C sits in his wheelchair turned towards the electronic piano, which MT is sitting behind. B holds the tambourine in front of C’s right hand. All three are at the same height and can see each other’s upper bodies. There is roughly 1.5 m between MT and C. The footnotes in this part of the analysis refer to the scores of “The Piano Excerpt”.104
Client
Hits the tambourine three times and then sees the bells on the side of the instrument
Looks down at the floor…
Stays with himself…or is he just curious about the instrument?
Tests the tambourine and tries out its sound…by playing with the small bells on the side of the tambourine
Stops playing with the bells
Lifts his head and listens (?) to the high notes that MT is singing
Hits the tambourine distinctly, three times Is he searching for MT in a musical way?
Keeps his head turned away towards his right side (towards B?)
Probably sees MT but soon refocuses on his instrument
Hits the tambourine with one clear beat followed by some “restless” tremolos before “hastily” beating it again105
Does not seem aware of the song introduction from MT as he focuses merely on the tambourine106
Hits the tambourine twice, distinctly, after a couple of hasty “upbeat” hits107
Seems to be moving into some kind of interplay now…?
105 S e e b a r 8
106 S e e b a r 8
Music Therapist
Focuses on the piano…
Starts to play and places her playing within the mood of A-minor…
First plays three solitary notes on the piano and sings some low tones…while she tries to collect herself108
Waits a little Focuses on C
Then sings some high ritardando notes (c2) while an A-minor chord rings from the piano109
Looks at C and accompanies his beating almost simultaneously as she tries to reach him musically…
Takes a break from playing the piano by holding one note down (e) and singing some low tones (a and e)
Waits…while moving the top of her body into C’s line of vision
Joins C (?) in his first beat on the drum and immediately afterwards introduces a theme, a song110
Plays the piano (f) without the pedal and plays a precise rhythm on the first and the third beat, as if trying to make a point (“listen C, here is a theme, your song”) Rests a little while by playing a long note (e and a), creating some space for
C…Continues similarly but seems to reconsider her initiative with the theme and pauses…111
108 S e e b a r s 1 a n d 2 i n t h e s c o r e s 109 T h e r e i s a c t u a l l y n o t h i r d i n t h e c h o r d b u t s i n c e t h e l o w t h i r d ( c ) w a s j u s t s u n g b y t h e t h e r a p i s t t h e p i a n o s t i l l s o u n d s l i k e A - m i n o r 110 I r e c o g n i z e t h e s o n g . I t i s o n e o f t h e s o n g s C k n o w s f r o m e a r l i e r , f r o m t h e d a y s w h e n h e a t t e n d e d t h e s c h o o l i n w h i c h t h e v i d e o r e c o r d e d s e s s i o n i s l o c a t e d .
Client
“Looses” the tendency to interplay slightly and again plays “restlessly” on the tambourine by tapping his fingers
(or is it just that he does not know what to do at the moment?)112
“Returns” to the interplay by beating the tambourine softly three times with the fist of his right hand
Does not manage to stay within an interplay mode and plays “restlessly” again113
Opens his mouth and listens…
Moves into a mode, which seems both contained (in the way he plays distinct beats on the tambourine) and restless (in the way he turns his upper body and left hand away from the situation and out of the playing, so to speak) …as if he discusses (on the tambourine) whether or not he wants to join in… Seems impatient (?)114
Turns his head and body towards the tambourine again and hits it three times, not very distinctly, and it seems as though he is not directly focused on his actions now115
Keeps his head up and looks partly towards MT while starting to play fast and “creatively” with his fingertips (looks almost as if the fingers dance on the tambourine…) while simultaneously listening to MT116 112 S e e b a r s 1 1 a n d 1 2 113 S e e b a r s 1 3 a n d 1 4 114 T h i s h a p p e n s d u r i n g b a r s 1 5 a n d 1 6 115 S e e b a r 1 7 Music Therapist
Struggles to stabilize regularity in the music… Prolongs the fermata and creates space (for both herself and the client?) by leaving the piano out and merely sings some legato tones circulating around a note (e) 117
Jumps onto C’s initiative and matches him on the piano by playing rhythmically ♪♪♪♪♪♪ with both hands118
Seems as if she notices that C is back to his restless way of playing seeing as she stops singing and fills out a sequence with some intervals on the piano119
Tries to hang onto C organizing his “uneasiness” by playing a regular rhythm on every beat with both hands…
Keeps her initiative “down” (does not sing): Is she discussing with herself?
Is she trying to make a decision…?120
Seems to be hanging behind C, is “delayed” and slightly “surprised" by his three beats
Dwells on the situation as she tries to pick up “the pieces” by playing a distinct melodic line in the bass in octaves121
Moves into a new mode musically by playing a fast staccato and marcato rhythm (semiquavers) in the bass register of the piano122
Seems as though she builds up a tension (but towards what?) 117 S e e b a r 1 2 118 S e e b a r 1 3 119 S e e b a r 1 4 120 S e e b a r s 1 5 a n d 1 6 121 S e e b a r 1 7
Client
Breaks off from the fingertip playing as he “suddenly” beats the tambourine with flat hands twice, distinctly, (ƒ) before vaguely returning again to the fingertip playing123
Turns his head and upper body away from camera (does he make “contact” with B?)
Is silent…while resting his right hand on the tambourine124
Stays within the same position and does some “finger dancing” again (p), not as distinctly this time…
Lifts his body up and turns towards MT, sees the tambourine and hits it decisively once on the second beat, synchronically with MT!125
Listens to the short but intense (“loaded”) silence which is followed by the ritardando126
Continues in an energetic manner by putting a lot of strength (plays ƒƒ!) into an eager drum beating and using his voice whilst playing, (as if he plays with a surplus of energy)127
Stays within the energetic and somewhat creative mode and beats the tambourine in a more distinct manner by creating small rhythmical figures (or is the “distinctiveness” just random, a result of an energy surplus?)128
Tension builds up (towards a closure)129
Hits the tambourine once as an exclamation or a closure and folds his arms …(as if asking “Is it over?”) 123 S e e b a r 2 2 124 S e e b a r s 2 3 a n d 2 4 125 S e e b a r 2 5 126 I m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r b a r 2 5 127 S e e b a r s 2 6 a n d 2 7 128 S e e b a r s 2 8 - 3 0 Music Therapist
Hears C’s flat-handed playing and tries to create a background for it in her music as she ends her rhythmical piano playing and “rests” on an interval of a fifth on the piano (is she actually making some kind of a closure here?) 130
Waits…(on solitary low notes in both the left and right hand on the piano)131
Listens to C…
Repeats the low-note pattern but intensifies it by moving to a higher register on the piano, playing intervals of a fourth going upwards…
Listens to the short but intense (“loaded”) silence which is followed by the ritardando132
She seems to end in a kind of cadence (does she make a closure?) 133
Is aware of C’s eagerness and therefore continues Tries to catch his mood by playing quick, restless chords on the piano with her right hand (as if commenting upon C)134
Continues in a similar manner - seems as though she is heading towards an end, a closure135
Makes some kind of a final statement on the piano with a low bass note (a)136
130 S e e b a r 2 2 131 S e e b a r s 2 3 a n d 2 4 132 S e e b a r 2 5 133 S e e b a r 2 7 134 S e e b a r 2 8 135 S e e b a r s 2 9 a n d 3 0
Client
Listens to MT and continues his playing by hitting the tambourine with power and confidence in a rhythmical manner…137
Makes one clear beat on the tambourine and folds his arms again, while breathing loudly…
Music Therapist
Prolongs and expands the feeling of closure by repeating the low bass note with the left hand and filling in some high chords with her right hand (playing sƒz)
Intensifies by stopping…138
Intensifies even more by “vibrating” on a tonal centre (a minor), clearly pointing in the direction of closure…(looks into the camera)139
”Hits” (;sƒz) one last, low note (a) with left hand, smiles and lifts both hands away from the piano…ends her part in the dialogue as she walks out of the picture…
138 S e e t h e e n d o f b a r 3 4
During The Piano Excerpt
I find myself trying to find a good position where I can see C - his body, his movements, and his actions - when I am “interrupted” by C who is already playing. He is so fast and sometimes he is slightly ahead of me. I keep forgetting that he often does this and find myself wondering how he can be so fast: How can he be so quick, with his handicaps and everything? He surprises me, over and over again.
I become aware of the complexity I/we are in the middle of: All the “things” that have to fit together; two voices, two instruments, creating music, testing out instruments, timing of playing, etc. I realize how “advanced” it is to listen at the same time as playing and creating music; to listen to oneself while listening to the other participant, to create something on one’s own at the same time as creating something with someone else. And yet, it doesn’t feel too complex or advanced, just “meaningfully challenging”.
I get the feeling that we are both apart and together at the same time. Is it C who plays randomly with me, next to me, for himself, for me? Does he feel that I play with him, next to him, for myself, for him?
I become aware of a pattern in our interaction, the somehow delayed
synchronicity where one of us pulls the other, rarely quiet simultaneously. I see that this creates a “wave-like” pattern: one of us makes a move, a small wave, then the other makes his/her move, a small wave, which comes as a result of the first wave – and every once in a while the waves join and make one big, unified wave! The “wave” idea fascinates me…