Collaborative resonant writing and musical improvisation to explore the concept of resonance

Abstract

Resonance is often used to characterize relationships, but it is a complex concept that explains quite different physical, physiological and psychological processes. With the aim of gaining deeper insight into the concept of resonance, a group of ten music therapy researchers, all colleagues, embarked on a joint journey of exploration. This included an aim of letting the internal learning process be disseminated in a way that could give others insight, not only from the findings, but also from the process. Findings include a dual understanding of resonance as (1) a visible and ordered phenomenon consisting of physical vibrations and acoustic sounding that offers a clear logic, and (2) a metaphorical conceptualization used to describe and understand complex psychological processes of human relationships. The process of collaborative writing led to the discovery or development of a ninestep procedure including different collaborative resonant writing procedures and musical improvisation, as well as of a series of metaphors to explain therapeutic interaction, resonant learning and ways of resonant exploration.

Keywords

• resonance
• collaborative thinking
• musicking and writing
• improvisation
• music therapy
• qualitative research