Universal Language: Music Therapy
Prof. Laurie Fox, Board Certified Music Therapist, takes us on a brief journey, and explains her field along the way. It’s been said that, “music is a universal language.” And while I would amend that to, “music is universal”, nonetheless, I must concede that music is a communicator, a connector of persons with diverse backgrounds. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the use of music by children.
Having just returned from trips to Kenya, Tanzania, and the Dominican Republic, I was blessed to share music with children with whom I could not otherwise engage. We made music together using “found sounds”, body percussion, singing and rhythmic chanting. In addition, we helped the children in creating and utilizing shaker instruments in call/response activities and as accompaniment to pre-composed songs.
Immediate Music/Immediate Connection
The immediacy of the joint music-making did not come as a surprise, because that is typically what we can expect from children in the States. What WAS different was how the children naturally embodied the music, using their entire bodies in their music-making, whether it was dancing as they played or fully engaging with the instruments, staying mindful and present with their music-making endeavors, as opposed to perseverative behavior. For me, as a musician, a music therapist and music educator, it’s the embodiment of music that is of vital importance in exploring and experiencing one’s self as a musical being. This belief has been the foundation of my use of music with clients in music therapy. And so, first, what is music therapy? Here’s how the American Association of Music Therapy defines it: Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. This definition leaves many questions unanswered because of the variety of possible musical interventions, along with the vast array of clientele groups, as well as the training, skill and personal style of each individual music therapist. So, what follows are a couple of examples of my own work in re-purposing music education approaches as therapeutic interventions in order to assess, support and aid childhood development.
Music education approaches from pedagogues such as Jaques Dalcroze, Zoltán Kodály, Carl Orff, and Schinici Suzuki emphasize the value of experiencing music (through singing, moving, rhythmic activities) as a means of learning musical concepts. While not yet thoroughly explored for use in music therapy, these developmental music approaches and philosophies align with the humanistic framework in which many music therapists work.
Therapeutically, embodied music-making experiences allow children to explore their own resources, all the while remaining in their world of play. The value of their music-making comes not only from the aesthetic virtues of music as art, not only from cognitive benefits, but also, and maybe most importantly, from the music as being a vehicle through which children can build their sense of self and strengthen self-mastery. To those ends, common goals in music therapy could include the following:
To improve awareness of self, others and environment
Utilizing the Dalcroze concepts of “time-space-energy”, children are encouraged to walk the quarter note beat at the tempo of what the therapist improvises on the piano; they are to attend to the music and respond by walking faster or slower when they sense the shift in the tempo. In addition, they are encouraged not to walk in a circle (which often happens naturally!) but rather to make use of the entire space. For older children, you can encourage them to use their upper bodies by “conducting” the music and also to explore the space above and below them (arms waving overhead; knees bending to explore closer to the ground)
To increase and/or improve social skills (sharing, turn taking)
Using Orff instruments, children are partnered together on various instruments, all arranged with the pentatonic scale (or five notes, each instrument utilizing the same five notes). The larger (or lower pitched) instruments keep a simple ostinato (repeated musical pattern), in which client A plays one note and client B plays another, and together, their notes form the ostinato. Other clients on medium pitched instruments can be given a simple melody that repeats (again, shared by two clients). And then maybe one xylophone gets passed around to those who do not yet have an instrument, and these clients can (one at a time) create something on the spot to go with the “accompaniment” of the medium and lower pitched instruments. The clients would then all switch roles so that everyone has a chance to “solo”.
Other goals might include:
- To increase and/or improve communication skills (receptive skills, expressive skills)
- To improve autonomy (decision-making, problem-solving)
Perhaps I can share more ideas about music experiences to target these goals in a future post, but the main thing I hope to convey is that children need to explore music in its (and their!) fullness. Happy music-making!
Laurie Fox, MMT, MT-BC, LPC, is the Coordinator of the Music Therapy Program for Seton Hill University. She has practiced music therapy since 1994, focusing primarily on working with older adults with dementia and children, adolescents, and adults with mental health issues. Additional clinical work has included corrections, oncology, and neurology, and she maintains a private music psychotherapy practice. Laurie has recently joined the team at Heritage Hospice, Indiana, PA, marking a return to her love of hospice music therapy.
Laurie continues to be an active performer in her community and is passionate about bringing people together through music making endeavors. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, which includes a few cats!
