The therapeutic effects of vocal improvisation

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, 2004.This thesis explores the various therapeutic effects of vocal improvisation. Vocal improvisation is
defined as free vocalization within a context of self-awareness. This study draws from the personal
experience of voicework practitioners, participants of an improvisation workshop given by the author and music students at Carleton university. From their comments, voicework was found to be
therapeutic since it seems to enable the voice to resonate within the body and to engage the intuitive mind which guides the expression of the inner-landscape in the singing. The main effects of improvisation were observed to be of a relational nature. A sense of connectedness with the inner-self, with other singers and with what is referred to as spirit appears to be central to the experience. Drawing from Christopher Small’s Musicking, it seems that well-being could be facilitated by experiencing such relationships through improvisation.