The Road Not Taken: Why Does Music Therapy Work?

Does Music Therapy work? Many people have never heard of Music Therapy and are skeptical when they hear about it. And a portion of those who have heard about it, just think it’s a therapy session where they listen to music that might help a patient. But, Music Therapy is much more than that. Music Therapists have a background in Music, Medicine, and Psychology. Music affects us more than you may realize. It affects our walking, talking ,and even thinking. Our brain loves music, and it taps into our emotions. Music helps us to focus and to learn. These are just some of the reasons why I want to become a Music Therapist. I believe that Robert Frost 's poem The Road Not Taken helps to explain my experience on choosing Music Therapy to pursue as a future. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- took the one less traveled by" (Frost). I feel that I have defied that quote in a way. I choose both paths.

Music is a huge part of our brains function even as young as a baby. "Research has shown that day-old infants are able to detect differences in rhythmic patterns." (Top 12 brain based 1) Music makes learning easier. An example of this would be parents and

A lot of sessions consist of Music Therapy interventions. Music Therapy interventions are experiences that music therapists use to target their patients non-musical goals. There are four main types of these interventions. There is performing and or playing music. Composing a piece of music or improvising music: which is creating music on the spot. Nonetheless the last type of music therapy intervention is simply listening to music. Music Therapy sessions could consist of all of these types of interventions or just one or two. During a music therapy session the therapist always has an end goal for their patient. That goal could be a patient obtaining more movement in their limbs through the use of dancing. Another example, could be a patient remembering information through