ABSTRACT

Sonic Bothy Ensemble (SBE) is an inclusive new music ensemble and organisation, bringing together musicians with additional learning support needs (ALSN) and musicians working in Scotland’s new music scene to explore, compose, and perform contemporary and experimental music. As a mixed-ability group, Sonic Bothy seeks new approaches in collaborative composition and inclusive practice among members with varied backgrounds and learning abilities. This includes group-created, non-scribed compositions rooted in notated approaches; partly fixed compositions using notated and improvised approaches; and free improvisation.

Sonic Bothy Ensemble’s practice of improvisation allows members with diverse levels of music education, tastes, life experiences, and learning ability to come together to create high-quality work. This interlude examines members’ experiences of learning to improvise as beginning and experienced improvisers, and which pedagogical underpinnings have emerged and continue to evolve through practical enquiry. It discusses members’ identities in relation to disability and improvisation; the important role of reflective listening and discussion within ensemble practice; the emergence of a critical framework in considering the quality of improvisation within; and description of a practice session.