JAVS Spring 2026

Session Structure Intentional Listening

Community Reflection and Sharing The session concluded with an optional group reflection. Participants were invited to share aspects of their creative responses or verbalize the emotional experiences prompted by the listening and creative activities. Participation was voluntary, and discussion norms emphasized respect, curiosity, and nonjudgment. This shared reflection fostered a sense of communal understanding and normalized emotional expression within a musical context. Many participants reported recognizing parallels between their experiences and those of their peers, reinforcing music’s role as a shared emotional language. Surveys and Data Collection Participants completed brief surveys before and after the session addressing emotional well-being, beliefs about music and personal identity, openness to music therapy, and likelihood of engaging in creative activities for emotional regulation. These surveys were designed to capture perceptual and attitudinal shifts rather than diagnostic outcomes. Results: Emotional Awareness and Musical Engagement Survey responses revealed consistent positive shifts across multiple measures: • The percentage of participants who reported that creative activities improve their mood “very often” or “always” increased from 83% to 92%. • Agreement with the statement that musical preferences reflect personal identity increased from 92% to 100%. • Willingness to consider music therapy prior to prescription medication increased from 58% to 75%. • Eighty-three percent of participants indicated they would recommend music therapy to others. Qualitative feedback further revealed increased emotional awareness, reduced anxiety during musical engagement, and a greater willingness to view music as a resource for self-regulation. Participants frequently described experiencing music as a reflective and supportive presence rather than a source of evaluative pressure.

Each session began with a period of listening designed to cultivate emotional presence rather than analytical critique. Participants were invited to attend to internal responses elicited by the music, including emotional tone, imagery, and memory. Musical selections included the Sarabande from J. S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 6 (performed on viola) and a recording of “You Only Cross My Mind in Winter” from Sting’s If On a Winter’s Night. The Bach Sarabande was performed live to enhance resonance and emotional immediacy. These works, though stylistically distinct, share melodic material as well as contemplative qualities that invite introspection. Participants were guided by reflective prompts such as: What emotion does this music evoke? Does it connect to a personal memory? What sound, image, or sensation emerges in response? This phase emphasized receptive listening and internal awareness, positioning listening as an active, emotionally meaningful practice rather than a purely technical skill. Creative Response Following the listening phase, participants were prompted to engage in a creative response activity designed to externalize emotional impressions. Multiple response modalities were offered, including drawing, free writing, poetry, journaling, or gentle embodied movement. This flexibility supported participant autonomy and acknowledged that emotional processing does not occur uniformly across individuals. A contemporary viola work, Kenji Bunch’s Until Next Time, was then introduced without revealing the title. This piece features scordatura, in this case tuning the viola to B and F ♯ on the C and G strings, and again to B and F ♯ on the D and A strings. Participants were asked to listen and assign their own title based on emotional interpretation. This activity encouraged intuitive engagement and reinforced the idea that musical meaning is constructed through personal experience rather than prescribed labels. Participants were not evaluated on artistic output or interpretive accuracy. Instead, authenticity and emotional honesty were prioritized, creating a low-pressure environment conducive to exploration and reflection.

Taken together, these findings suggest that even brief, structured musical experiences can meaningfully

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, No. 1, Spring 2026