music therapy theory and practice

practitioners and theorists, and to further find out what attachment theory might ‘mean’ in the context of my music therapy practice in this placement. I recognized that as an embedded researcher I would be the source and filter of most of my data, and the discovery of meaning in my research would be constructed through a process of personal involvement and engagement (Wheeler & Kenny, in Wheeler, 2005, p.65) framed by my own cultural background and values. The significance of this could not be underestimated given that this particular context, being so focused on birth, mothering and vulnerable mothers and babies, would inevitably trigger my own responses and biases, and that both the identification and analysis of my findings, would be made through the strong lens of my own values and life experiences. I had already used a reflective journal which had given the opportunity to explore the nature of the data, and my own personal reaction to it. However within the actual subsequent research analysis process, I also needed to ensure reflexivity, a process of consistent self-inquiry and disclosure (Wheeler, 2005, p.247), in peer discussion and consultation with my research supervisor and others. To this end I kept a second journal to record personal thoughts and reactions as they arose during the research process (Bruscia, 2005), helping ensure that I took ‘ownership and responsibility’ for my ‘perspectives, assumptions, motives, values and interests’(Wheeler, 2005, p.246).

PART I : 'MUSIC THERAPIST'S DILEMMA' IN CONTEXT This part introduces and characterises 'music therapist's dilemma' within the context of contemporary music therapy practice and theory, a[r]

researcher/student music therapist then carried out an inductive qualitative secondary analysis of the data that had been generated as a standard part of her practice over the period of the student placement. This was followed by a further examination of attachment theory literature to confirm key aspects of the theory. The findings from the inductive analysis were then looked at in the light of those identified key features of attachment theory.

Our cultural identity is constructed over the course of time as we experience different social groups (Thomas & Schwarzbaum, 2011). Erikson (1968), who introduced the psychosocial theory that human development must be understood in relation to each person’s culture and life circumstances (Berk, 2007), suggested that our identity concerns not only its core in individuals but also has to be sought in a larger social and cultural context. Ruud (1998) noted that individuals become embedded in a particular way of being within the culture of the group they are in, whether it be a social or an ethnic group. He related an individual’s identity to a sense of belonging, and suggested that one’s identity can be explored through being more aware of individuals’ roles in a social group and cultural group. Thus, being part of a social and cultural group can create new meanings in one’s identity (Ruud, 1998).

Many music therapists have resisted a concept of music as “work” and instead embraced more processual conceptions of music where contextual, music structural as well as individual circumstances influence the interpretation and experience of music. Lately, Christopher Small’s concept of “musicking” (Small, 1998), as well as the concepts of “affordance” and “appropriation” (DeNora, 2000; Clarke, 2006) have been widely embraced by music therapists. Small emphasized how “music” must be understood as a practice and a process, as something we do, rather than as an object. This has implications for our understanding of how meanings are produced while engaging in music. Contextual or situational circumstances will play a major role when meanings are negotiated. With the term “affordance” musicologists are referring to James J. Gibsons’s ecological theory of perception (Gibson, 1979), which seeks to throw light upon the interactions between perceiver and environment. Any given environment affords a number of actions and perceptions, according to Gibson. Musicologist Eric Clarke writes that “the affordances of an object are the uses, functions, or values of an object” — the opportunities that it offers to a perceiver (Clarke, 2003, p. 117). Clarke emphasizes how perception and action are inextricably linked and he points to the dialectical relationship between an organism and its environment when he states that it is “neither simply a case of organisms imposing their needs on an indifferent environment, nor a fixed environment determining strictly delimited behavioural possibilities” (ibid. p. 118). This also implies that there will always be a social component affecting the range of possibilities inherent in socially embedded objects like music (Clarke, 2005, p. 38), which implies further that the musical affordances offered by a specific piece of music will be appropriated by the listener/traveller within the “ecology” of the listening situation in question.

first  application  of  PDT  for  malignancies  of  the  skin  dates  back  to  1903,  when  Von  Tappeiner and Jesionek used 5% eosin as a photosensitiser (91), it was only after the  discovery of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA) as a pro‐drug for protoporphyrin IX (PpX), and  its successful application in photodynamic therapy for KSC by Kennedy et al. (92), that  both PDT and fluorescence detection for KSC started to gain interest. In the haem cycle,  5‐ALA is a precursor to PpIX, and in particular in malignant tissue 5‐ALA is a rate limiting  step. After the exogeneous administration of 5‐ALA, the conversion of PpIX to haem is  the new rate limiting step due to a lack of ferrochelatase (93–95). Since in non‐malignant  tissue,  with  its  lower  metabolism,  5‐ALA  isn’t  as  much  a  rate  limiting  step,  the  application  of  5‐ALA  is  biased  towards  tissue  with  a  high  metabolism,  such  as  malignancies (96). The application of 5‐ALA in PDT resulted in a less prolonged duration  of  photoxicity  and  could  be  applied  topically,  which  greatly  improved  the  safety  and  tolerability of photodynamic therapy.  Wilson et al. showed that lack of specificity of the  photosensitiser can be a problem (97), which three years earlier had been demonstrated  by Van der Putten and Van Gemert  using Kubelka‐Munk theory (98). Benefitting from  the  interest  in  photodynamic  therapy,  fluorescence  detection  received  more  interest  and both mono‐spectral and multispectral approaches have been pursued (2,99–110).  The studies mentioned above all used either an exogenous photosensitiser, that is an  externally  administered  photosensitiser  not  normally  present  in  the  organism  (e.g.  indocyanine  green),  or  a  precursor  of  an  endogenous  photosensitiser,  that  is  a  photosensitiser  that  is  normally  present  in  the  organism,  but  the  concentration  or  location of which is altered by administering a compound that is part of the cycle of the  photosensitiser (e.g. 5‐ALA). As in the classical application of the Woods’ lamp, one can  also use auto‐fluorophores (e.g. Flavin) to locate and demarcate KSC. This approach was  used by amongst others Na et al., Brancaleon et al., and Leslie (111–113).  

15 therapy programmes through a case study description of a girl who has Rett’s syndrome, which is a pervasive developmental disorder sometimes included in the Autistic Spectrum. He suggests the student was able to make substantial development after he used a structured and directive approach for eight months, followed by “a longer period, when some of the structure was sustained, but within a more psychodynamic framework which allowed the girl to channel her newly acquired awareness and skills into an expressive and interactive exchange” (p.45). Storey (2005) also notes similar work using aspects of TEACCH with a student with autism who needed structure within sessions. The author states that the student would have found it very difficult to take part in expressive shared playing and singing without a highly structured format.

Abstract: This study presents a tool (Music Therapy Rating Scale [MTRS]) to evaluate the progression of the relationship between the patient and the therapist during music therapy sessions. The rating scale was developed from an intersubjective framework and from an improvisational music therapy technique. It mainly consists of two behavioral classes: non-verbal communication (NVC) and sonorous-musical communication (SMC). Five levels for each class are given (from 0 to 4). Every 15 seconds, two sets of two music therapists coded the behaviors in seven sessions with different patients. The patients were seven children (four males; three females) aged 3–10 years (mean age = 6.28), diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The reliability indices were computed and there was a substantial agreement in the assessments of the video raters (non-verbal relationship: ρ = 0.70; sonorous-musical relationship: ρ = 0.77). A digital output of the program to use the MTRS is presented and clinical implications are discussed.

There are five graduate music theory placement examinations: music theory, ear training, tonal counterpoint, keyboard harmony, and score reading. The information given in these guidelines summarizes the purpose and content for each examination. Suggested books for study are given for each examination. For information regarding required placement examinations for various graduate programs and majors, consult the The Hartt School graduate admissions website at www.hartford.edu

There are many general English course books that have music and associated tasks. The problem is deciding which ones will work and which ones are best left alone. Many teachers take their lead from the dominant publishers within the industry. In most cases the teaching material is of sufficient quality, but in regards to using music, sometimes the songs are cringe worthy. For instance, Oxford University Press ELT (2016) has some online resources that use rap music to teach English, but the results are unusual songs like ‘Rapping Grandma Rap’ and the ‘Anti-Prejudice Rap’. The problem here is that many of the big publishers use music that is either produced in-house or use popular songs that have been around for decades. Therefore the choices tend to be safe and fairly bland in musical taste. This produces some mixed results for classroom use. However, in their defence, to use actual rap may prove problematic, as it often has language and themes that would be deemed offensive in many cultures. It is a balancing act to stay both relevant and not to offend the consumers who buy your books. For many teachers a way forward is to supplement the course books by using online teacher- produced resources. A simple search on the Internet will produce a range of teacher created resources. Again these do vary in quality, but the best way is simply to check them for any obvious spelling or grammatical errors and then try out the tasks on your students. Once a new task is completed seek feedback from students and other teachers who use the tasks.

Social scientific practice must be pluralist and continuous. Some recognition of this contention would have eradicated so much criticism of Bourdieu which has tried to de-contextualise his work by ignoring his deliberate participation in collective activity and by ‘fixing’ his historically produced concepts in order to generate a spuriously universal falsification of them. In the second case, the extract from Bachelard, the editors summarise what he meant by ‘the three degrees of vigilance’:

The applied master course of music therapy at the SRH University Heidelberg was developed within the framework of the Europe-wide alignment and recognition of university degrees (Bologna-Process) in 2005, adjusted and finally accredited in 2010. It offers graduates of artistic or psychosocial study programs a qualified education in music therapy.

The process used in each session is standard while the content is flexible. The intervention will be provided at the same time of the same day of the week by a formally trained, experienced music therapist. The sessions will take place once weekly with a total of 16 sessions, lasting 45 minutes. They will be standardized without limiting the music therapists in their interac- tions. The intervention itself, however, will be (partly) applied according to a protocol. Each session starts with the same welcome song/musical piece and ends with the same farewell song/musical piece. In doing so, the participants become familiar with the start and the end of each session. In between these two songs/musical pieces, the music therapist adjusts the level of each intervention to individual capacities. After the welcome song, the music therapy sessions may be varied: the music experiences can range from listening to music to playing or singing songs to free improvisation. therapist has the freedom to determine what works best at that very moment for that specific patient. The participants will listen to music selected, sung or played by the therapist. Active participation in music activities by singing or playing a musical instrument will be stimulated as much as possible. The music will be selected by the music therapist to incite expressive and communication skills and to reduce agitation, based on musical parameters, such as rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, timbre. After each song/ musical intervention, the therapist will encourage and stimulate the participants to reflect verbally on the music [25].

Within Victoria, this approach has been adopted by the Department of Human Services to inform the development of psychosocial services in cancer care. Different levels of service are provided based on needs, with the aim being to provide the greatest level of services to a relatively small group of the total population served, with the greatest level of need. Within PICS, stakeholder feedback indicated that the current approach to access to AMP therapy is quite adhoc, with some children gaining access to a full range of AMP resources and some to very few. In addition, limited AMP resources means that services have had to focus to some extent on ‘high priority’ children and adolescents and their families.

Some writers have argued that the rigour-relevance gap is un- bridgeable in management research ( Kieser & Leiner, 2009 ). We do not accept these views. We support the very often repeated notion that “nothing is as practical as good theory” ( Lewin, 1951 : 169). What we take this to mean is that, for the most part, theory must be expressed in such a way that it is possible to design practice as a reflection of the theory , even if it is academic researchers who concentrate on initial design and it is practitioners and managers who comment on that design through their experience of it. As Cummings and Jones (2004) argue, knowledge must be actionable if it is ever to be useful to managers. This is very much the basis of the origins of OR as developed and used from WW2 ( Kirby, 2002 ). Theory grows and changes by shifting theory development from ‘pure research’ to practice based research, not as if either were wrong, but rather so that when brought together they enrich one another. In the work reported here we are aiming to act more as a bridge in the value chain of knowledge production ( Starkey & Madan, 2001; Thorpe, Eden, Bessant, & Ellwood, 2011 ) by enrich- ing theory and adapting theory into a form that can be applied in practice. As Gulati (2007) suggests “theory building is a cumu- lative enterprise and, as such, can only happen if we are explicit about both our theories and their impacts on managerial practice” (p780 our emphasis).

26 skills. Some sessions were designed with relaxation or stress reduction in mind, others focussed simply on having fun without the need for mind altering substances. For a client group who often feel as though they have little control over the world around and the world within, I felt music therapy helped clients to internalize their locus of control. For example, by simply increasing the speed of a steady drum beat, a client can notice that others musiking around them will follow – cause and effect. Another of my clinical objectives was to help develop decision making and coping skills, which can be empowering to a person who has lost much both materially and emotionally to addiction. I and my colleagues agreed that music therapy also became a safe environment in which clients could step out of their comfort zones. Using a mind-altering substance can be understood as an escape into a world which, in dependence, becomes more comfortable than the ‘real’ world. Often in recovery there is resistance to stepping outside of what is known and familiar. To ask a client to do something ‘a bit different’ such as play a maracas in front of others can be a real challenge, but my colleagues and I agreed that to stretch a client in this way is very important in their journey to wellness. The inherent ‘holding’ nature of music allowed this kind of activity to happen in a safe and contained environment, where clients’ actions can and often are affirmed by others in the group.

Depression should be recognized as a clinical syndrome that is characterised by a cluster of emotional, behavioural, and cognitive features. The prevalence of depression is consistently high worldwide, and is associated with considerable morbidity. Music is one of the oldest and most basic socio-cognitive domains of the human species. Music Therapy is growing as a profession globally, both in quantity and stature as a recognized treatment. In the light of above, we were interested to elucidate the usefulness of Music Therapy in the management of depressed patients. This research project was carried out on fifty indoor patients admitted at Gupta Hospital, Hisar. All the patients, who received Music Therapy showed fast recovery from depressive symptoms and exhibited normal behavior after 5 days of Music Therapy. Music Therapy had positive influence on the cognitive parameters and patients showed stable mind, better perception, improved expression, good intellect, fine decision making ability and sharp memory after receiving Music Therapy. Music Therapy administered for five days evoked fall in blood pressure and heart rate close to normal values in patients, who showed hypertension and tachycardia at the time of admission into the hospital. EEG was found to be normal in all the patients under study before and after Music Therapy. Furthermore, Music Therapy had positive influence on the cognition status and general behavior of patients. In conclusion, this study provides clinical evidence for the application of Music Therapy in managing patients suffering from depression. Music has the unique capability of bringing back the charm and making the life worth living for depressed patients.

have to start this essay by mentioning that my mother may have very well been the greatest musician who never was. She practiced everyday as a teen and became a very good oboist. She also played saxophone and clarinet. She had a desire to pursue music at Grambling State University in the mid 1960s (Grambling is a historically black college in the rural north part of Louisiana). But, she probably realized that professional performance opportunities for black female woodwind specialists in that region were, at best, limited. So, she played in the symphonic band for a few years and majored in secondary education. I had no idea of this history until she picked up my saxophone one day and played a few standards. Of course, this blew the mind of a junior high school student who was just learning the fingering chart. I begin with this story because many great musicians have never resided in the academy. And, of those that do, how many are theorists? It really makes one (or at least it makes me) wonder about the ideas of marginality, diversity, and who’s actually looking from the outside in.

In the clinic, patients listen music or played it together with the therapists or other patients to build relationships, promote well-being, express feelings, and interact socially. Music therapy works for strokes victims. It also helps aphasia patients. Music therapy works for depression, anxiety, grief, abuse, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, cognitive disabilities, poor motor function, autism, strokes, Alzheimer‟s disease, chronic pain, heart disease, cancer, and seizure disorders. It can affect people of all age groups. Children, elderly, autistic children, pregnant women. Women who have listened to music tapes during gynecologic surgery have more restful sleep following the procedure and less postoperative soreness. Maternal movement is helpful to get the baby into a proper birthing position and dilate the cervix. The rhythmic auditory stimulation may also prompt the body to release endorphins, which are a natural form of pain relief. Everything from ocean wave sounds to jazz music have been shown to help mothers relieve stress and get comfortable in their delivery environment.

Rational choice theory is represented in the song “In the Ghetto” by Busta Rhymes (2006). In the first verse, Busta Rhymes says “It be good if you flaunt it, we will take it if we want it” (Busta Rhymes, 2006). This line reveals the ease with which the character and his group are able to steal valuable items that they see displayed in their neighborhood. The character in this song is not concerned about the costs of crime, which shows effective deterrence is absent. In the same verse, the results of the cost-benefit analysis conducted by the character and his group are revealed: “And develop our muscle ‘til we sicker with the shine / In the struggle, thus our money come quicker doing crime” (Rhymes, 2006). In these lines, the song’s main character states that the benefits of crime (quickly acquired money) outweigh the costs (which are not even mentioned), especially when skill and influence (“muscle”) have been developed. The character in this song is an informed decision maker that actively decides when and how to offend.