DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas
Digilec 12 (2025), pp. 231-246
Fecha de recepción: 21/04/2025
Fecha de aceptación: 03/11/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17979/digilec.2025.12.12641
e-ISSN: 2386-6691
MUSIC AS A NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE.
METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW GROUNDED IN EXPERIENTIAL
OBSERVATION
LA MÚSICA COMO LENGUAJE DE COMUNICACIÓN NO VERBAL.
REVISIÓN METODOLÓGICA BASADA EN LAOBSERVACIÓN
EXPERIENCIAL
Magdolna SZABADI
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest, Hungary)
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5827-3333
Abstract
I participated in the Erasmus+STT training mobility programme at the University of
Coruña, as a guest of Dr. Rocío Chao Fernández. The contact was established through a
series of music development games and tests from a scientific point of view. As a music
educator and music therapist, I undertook this mobility in order to experience and discuss
research methodologies and alternative approaches in music education. The music session
I observed on site was a sound installation. Free instrumental improvisation and various
forms of sound production can elicit complex motor, affective and behavioural responses.
In music therapy sessions, musical instruments provide means of communication that can
be integrated with social components, among others. They precede, complement or
accompany speech, and emotionally reinforce the information conveyed during the
session (Konta, 2010; Szabadi, 2021, 24). The role of instruments in the teaching process
is also increasing, as they can serve as supportive and illustrative tools. They are also
means of stimulating interest and motivation. When introducing basic musical forms,
playing an instrument can function both as a method and as an object of observation.
From a research-methodological perspective, emphasis is placed on the possibilities
offered by musical play sequences, measurement tools, and test recordings (Gallego et
al., 1999; Chao-Fernandez, Gisbert-Caudeli & Vázquez-Sánchez, 2020).
Keywords: creative music; sound installation; music therapy; music experience; research
methodology
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Resumen
Participé en el programa de movilidad formativa Erasmus+STT en la Universidade da
Coruña, como invitada de la Dra. Rocío Chao Fernández. El contacto se estableció a
través de una serie de juegos y pruebas de desarrollo musical desde un punto de vista
científico. Como educadora musical y musicoterapeuta, el viaje de movilidad se realizó
para experimentar y discutir metodologías de investigación y alternativas en metodología
musical. La sesión musical observada in situ es una instalación sonora. La improvisac ión
instrumental libre y las diversas formas de producción sonora pueden desencadenar
reacciones motoras, afectivas y conductuales complejas. Durante las sesiones de
musicoterapia, los instrumentos musicales ofrecen modos de comunicación que pueden
combinarse con componentes sociales, por ejemplo. Preceden, complementan o
acompañan al discurso y refuerzan emocionalmente la información transmitida durante
la sesión (Konta, 2010; Szabadi, 2021, 24). El papel de los instrumentos musicales en el
proceso de enseñanza también aumenta (pueden servir como herramientas de apoyo e
ilustración). También son un medio para despertar el interés y la motivación. Al introducir
formas musicales básicas, tocar un instrumento puede ser tanto un método como un objeto
de observación. Desde el punto de vista metodológico de la investigación, se enfatizan
las posibilidades de las secuencias de juego musical y las herramientas de medición, como
las grabaciones de prueba (Gallego et al., 1999; Chao-Fernandez, Gisbert-Caudeli y
Vázquez-Sánchez, 2020).
Palabras clave: música creativa; instalación sonora; musicoterapia; experiencia musical;
metodología de investigación
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1. INTRODUCTION
I participated in the Erasmus+STT training mobility program at the University of
Coruña as a guest of Dr. Rocío Chao Fernández
1
Full Professor at University. As a music
educator and music therapist, the purpose of the contact was to experience and discuss
alternatives in research methodology and music methodology. Our collaboration involved
a series of music development games and tests from a scientific perspective. Thanks to
Dr Rocío Chao Fernández and his colleagues, I was able to observe and discuss the
methodological elements of music sessions, classroom conditions, collection of
instruments, and specific aspects of music pedagogy. I gained insights into the nonverbal
communicative modes of musical elements and their social transfer effects. I also had the
opportunity to review song collections and reference books, analyzing them from
methodological, stylistic, linguistic, and communicational perspectives.
From a pedagogical and research-methodological standpoint, I was able to observe
various sound production techniques, the socio-emotional transfer effects of music, and
the categorization of song collections. The observation and application of tests and a
series of music development games enabled me to establish meaningful scientific
connections. From a theoretical perspective it is known how music became an ancient
language and a form of self-expression. At the origins of musical practice, nature itself
functioned as a creative, sustaining, and motivating force (Szabolcsi, 1975). Rhythm,
melody, harmony, and form are all present in both the natural environment and the human
body (e.g., breathing, heartbeat, walking). Consequently, the fundamental elements of
music can be regarded as part of the primordial experiential heritage of human evolution.
1.1. Type of mobility
The training mobility type is suitable for developing a research topic through
observations and analyses. It can be used to establish professional relationships and
prepare for future collaborations. For music teachers and music therapists, it provides an
opportunity to observe and discuss various alternative musical trends. It also offers a
platform to address challenges, find solutions, and build personal and professional
relationships regarding methodological issues, which can be planned with a long-term
perspective.
From the perspective of scientific research, this mobility contributes to the
preparation of international publications. It also supports the development and planning
of other mobility proposals specified in the internationalization strategies of both
faculties. From a musical perspective, it helps to introduce new musical trends and
methods, as well as new professional training.
1
Dr. Rocío Chao Fernández: Full Professor at University, Department of Specific Didactics and Research
and Diagnostic Methods in Education, Area of Didactics of Musical Expression, Faculty of Education,
University of Coruña.
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Mobility activities contribute to the formation of teachers' attitudes, the expansion
of methodological toolkit (instruments, song materials, sheet music, music tests), the
renewal of the use of instruments and the expansion of musical tools. Since the musical
elements used in music therapy precede and complement speech, they open up numerous
non-verbal communication channels. Mobility likewise facilitates the acquisition of
research methodological principles and techniques (for example, through the use of
digital music tests). It can be particularly helpful in the adaptation of foreign language
tests.
1.1.1. General objectives of the mobility
The aim of the project was to find solutions to the professional problems arising in
the specific field of music therapy research and music education.
1.1.2. Added value of mobility
The methodological competences of music education have become developable
with new elements of music therapy.
1.1.3. Activities to be carried out
During the mobility activity, the testing of new music therapy tools expanded the
musical repertoire and research methodological tools. In addition, the professional
network was strengthened and expanded.
1.1.4. Expected results and impact
Expected outcomes and impacts of mobility include the discovery of new
therapeutic techniques and modes of self-expression, the expansion of research
methodological guidelines, and the strengthening of internationalization during visits and
experiences at university.
2. EXPERIENCES ON THE SPOT AT THE UNIVERSITY
2.1. Music sessions – Bosque máxico – sound installation
One widely accepted starting point for the origins of music is that it emerged from
the imitation of the sounds of nature or the sounds and noises accompanying human
activity. The sound phenomena accompanying strong emotions – such as pain, joy – were
also the first musical manifestations. Human vocalization, in its objectivity, shows the
state of mind and practical life events. For example, shouting – a kind of undifferentiated
vocalization – was an important step in terms of the development of singing and speech
(Ujfalussy, 1962). Anthropological studies suggest that humans began singing before they
spoke because the muscles needed for articulation evolved later (Menuhin, 1981).
Similarly to earlier theories, Révész (1941) also noted that musical elements played a role
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in ancient forms of establishing contact. In his example, a denoting calling sound requires
such a high volume that it can only be expressed with a "singing" sound. These signals
also contain musical characteristics (interval, transposition authority, intonation, rhythm),
of which intonation and rhythm are also characteristics of speech.
Dr. Vicente Castro Alonso
2
Assistant Professor presented a music session and
explained its theoretical background. The session was based on the concept of a so-called
sound installation, approached from a kind of open perspective. He described how the
characteristics and concepts of the sound space (for a visual illustration see Figure 1) are
adapted to the early childhood education and age specificities. To create this space,
teacher-training students received prior preparation, which included introducing concepts
such as sound installation, graphic notation, and the exploration of sounds through
various objects. The elements listed are based on the work of 20th century music
educators Murray Schafer and John Paynter.
When observing the sound field, it becomes obvious that the acoustic stimuli that
appear (rattling, clanking, drumming, splashing water, etc.) become tools for maintaining
contact during social interaction, thereby opening a kind of nonverbal communication
channel between two people/groups.
Figure 1
Soundspace illustration
Note. Source: own editing
Murray Schafer (1933-2021) was a Canadian composer, writer and educator. His
work focused on the reduction of harmful environmental noise. His experiments in music
education focused on creative music listening and the sensory awareness of musical
elements. He introduced young musicians to unusual soundscapes while involving them
2
Dr. Vicente Castro Alonso: Profesor Sustituto (P-SUS-LOSU) Universidad da Coruña, Faculty of
Educational Sciences, Department of Specific Teaching Training and Research and Diagnosis Methods in
Education.
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in the composition of music using minimal -aleatory techniques. His concept of the sound
field was largely inspired by the spatial placement of the characters (The Canadian
Encyclopedia, n.d.). John Paynter (1931-2010) was a British composer, music educator,
and a proponent of creative music (pedagogy). He believed that music should be at the
heart of the curriculum. Paynter passionately believed that music was exciting for children
to explore independently, and that the subject could be approached in many ways. While
the public face of school music education focuses on instrumental learning and teacher-
led performances by choirs and orchestras, his work has shown to the teachers how
students can explore sounds and make their own interpretive decisions about sounds
through composition projects (Spencer, 2010).
The sound installation is the acoustic environment perceived by people in a given
context. A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an
immersive environment. The term soundscape also refers to the natural acoustic
environment which consists of natural sounds including animal vocalizations. This is now
called biophony. Furthermore, the term soundscape also concerns to the sounds of
weather and other natural elements, which is now called geophony. Finally, term also
means to the environmental sounds created by humans, which is called anthropophony.
A graphic score/notation is a representation of music using visual symbols other than
traditional musical notation. Emerging in the 1950s, graphic notation may be used
alongside or in place of conventional notation. Its conceptual foundations were influenced
by contemporary art movements, incorporating stylistic elements of modern visual art
into musical representation (Schafer, 1977).
Sound production using objects also appears as a method in active music therapy
practice, where musical instruments (classical instruments, xylophone-type instruments,
self-made instruments, as well as animal and body sounds) are not played in a professional
or conventional musical manner. Consequently, the interpretation is not determined by a
musical theme or structure, but by a kind of communication game. While the musical
product is determined by the aesthetic nature of the work (musicological aspects), music
therapy improvisation is the catalysis of our current emotions and memories through
music. That is why the communication element appears in music therapy improvisation
through the expression, transmission and validation of nonverbal signals and verbal
information (Szabadi, 2021, 2024).
According to Baráth (2019) the concept of sound installation itself originates from
early sound sculptures. These were made in the previous century for utilitarian purposes.
Such were, for example, musical clocks and mechanical organs. Mechanical instruments
with artistic demands appeared in 1915 – with the idea of building kinetic sound machines
by the futurists Fortunato Depero and Giacomo Balla. At the time, the combination of
various elements and modes of sound production led to the emergence of complex
structures that quickly gained recognition. Instead of being displayed in galleries or
confined studios, these instruments were increasingly placed outdoors, in open spaces.
This was first done by using different landscapes or natural elements (wind, rain), etc.
Extensive sound sculpture was created, including concrete works, which are now sound
installations. In this case, the sound was already a structural element.
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Meanwhile, the concept of the installation itself developed further. According to
Baráth (2019) Dan Flavin first used neon tubes to place the works and expand the space.
Max Neuhaus then used the sound installation in which the sound was located not in time
but in space, and sounded in the way he defined as a compositional device.
Theoretical writings have also been written about installation and sound
installation. According to Baráth (2019) in the theory of Spanish artist Concha Jerez,
“Installation is an extension of a three-dimensional space. In contrast to sculpture, the
given space, the environment of the work, is just as much a part of the creation as the axes
that determine the extent of the sculptures”. Therefore, sound installation is an intermedial
and intermodal artistic form, an extension of sculpture and installation. Since it is the
result of connecting sound and space, it has consequences. Resonances and reflections
enable a more precise and broader perception. Due to the spatial and temporal evolution
of sound one must expect and observe the cascading effects and their spatial
manifestations (Baráth, 2019).
The relationship between space and sound can therefore be approached in multiple
ways. John Cage drew attention to the sounds that permeate different spaces and to their
interactions, highlighting how we perceive the connections among them. Terry Fox, for
example, stretched two strings across a church, allowing the architectural space to act as
a resonator and effectively turning the building into the body of an imaginary musical
instrument (Baráth, 2019). Sound can be created in various ways within an installation.
A given sound or sound material can be repeated several times, but there can also be
sounds that interact with each other. Furthermore, electrotechnical devices can be used,
creating programs to create sound complexes (Baráth, 2019).
From a pedagogical and educational perspective Castro-Alonso & Chao-Fernández
(2024) demonstrated in their exploratory, narrative study the positive impact of sound
installation on the teaching process in terms of cooperation and socio-emotional transfer.
The data obtained through the questionnaire survey and individual recollection support
the flexibility of sound installation, its adaptability to classroom conditions, and thus its
pedagogical relevance in children’s motivation. And the results also validate the
interdisciplinary learning process that takes place during voice training. After organizing
the didactic exhibition for two- to three-year-old children, the teacher training students
stated that they experienced a broader perspective of music education, which renewed
their sense of professionalism, expanded their problem-solving skills and strengthened
their perseverance. In their recollections, they emphasized that although the teacher
constantly supervises the children in their exploration of the sound field, it is the children's
independent and genuine exploration and sound production that is important. To achieve
this, teacher training must support didactic elements that are adapted to the unique profile
and nature of the teacher (Castro-Alonso & Chao-Fernández, 2024). The personal
characteristics of music can be experienced most directly by students in singing
methodology lessons.
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2.2. Singing lessons (methodological features and practice)
The approaches to music education experienced here are based on the transversal
functioning of music. Dr. Rocío Chao Fernandez Full Professor at University presented
and explained the practical principles and theoretical framework of music lessons. In her
presentation, the active method of music education focuses on the students' thinking skills
and supporting their learning processes. Acquainted musical methods are based on
students' creativity and reflective abilities. In the educational process, special emphasis is
placed on auditory skills, perception, and discrimination. The musical material itself
contributes to self-expression and the expansion of musical repertoire. By combining
movement and rhythm, the connection between body and sound is revealed, promoting
the development of musical and motor skills. The Orff rhythm instruments are included
as a didactic element that supports community creation in a motivating sound
environment. Overall, the musical content aims not only to develop musical abilities and
acquire musical knowledge, but also to promote holistic personal development.
Dr. Vicente Castro Alonso Assistant Professor also presented and explained the
methodological aspects of music lessons. The focus of these lessons is on creativity and
sound production, enabling an inter- and multidisciplinary approach to sound-generating
devices. Other artistic media, such as movement and visuality, also appear. This gives a
broader interpretation of the musical transmission effect. The social aspect of music
learning is also an important principle. In this process, music is a medium of
communication in which connection between people can be realized. In the lesson,
students can explore possibilities for self-expression and find their personal musical
abilities. They are given the chance to experiment with alternative sound-creation
methods, engage in music composition, and perform traditional song materials (see
Figure 2 for a classroom illustration).
Figure 2
Classroom illustration
Note. Source: own editing
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Various melodic and rhythmic instruments (e.g. xylophone-xiloton instruments)
that also appear in music therapy motivate, arouse interest and inventiveness, and promote
the recognition of differences/similarities. They offer alternative solutions to social
content/situations assigned to instrumental improvisation and provide a wide spectrum of
self-expression opportunities. In short, instrumental elements expand communication as
the expression of experiences, and effects with musical elements becomes more effective
and informative. During active music making, singing and playing instruments, moods,
vibrations and emotions are manifested that often lack appropriate words to express.
Sound production can trigger also complex motor, affective, and behavioral reactions
(Konta, 2010; Szabadi, 2021, 2024). The role of musical instruments is increased in
education (they can also be a supportive, illustrative tool). They are also a means of
arousing interest and motivation. When introducing basic musical forms, playing an
instrument can be both a method and an object of observation. For children, learning is a
manipulative, action cognition, through which they gain experience in a complex unity
of movement. This is why the teacher must be able to play an instrument. His/her training
must prepare him/her to perform a piece of music that he/she can play with confidence.
The interpretation must be authentic, i.e. it must express the mood and emotional content
of the music with the right tempo, tone, rhythm and articulation (Forrai, 2024).
Sounds of varying intensity, color, pitch, and rhythm carry meaning or convey a
message, which is further refined by the accompanying human gestures, movements, and
facial expressions. These experiences must be acquired or deepened for people to be able
to communicate. These are among the goals of active music therapy sessions. So-called
idiophonic instruments (Greek word idio = itself) produce sounds by the vibration of a
flexible solid body. This process does not always occur by itself, as the name suggests,
but often with the help of air resonators or connected bodies that act as mediating acoustic
devices to help radiate sound. Some of them are tuned - sounding at a specific pitch such
as the bell, xylophone and marimba. And there are also non-tuned ones such as the
triangle and the cymbal (Tarnóczy, 1982). The imitation of vocalization, shouting and
environmental sounds led to the creation of the simplest musical instruments which are
still used today and which are also tools for active music therapy (e.g. ORFF instruments).
For an example of a family of musical instruments see Figure 3.
Figure 3
Example of the musical instruments