First, a quick note....
We would like to extend special thanks to Kaylee Tilton, founder of Seattle Music Therapy,
for providing the quotes and expertise that made this page possible. Visit her site here.
What is music therapy?
Music Therapy can range from passive interventions like listening, or lyric analysis, to active interventions like music-making, and songwriting.
The music is oriented toward areas like education, development of social skills, behavior modification, pain management, emotional expression, communication, and physical wellness. More intellectually and musically complex interventions, like songwriting, can be made accessible to all skill levels, and are designed to be challenging while still attainable to participants.
The University of Minnesota has a brief but thorough page on music therapy here.
What's the goal of music therapy?
Music Therapy is about much more than music: It is about helping people from all walks of life develop skills that will improve their overall quality of life. Skills in the areas of cognitive functioning, communication, gross and fine motor, and social interaction are common goals during treatment.
"Above all, enhancing the quality of life for clients who have special needs, who are struggling with mental illness, who are cooped up in a hospital room, who are overcoming addiction, who are at the end of life, or anyone in need - that is our focus and music is our tool." - Kacey Tilton
It's not always about improving skill sets: Sometimes it can be about managing pain perception, providing a means of emotional expression, relieving stress and anxiety, and/or working towards behavior modification; it all depends on the specific needs of the group, or individual client."
"The best part is that from a client's point of view, it is not 'work.' Music is an enjoyable activity that often holds positive associations with childhood, or culture for clients. Music doesn't ask you to repeat an exercise over and over, instead it invites you to play the tambourine during your favorite song. The ends are still genuine therapeutic work, but the means feel much more like play."- Kacey Tilton
What is a music therapist's focus?
Music therapists design activities to highlight the client’s abilities rather than disabilities which promotes positive self-esteem and can be much more motivating.
In private lessons with children and adults with special needs, the music therapist will break down the learning into smaller, more manageable pieces.
Music therapists create a variation of activities that can provide clients healing, self-expression, and enjoyment.
Is there science behind music therapy?
Actively participating in music engages all of the lobes of the brain and because of neural plasticity, the brain is able to adapt and change throughout our lives.
“Music can actually change your brain. “
A trained musician will have an enlarged corpus callosum – the part of your brain which links the left and right hemispheres. This is because both the “creative” brain and the “logical” brain need to work in synchronicity for music-making to be possible.
While listening to a song, the left hemisphere makes sense of pulse, beat, and rhythm since the time signature of a song breaks down mathematically. The right hemisphere allows us to “feel” the music, and to experience the subjective qualities of a song. Some of our most vivid memories are associated with music and can be recalled by using music as a prompt
Additional links:
Who can benefit from music therapy?
Individuals in correctional facilities
Those involved in crises or trauma
People who are aging, mentally or physically
Anyone feeling out of control in medical settings (especially children)
Individuals with special needs, regardless of diagnosis or severity
Those with psychological disorders
Mothers in labor and delivery, infants in neonatal care
List drawn from Seattle Music Therapy's "Populations Served"
The American Music Therapy Association here has more resources discussing music therapy populations.
Who can provide music therapy?
Music Therapists are required to complete a nationally approved college curriculum which includes training in psychology, ethics of the therapeutic relationship, anatomy and physiology, and clinical experience.
Music therapy students are trained to use instruments such as guitar, piano, percussive instruments, and the voice as therapeutic tools rather than as a means of performance. After completion of their academic work and prior to taking the national board certification exam, music therapy students must then complete a 1,040-hour internship at an approved facility.