ResearchWorks: Glimpses into Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) and its research potential in a Conservatoire

Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) is a receptive approach used by music therapists after additional training. This session will introduce the historical background of GIM including: its roots in Western European classical tradition and its more recent expansion into other repertoires; aspects of how music evokes a variety of imagery (visual, physical, memories, insights) in a non-ordinary state of consciousness; the use of dialogue during listening with a witnessing therapist; and a range of session formats and practices. There will be opportunities to experience different ways of listening to music including the use of drawing, writing, and musical analysis.

 

This talk also introduces the early plans for research exploring how conservatoire students and staff engage in listening to music to aid a sense of relaxation and well-being, using music drawn from the GIM repertoire and possibly short pieces of new compositions performed live.

Speaker

 

Leslie Bunt is Emeritus Professor in Music Therapy at UWE, Bristol. After training with Juliette Alvin at GSMD (1976-77) he worked with children and adults across the lifespan with wide-ranging healthcare needs. He taught music therapy at the Guildhall (1980-1993), setting-up the first part-time training at the University of Bristol (1992), with links to Italy, before moving to UWE in 2006. Leslie gained the first PhD in music therapy (City, 1985) and the first professorship at a British university (UWE, 2005). Leslie is Founding Director of the community music therapy charity, The MusicSpace Trust, a Fellow/Primary Trainer of the Association of Music and Imagery, Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a freelance conductor. He presents regularly at national/international conferences. Routledge has recently published the second edition of The Handbook of Music Therapy, co-edited with Sarah Hoskyns and Sangeeta Swamy. Leslie is a Visiting Research Fellow at Guildhall School.