Musical elicitation methods : insights from a study with becoming-adolescents referred to group music therapy for aggression

Abstract

Music is an underutilized resource for research in the social sciences. This article presents examples of musical elicitation methods that were used within a study that explored how adolescents who were referred to group music therapy for aggression produced meanings of aggression through the therapeutic process. The study was conducted within a poststructuralist paradigm, particularly using the theoretical thinking tools of Deleuze and Gergen. The elicitation methods discussed include drumming, creating images during music listening, and songwriting. The article argues for the role of musical elicitation methods particularly within research that values a radical relational stance that allows participants to comfortably territorialize the research encounter, and in light of considering the transformative potential of research itself.