Applications of Clinical Improvisation and Aesthetic Music Therapy in Medical Settings: An Analysis of Debussy’s ‘L’isle joyeuse’

Abstract

The application and use of clinical improvisation is an important technique in medical music therapy. Through the analysis of Debussy’s ‘L’isle joyeuse’ this study aims to provide the beginnings of a new way of working within a music-centered philosophy for music therapists in medical settings. The piece is divided into eight sub-sections, offering practical suggestions for how the music can be adapted and used for specific clinical outcomes. Each analysis may be used separately to create smaller improvisations or collectively in varying combinations, to create larger improvisations. Throughout the study connections are made between musical process and clinical outcome. Due to the transparent and ever-changing environment of patient’s experiences in hospital settings, the potential for the free-flowing form of improvisation is emphasized as an important clinical technique. This paper offers a contemporary and musically scientific view of clinical improvisation in medical settings.