Imperfect Art
Value responsiveness and human judgement over flawless execution.
About the Project
A Dialogue Across Two Fields
The Improviser’s Mindset brings music therapy and music education into conversation through their shared commitments to musicking, reflective practice, care and professional judgement.
The Central Idea
Improvisation as a Way of Thinking and Acting
Improvisation is more than a musical method. It can also be a mode of enquiry, pedagogy, andragogy and care.
The project grew from a dialogue between married collaborators Dr Al Fuller, a music therapist, and Dr Brad Fuller, a music educator. Allison uses Al in her professional work. Their fields use different language, but both ask practitioners to listen deeply, respond to complexity and make relational decisions in real time.
The 2026 Chapter
Music Therapy With an Improviser’s Mindset
Music Therapy With an Improviser’s Mindset: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue at the Intersection of Therapeutic and Educational Approaches
Al Fuller and Brad Fuller
In The Oxford Handbook of Improvisation in Music Therapy, Oxford University Press, 2026.
The chapter introduces the reimagined BDA framework and the first articulation of the Prescription Spectrum as a shared reflective practice tool for music therapy and music education.
View the Published PaperProductive Uncertainty
Work with the unknown as a source of possibility, not simply a problem to eliminate.
Relational Integrity
Prioritise presence, care, agency and repair within shared musicking.