Music as a nonverbal communication language. Methodological review grounded in experiential observation

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).