6.1 Process of the Practice
The actual process conducted is shown in Figure
6, in which every session is executed smoothly as scheduled, except for S2. The unexpected occurrence in S2 can be attributed to insufficient availability of the ComString, which makes continuously triggering the chords based on the rule a great challenge for the three participants who encountered the probe for the first time, even with explanations and advice from the researchers. Faced with such difficulty in S2, the first three participants discussed a way to break through. Because it was difficult for all three of them to press the correct chord positions simultaneously, they decided that one person would play the chords as previously planned, while the other two continuously slid their fingers on the strings to increase the chances of triggering the correct positions. However, relatively this strategy would create new barriers to playing the chords continuously with rhythm. Therefore, when the ComString was handed over to the next three participants, the therapist changed the rules of the activity temporarily. For the new rule, the therapist would play chords on a MIDI keyboard and sing, leading everyone to directly join in with their voices, and the last three participants could continue to try to trigger chords together or freely explore the instruments. Actually, after witnessing the failures of the previous participants, they only made superficial attempts at collaboration. Instead, they mostly treated the device as a novelty and explored it freely on their own.
S4 was most appreciated, where two participants cooperated to control an ambient sound, combined with the background music selected by the therapist, creating a unique sense of atmosphere. Each person may have distinctive visual imaginations and atmospheric experiences according to his experiences or characteristics, but with a general common point of feeling deeply healed. In this relaxing atmosphere, reminiscent of sitting around a campfire and having a heart-to-heart conversation, all six participants voluntarily shared the images that emerged in their minds, sparking discussions on the reason for such a healing effect of the step.
6.2 Therapist Behavior
Excluding behaviors that simply promote process or remain unrelated to the participants, we have categorized four distinct therapist behaviors based on different purposes and impact on the group:
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Instructing: To inform participants of what they need to do in the upcoming session, therapists give clear commands or instructions. This influences the roles and task assignments of the participants, specifies constraints and rules, and facilitates the development of the group within requirements.
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Supporting: Participants come up with a goal, and the therapist provides support to help them achieve it.
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Guiding: Therapists have a desired goal in mind and guide participants to find suitable ways toward it. This behavior emphasizes cooperation and collaboration with the participants.
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Intervening: Therapists initiate immediate actions that cause changes within the group, exerting a stronger influence over the participants directly.
The instructing behavior usually occurs at the beginning of a session, including activities such as grouping, allocating musical instruments, and explicitly instructing participants to follow some rules during the session. In terms of guiding and supporting, they constitute the majority of therapist behaviors from the perspective of the entire group, and when examining individual sessions, there is a clear tendency towards either guiding or supporting being the primary focus. On the other hand, intervening is a more assertive behavior where therapists directly influence the participants based on their judgments. This was mainly observed in S4, where the therapist intervened by playing music and altering the atmosphere created by participants, thereby changing their emotional experiences. The targets of guiding and supporting are more diverse, so the following subtopics will describe these two main themes based on the objects of the behaviors.
6.2.1 Supporting.
Supporting can be provided through coordination, clarification, balance, and encouragement. Such behaviors will not influence the direction of participants’ actions but rather provide support in alignment with their expectations. Coordination with participants, for example, in S2, the therapist would adapt her singing to match the participants’ rhythm instead of asking the participants to adjust theirs. Clarification involves answering questions related to rules or music theory, helping participants achieve their goals smoothly. For example, in S3, when the performer couldn’t distinguish pitch during the interaction, the therapist provided answers. Balance means striving to make everyone feel satisfied. For example, in S3, the therapist balanced the performances between groups and controlled the number of interactions to ultimately achieve a draw. Encouragement entails affirming individual performances and giving praise during the interaction. For example, the therapist encouraged those who were hesitant to sing by "you sang already very well" in S2, and praised participants to have "excellent imitation of actions" in S3.
6.2.2 Guiding.
Guiding aims to lead participants’ actions in the direction expected by the therapist, promoting everyone to experience, express, reflect, or interact. Guiding participants to experience: This is most prominent in S1, where the therapist continuously inserted guiding phrases to help everyone become aware of their current bodily state and relax, which included "the contact between your body and the ground", "take a deep breath", "notice your fingertips" etc. Guiding expression: The therapist would use music, gestures, language, etc. to guide participants to freely express themselves through music or their bodies. For example, in S2 everyone was guided to sing, which was a means of expressing emotions through both the body and music, and similarly, in S5 embodied instruments were used for expressing. Guiding reflection: Towards the end of each session, the therapist usually asked about everyone’s feelings or the logic behind behaviors. For example, in S3, the therapist asked the imitation group to explain the design of their movements, and in S4, everyone reflected on their feelings and whether they felt comfortable during the preceding sound. When there was a rich sense of feelings among participants, establishing a suitable atmosphere for communication, the therapist may further guide deeper emotional reflection. Guiding interaction: The therapist would use language to promote communication between participants. For example, in S3, she asked the expressive group if they could understand the meaning behind the movements of the imitation group.
Consequently, from the proportions of therapist behaviors in different sessions shown in Figure
6, it is evident that therapy behaviors exhibit distinct tendencies based on session designs. In sessions with clear tasks and more social actions (S2&S3), therapists are more inclined to offer support and encourage participants to take autonomous actions. Conversely, in sessions with open-ended tasks (S1&S4&S5), therapists take a more proactive role in guiding or intervening, exerting a stronger influence on participants’ experiences.
6.3 Participates Experience
We recruited six designers or researchers who expressed willingness to relax due to the stress recently experienced to participate in the therapy group, refer the Table
1. These individuals are labeled A1-A4 and B, C based on their interpersonal relationships. A1, A2, A3, and A4 know each other before, while B and C are strangers to the other five. A1, A2, and A3 formed Group A1, while B, C, and A4 formed another Group B. Before the therapy, we used the HADS scale to assess their anxiety and depression levels over the past week. The results showed that A1, B, and C had recently experienced high levels of stress, while A2, A3, and A4 were not affected at a level yet.
The therapeutic approach employed in this group involves allowing participants to express, feel, and understand their emotions during music activities. According to tZ, "A therapist anticipates a positive outcome where clients can explore new spiritual experiences in the group, promote self-growth, and find support in facing everyday events with greater strength." Emotional experiences are personalized, and the commonality in group therapy lies in each person’s ability to express and feel their unique emotions in their own way. Through participants’ emotional experiences, we can observe their main gains and sources of therapeutic benefits in the group. We have compiled these emotional experiences and summarized them into two basic emotions (positive and negative) and two more complex ones. Finally, we identified four themes related to emotional experiences in this study. Although the richness and depth of these feelings may go beyond the scope of words, this paper tries to present the rich experiences behind through detailed descriptions as much as possible.
6.3.1 Extraordinary Experience.
C emphasized a unique sense of "positive sense of uncertainty". Uncertainty usually brings her relative negative emotions such as anxiety or depression in daily life, but unexpectedly it brought about positive feelings in this activity. The therapist evaluates such experience as an ideal type of effect music therapy aims to achieve, which is a new experience that breaks away from habitual patterns, gradually transforming situations that were once feared or worrisome into harmless and positive ones. In our case, when initially exploring the digital instruments, the unfamiliarity of these devices brought C a sense of uncertainty. However, instead of causing hesitation, it energized and motivated her to try mastering them. Similarly, during S4, when collaborating to control the ambient music with B, the sense of uncertainty increased and triggered concerns due to the openness of the task. However, she discovered that B’s rain sounds changed in sync with her campfire sound, experiencing B’s cooperation in creating a narrative, which allowed her to regain a sense of positive motivation.
6.3.2 Connectedness.
We categorize the feelings of collective consciousness, unity, and belonging, etc. under the theme of "connectedness", which primarily arise from the following three types of situations. Firstly, the design of the device’s lighting: C and B were the only ones who felt a sense of connection through the warm light changes triggered by overlapping finger positions, which also left a deep impression on them. C specifically marked the moment when the lights turned yellow in the trajectory as "a sudden feeling of getting connected". A1 did notice the relationship between color changes and cooperation but did not have an obvious emotional response to it. B proposed an explanation, suggesting that the lighting facilitated a sense of connection particularly for newcomers like C, in contrast to Group A members who were already well-acquainted. Moreover, B, while collaborating with C in S4, interpreted C’s actions based on the movement of white LEDs, which represented C’s finger movements. This enhanced her enjoyment of creating the scene "together" with C. Secondly, completing tasks with a common goal: Both A4 and B mentioned feeling a strong sense of connectedness during the S3. A4 explained, "We all unite to accomplish a task," while B also stated, "We become particularly united when there’s a goal to overcome." Thirdly, feelings and associations triggered by music: Both A1 and C mentioned a sense of connectivity during the S4. A1, while listening to the ambient music for the first time, imagined a scene of inviting friends to gather at her home and noted the variations in rain and campfire sounds, saying "We were originally having a campfire outdoors, but then it started raining, so we moved inside by the fireplace to listen to the rain and chat." In contrast, during the second round of ambient music, C described a scene of herself drying clothes in the forest, and with the accompanying music played by the therapist, the scene transformed into one where a magical friend appeared in the forest, bringing along a story of new friends, feeling "a shift from loneliness to warmth".
6.3.3 Positive Emotions.
"Relaxation, happiness, positiveness, and vitality" are frequently mentioned words by the participants to describe positive experiences during this therapy group. In addition to the positive emotions elicited by the successful achievement of the task’s original design goals (e.g. S1 inducing relaxation), the performance details of the probes and the interactions with others can also bring additional beneficial feelings. During the S4, the probe provided a subjective tangible interaction for controlling the ambient sounds. This unique control set it apart from simply playing a recorded sound sample and was considered as the key reason for "a more immersive experience". A1 believed that this control made the ambient sound fluctuate in volume a bit unpredictably, showing a stronger sense of realism. On the other hand, B felt that it was because they knew "someone is in control", creating a sense of "being led and enhancing immersion". The encouragement, understanding, and active participation of others are also important factors that contribute to positive emotions. For example, A1 felt motivated and inspired by the therapist’s encouragement, while B expressed great joy when the therapist understood the meaning behind their imitated actions. Additionally, the active attitude of Group B during the S3 had a contagious effect on Group A1, making all three of them feel that "others were engaged, which motivated and brought me joy (A2)".
6.3.4 Negative Emotions.
"Tension, embarrassment, and anxiety" are the most common negative emotions experienced by the participants, primarily stemming from the usability of the devices and concerns about their performance. As a typical example, the inability to control the devices caused great frustration and anxiety for Group A in the S2. Additionally, explicit tasks can also enhance worries, with participants fearing embarrassment if unable to complete them, resulting in feelings of awkwardness. For instance, A3 mentioned, "It feels like I don’t know how to use this thing, naturally making me worry that others might think I’m dumb for not even knowing how to play with it. " During the S4 when A2 controlled the intensity of the ambient music, they expressed, "Because I bear the responsibility of creating an environment for others, it feels burdensome, afraid of providing a negative experience for everyone." In S5, when everyone’s rhythm stabilized, they might still hesitate, saying, "I want to change the rhythm, but I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid of disrupting the order, which is a bit awkward."
6.4 The Retrospective Exploration with the Therapist
Following the conclusion of the group practice, we conducted an in-depth retrospective study and interview session in collaboration with the tZ. Employing a retrospective approach, we retraced our steps from the recent conclusion of practice back to the design of ComString, aiming to unearth any unconventional and unrecorded intriguing findings. This encompassed various aspects such as the forms of applied therapy techniques, notable participant behaviors, therapist emotional fluctuations, and novel conceptualizations of musical instruments.
Regarding participant behaviors, we cataloged both positive and negative manifestations across various sessions of therapy, with the therapist providing profound insights. The therapist encouraged us to contemplate the dual nature of participant behaviors. The therapist mentioned, "During the initial ice-breaking phase, some clients exhibited verbosity, which may not necessarily signify heightened engagement but rather serve as an expression of their inner defensiveness and discomfort through verbal communication." Additionally, the therapist noted that some clients possessed extroverted personalities while others leaned towards introversion. When extroverted clients display conspicuous signs of frustration, it could potentially prompt introverted clients to find a degree of psychological equilibrium. Numerous other participant behaviors were observed, but such discoveries are challenging for computers to capture and document comprehensively, relying instead on the therapist’s expertise for summarization and transmission.
During the retrospective exploration of the phase involving musical instrument learning in music therapy, we conveyed certain clients’ inner psychological experiences to the therapist. Client A mentioned,"I felt anxious at the beginning of learning the instrument because I didn’t understand music theory, but the therapist patiently explained things, which made me develop a sense of reliance and respect for the therapist." The therapist expressed gratification and stated, "In music therapy, I indeed aspire to receive positive encouragement from clients, aiming to establish a mutually beneficial emotional feedback loop between myself and the clients. In this ongoing process, I heal them, and they, in turn, uplift me!"
The therapist expressed approval of CDMIs. She had limited exposure to DMIs in previous therapies but found the ComString system highly inspiring. She initially stated, "The interactivity offered by ComString is a significant source of inspiration for me, and it has proven to be effective in fostering emotional connections within social groups." Additionally, the therapist mentioned, "DMIs can provide a broader range of musical genres, such as natural sounds, environmental sounds, and even synthetic music, which can enrich the therapist’s toolkit." Furthermore, we discussed potential future directions in the design of CDMIs. We inquired whether the therapist had frequently needed to exercise control over individual or group music performances in previous therapies. The therapist affirmed this and pointed out, "On one hand, I aim to enhance the musical experience through my control, ensuring client satisfaction; on the other hand, I aspire to offer a more diverse array of musical materials."
In the realm of music therapy interventions, the therapist highlighted the intricacies of dealing with diverse client emotions and underscored the gravity of the field of music therapy. Different client groups necessitate distinct therapeutic strategies. The therapist mentioned, "For clients who are emotionally sensitive, we must be vigilant about their emotional and behavioral fluctuations and exercise caution when introducing new materials and therapeutic elements to prevent extreme emotional responses." However, the therapist also noted that our work could be applied to groups such as school-age children or their families, stating, "This demographic may not necessarily seek decompression, but they can gain knowledge through music experiential learning, fostering emotional connections among themselves."
During this retrospective analysis, as HCI researchers, we did not experience a sense of mastery due to the completion of this study. Instead, we discovered that the field of music therapy offers a broader research landscape, igniting a newfound enthusiasm and drive to delve deeper into it.