Para além de “Vigiar e Punir”: a prática de piano numa experiência em contexto prisional

Abstract

In Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault identifies discipline and “docilization” as the two main processes used by prisons to shape and control the bodies and will of individuals in the attempt to reconstruct identities that can fit the behavioural patterns required by living in society. This strategy is, however, criticised by many, and different prison systems have been searching for activities and programmes that can positively contribute towards the experience of living in a prison.

This article describes the project “On the wings of a piano… I learn how to fly” developed in 2013-2014 in a female prison near Oporto, Portugal. Starting with activities such as improvisation, composition and the memorization of simple pieces, also approaching some basic principles of music reading in a later stage of the project, the individual lessons evolved towards three public collective presentations, inside and outside the prison.

Based on this experience, I reflect on the gap that separates the experience lived in this project with the hostile environment described by Foucault, finding clear evidence that music is a powerful tool for Human Development: it catalyses emotions, opens communication channels between individuals, promotes self-efficacy, confidence, forgiveness and the motivation to seek out and try other experiences.