the music is the purging of the emotions rather than the improvement of the mind.
From a practical perspective Alvin also discusses the positive impact of blowing into flutes for people with malformation of the mouth, and the possibility of developing muscle strength through playing (Alvin 1966).
Music therapists Sweeney-Brown and Wilkinson have written about their work with children in hospices, using the flute to calm, soothe or stimulate children who were approaching the end of life. Wilkinson (2005) observed the range of responses to the flute from a group of children: some listening quietly whilst another vocalised in imitation of the flute sound. Even when children were too unwell to engage with active playing, the sound of the flute provided reassurance and allowed the child to feel that they were not alone. This in turn supports the families of the children and created positive memories during times of severe stress (Sweeney-Brown 2005).
Tomlinson (2012) described the use of the flute in music therapy work with young children in special schools, and the way in which the flute could be used as imitator of the child’s musical contribution. ‘Shaky’ playing on the egg shaker was reflected back by the therapist playing trills on the flute and making similar physical movements to those of the child. The element of humour lightened the intensity of this exchange, engaging the child and creating much less resistance to shared interaction. In a similar way rhythmical imitation on the flute provided a musical framework for the child, encouraging him to sustain interaction and distracting from obsessive or repetitive behaviours. Tomlinson stated that this type of imitative play using the flute can be used ‘to reinforce existing behaviour, or at other times it can be used to promote change…imitation and reflection used within a therapeutic context can be powerful and valuable tools’ (2012, p.115).
Keeping connections through flute playing
Veronica Austin
I was born into a musical family and was drawn to carry on the flute-playing tradition. I loved the sound of the flute and was surrounded by some of the finest flute-playing sounds in England in my formative years. My father, a musician and businessman, and then Richard Taylor took me on as my teachers and mentors. My relationship with the flute is embedded with family memories and relationships, as my sisters, brother and I regularly went to concerts and also played together as a wind quartet. For the past 15 years I have continued to play in a wind quartet but with music therapists, all of us wanting and needing to stay connected to our instruments and finding it musically and socially fulfilling.
On a practical level, the modern orchestral flute is easy to carry around and can be relatively inexpensive to buy. It is easy to care for and to learn as a beginner because it does not involve a reed and the complications that can bring. For anyone who has made a start on the recorder, fingerings can be easily transferred to the flute, and frequently you can enjoy playing the melodic line. The playing posture required allows the music therapist to face the client, and the small size of the instrument means movement around the room is possible. But perhaps it is the particular sound that is first and foremost the flute’s enduring attraction; it is a versatile instrument capable of a wide range of timbres over a three-octave pitch range. The lower octave can be rich, smoky or mellow, while in the higher registers the sound of the flute can be piercing, with bird-like trills and rapidly moving notes. It is possible to play extremely quietly on the flute, and allow the sound to fade away to a whisper of breath, or play around with breathing sounds.
I have noticed that music therapists using their flutes effectively in therapy tend to be at ease with their instrument, as if their instrument is simply an extension of themselves. I experienced a revived connection and confidence with my flute after a period of more intensive flute practice and inspiring flute lessons. In the following clinical example with a group of early-years children in a local authority Sure Start Centre, the flute offered a profound connection with all the children.
Case vignette: Early-years group
A group of four very different four-year-old children, two girls and two boys, were in their sixth music therapy session. They had been referred for music therapy for a variety of reasons, some having difficulties making relationships and one having challenging behaviour. After directing the first five sessions in a mixture of structured and semi-structured activities, I wanted to open up the group play with more free improvisation. The group began exploring percussion sounds as separate individuals, and one child broke off to start dancing. This child was moving in breakdance movements, and in the absence of a keyboard I took up my flute and with this single line using the Dorian mode and an off-beat jazzy kind of rhythm I accompanied him and the other children as they began to join in. The flute sustained a group dance in a most joyous way, which also proved a turning point in the therapy.
In the example above, the flute practice and lesson in the weeks before had helped renew my connection to the flute, which I then transferred to the group in a strong accompaniment. Using the flute here also enabled me to move about with the group and give my own occasional dance-like movements in response too.
Keeping a connection to one’s instrument promotes artistry in music therapy. Artistry sets apart the ordinary player/therapist from the one who is maintaining and honing their skills with workmanship and imagination. For the flute, these involve technical mastery of the fundamentals of flute playing, a rich clear and focused tone, evenness of tone over the range of the instrument, warmth of expression, articulation and dynamic contrasts, control over breathing and vibrato, and the ability to project the sound and rhythms into the clinical space. More advanced or experienced players may have a greater ‘sound palette’ (Clarke 2012) at their disposal, a repertoire of well-known tunes to produce at any given moment in any style or key, and be able to communicate an idea, feeling or thought with conviction. The artiste will add a quality to their sound, the way it is conceived, produced and projected, with nuance and variation in attack, articulation and timing. The artiste has their own authentic style of playing and interpretation that comes from within. However, there is a note of caution from music therapists Sobey and Woodcock (1999, p.138) for the therapist who ‘has brought into the session too much of his own musical and cultural world’; in their case example ‘the client in a purely musical sense was left with no other options than to join this world, go actively against it or to remain passive and silent’. Therapists aware of their tendencies through supervision and listening back to recordings learn to continuously monitor the connection their music is having with their client and how best to employ their music for therapeutic benefit. As music therapist Pavlicevic (1997, p.121) writes: ‘The significance of clinical improvisation is that it is an interpersonal event, rather than only being a musically interactive one.’
The flute as object
The flute, and sometimes its case as well, may be seen as an object in itself carrying significance in the therapy space. When the flautist makes the decision to take their flute into therapy work they do so with care. It is necessary to consider whether the situation can be made safe and practical. Many therapists will have a second, cheaper flute to take into therapy work in order to preserve their other more precious instrument. A therapist can also think through the ways in which the client might potentially respond to this flute in the room today. Will they embrace it, be ambivalent or reject the flute? If they do have any of these responses, we might interpret the feelings as being about us. We might even actually feel rejected or embraced by their attitude as we consider the object we have taken into the room as an extension of ourselves. With some clients, wondering out loud with them about their responses might be possible, and if not, the therapist can still reflect on them.
The gifted cellist and pioneer music therapist Juliette Alvin taught that in her method of music therapy the instrument and the music took the transference feelings from the client (Bruscia 1987), thereby providing psychological safeguarding for the client and therapist. Object-relations thinking also allows us to consider that the therapist, the environment or their instrument may be construed or unconsciously used as a recipient of transference and projections by the client. This can
