and also “How does one define what a ’house’ is?” or “How does one define musical space?” I feel that too often we close our minds and ears to the possibilities of music—when and where it can be and what it really is. We should open ourselves and look for new ways to incorporate music, words, improvisation and movement into our daily lives and our work with clients.
Akahane, Miki (2009). Two Years of "Uta-no-Sumu-Ie" Project: A Consideration on the Possibility of Group Composition. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy.