Saying Something Else: Improvisation and Music-Play Facilitation in a Medical Ethnomusicology Program for Children on the Autism Spectrum

A study is presented that explores both processual dynamics of music improvisation and philosophical and pragmatic dimensions of music-play facilitation through a study of the "saying-something" practices, motivations, and values of two music improvisers operating within a specific musicultural setting and context. The setting is the Exploratory World Music Playground (E-WoMP) at Florida State University (FSU). The context is the Music-Play Project at FSU. For musicians Michael Bakan and Benjamin Koen, the ability to "say something" of value as improvisers in the E-WoMP has developed mainly from learning to listen better, to become more effectively attuned to what is said by the children, and to respond with due sensitivity and care. Bakan and Koen's behavior shifted from the "saying-something" mode to the "letting-something-be-heard" mode.