In later sessions, Robert began to vocalise more freely with me, and his verbal language developed sufficiently for him to be able to request specific instruments or favourite games. Robert enjoyed watching the accordion bellows changing shape, following their patterns with his hands. He also noticed the colours: when the bellows opened, shouting ‘Red!’ as this colour was gradually revealed by the opening bellows – and this colour would disappear again as the accordion bellows closed.
Robert’s parents were pleased with his responses in music therapy and often mentioned an absence of what they called ‘stimming’ (his repetitive and isolated self-stimulatory behaviours) and more interactive, playful communication in our music therapy sessions. His father commented that the accordion is visually interesting, has many different surfaces to touch, a variety of sounds to explore, and buttons and keys to press. He thought that what particularly attracted Robert to the accordion was its complexity. Robert also brought his own small toy accordion to sessions and we regularly improvised accordion duets together, which seemed to be very satisfying for him.
Figure 2.3 Dawn and a visually-impaired little boy dance and play their accordions together in his music therapy sessions at the Child Development Centre
Case vignette: Kieran initiating interaction
Dawn Loombe
Five-year-old Kieran, who has profound autistic spectrum disorder, was also immediately extremely attracted to the accordion. For him, the most interesting aspect seemed to be the way the bellows moved in and out. I picked up on his interest by keeping the bellows tightly closed and building anticipation by singing slowly ‘1… 2… 3… OPEN!’ before playing a long drawn out G7 chord as the bellows opened wide. Then ‘STOP!’, briefly waiting with bellows open before singing ‘1… 2… 3… CLOSED!’, playing a loud C chord until the bellows were completely closed. Kieran responded extremely well to this; laughing excitedly and vocalising. He soon realised that he could sing the phrase ‘1… 2… 3… OPEN!’ to make this happen himself and began to initiate this game, singing and watching for my reaction. He would hold the bellows, feeling the vibration and supporting them to open and close with me. Kieran rarely talked and generally found interaction difficult, so for him, this was a first step towards positive communication.
The game then expanded gradually to singing some of his favourite songs together with an accordion accompaniment. Kieran seemed very aware that the bellows changed direction when breaths were taken. He also began to conduct my accordion playing, shouting ‘LOUD!’ or whispering ‘Quiet…sssshhh’ and ensuring that I responded appropriately. Modifying the volume is easy to do on the accordion, using the bellows, and this can also be visually exciting. I continued to work on sharing this element of control and increasing Kieran’s awareness of turn-taking and this was important in encouraging his social interaction both in and out of sessions.
Figure 2.4 Kieran interacting with the accordion
One of the characteristics of the accordion is the extent to which the player can vary the volume of a note whilst sustaining it. An accordion note (or indeed a chord) can begin very quietly and increase in volume, either suddenly or gradually. In fact a note or chord can have a series of peaks. Conversely a note can begin loud and then quieten, suddenly or very gradually. This makes the accordion sound more, as Santilly (2009) proposed, ‘animal-like; more like a voice’. Some wind or stringed instruments can do this in a limited way but the accordion is the only polyphonic instrument that can do this; the accordionist has the choice of varying the volume either with a single note or with several – and also has the option of using his own voice at the same time. The accordion can appear alive because it moves and breathes with its player and can recreate natural sounds in a manner that is unique among musical instruments.
In some settings it might be useful simply to use the accordion bellows to breathe, perhaps to reflect a quiet feeling in the room, or to match a client’s breathing. This can be done by simply operating the air valve button to use the bellows (without sounding notes by pressing keys or buttons). Both Bert Santilly (2009) and Michael Ward-Bergeman (2009) have explained how they had also used their accordions to reflect breathing in this way. Ward-Bergeman said that for him, the most important feature of the accordion is its ability to ‘breathe and to connect with life. The accordion’s bellows are like a giant lung and can communicate something we all have in common – breathing’.
Case vignette: Breathing together in music therapy
Dawn Loombe
Whilst training as a music therapist, one of my first placements was at a day centre, working with a group of six teenagers with profound and multiple disabilities. All of the group members were in wheelchairs and all were non-verbal, although most had the ability to vocalise. Some were visually impaired and one was hearing impaired. All had complex needs and all except one of the group were unable to hold any of the instruments or beaters.
This group had not had music therapy before, and it was apparent from my first appointment that this centre receives very few visitors, other than the health professionals working with the young people. The music therapy sessions were therefore eagerly awaited. Much was expected of the music therapy, and the staff prepared for the sessions diligently, ensuring that each member of the group had finished eating, had their requisite personal care and medication and that their wheelchairs were all positioned in a perfect semicircle, awaiting my arrival. On the day of the first session, I felt an incredible pressure to do something amazing with this group. I was a student on my first placement and I was extremely nervous.
The staff sat at the sides of the room, having put the box of percussion instruments in the centre. My chair was waiting for me, facing the semicircle of young people. Everyone was quiet. What should I do? What could they do? I looked around; in fact everyone looked slightly wary. I took a deep breath and started to sing a simple welcome song, just using my voice. There were a few slight movements but no sound. Then I realised that there was a faint sound – the sound of breathing. I could hear several different breathing patterns and a barely perceptible murmuring. I picked up my accordion and without really thinking about it, I used only the air valve to open and close the accordion bellows to breathe with them. I said what I could hear in the room and reflected the different breathing patterns of each person with the accordion bellows. I moved around the group, slowly weaving in and out of the chairs with my accordion, noting their individual sounds. Some of them moved their head towards me and there was definite recognition of what was happening. The sounds were slow and gentle. Gradually, there was more murmuring and some other vocalising, and I began to play some soft breathy sounds, using a single reed sound and a single-line right-hand melody. When I stopped, there were some different vocalisations and a few smiles from the group, which seemed to reflect humour and anticipation.
Focusing on what we could all do – breathe – was a useful opening to working with this profoundly disabled group of young people. We did this to begin each of our subsequent sessions and it seemed to help to reduce any feelings of anxiety and prepare for music therapy. The use of our breathing patterns and vocal sounds became the main musical theme of this group. Some of the group also responded to the sensory aspects of the accordion; feeling the vibrations through the instrument and touching the different surfaces or playing notes.
Using the accordion percussively
The accordion can be a very tactile instrument, as shown in the case vignettes of Robert and Kieran above. It can also be used percussively. There are many different surfaces to tap, producing different rhythmic effects. The bellows can be played with the fingertips like a guiro, to produce a rasping sound. The bass buttons can be gently tapped to produce various clicking sounds. Although the accordion is not unique in this – the guitar, harp or piano, for example, can also be played percussively – the accordion does have many different types of surfaces to play in this