Incidental Music describes the early stages of the development of a new approach – sound therapy – for children who have severe learning difficulties (SLD) and profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). Sound itself, including what we call ‘music’, in combination with aspects of new music technology, provide the basis for this approach. Sound therapy acknowledges the expressive potential of all sound with the aim of enabling and developing additional ways of communicating and expressing. A research methodology has been developed to enable a detailed, rigorous analysis and evaluation of observed phenomena. This is briefly described and a case study, based on the use of Soundbeam, reveals some aspects of sound therapy. I am grateful to the staff and pupils of the Lambert School for their help, encouragement, co-operation and warmth in enabling this project.

This paper utilizes the vocabulary and methodological concepts of field theory to explore how play can arise in and through performance. Field is defined as a space or potential for action. The action of play is grounded in an open and expanding space which through a dialectic interplay of feelings motivates self-exploration. The action of musical performance is grounded in a reaching out movement through which the performer forges and sustains a musical voice. The field can create a space for play when the music-making re-directs or challenges the focus of the musical voice. The methodological approach recognizes and respects differences in the way music is made in different cultural traditions. It also articulates a need to develop instructional strategies which treat musical style as a ritualistic process and which define the role of the teacher as a musician.1