Therapy Through Song-Writing As music varies around the world so does a cultures use of the songs and lyrics created. Songwriters may quickly scribble words down on a piece of paper or have a melody running in their head, with the anticipation that those sounds and words will turn into lyrics for a song. A song or melody may spark both positive and negative feelings in each person’s life, especially by the author. Music is used for countless activities (ceremonies, celebrations), therefore the ideas discussed in this paper focus on whether the song writing process acts as a therapy outlet. Accordingly, the goal is to examine one musician’s ideas about song writing and review literature on how song writing is currently used in music therapy. Musicians have claimed song writing is their therapy. By it’s very nature, the process of song writing can be both freeing and emotionally challenging on a writer. Song “text often provides an early experience of how to symbolically represent the world, and of how we can use metaphors to understand the meaning of what is happening to us” (Baker et al. 9). Lyrics articulate the values and beliefs of people, which weave their way into the lives of others. In the midst of song writing, an important phenomenon is taking place: the writer is communicating and sharing their thoughts in an intimate way, much like how psychological counseling is seen and used today. To understand a musician’s work, one might need to understand their personal journey. While delving into the effects of musical therapy, I had a chance to interview Matt Jennings a songwriter/musician who plays piano in a worship band at Bear Creek Community Church in Merced, California. On Saturday, February 19, I sat down with Matt ... ... middle of paper ... ... provide a natural musical medium for the therapeutic process” (Wigram 264). Song writing through music is able to reflect the state of the human soul in ways that words along cannot. Works Cited American Music Therapy Association, Inc. 2011. Web. www.musictherapy.org. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. Baker, Felicity, Wigram, Tony. Song Writing: Methods, Techniques and Clinical Applications for Music Therapy Clinicians, Educators and Students. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2005. Print. Day, T. (2005 August). Song Writing: Methods, Techniques and Clinical Applications for Music Therapy Clinicians, Educators and Students. Chapter 4. Gardstrom, S., and J. Hiller. "Song Discussion as Music Psychotherapy. " Music Therapy Perspectives 28.2 (2010): 147-156. Print. Wagner, H.. "Music Therapy at the end of Life. Journal of Music Therapy 47.2 (2010): 190-195. Print.
Songwriting/Lyric convergence – Another form of music therapy is songwriting and lyric convergence. It helps the creative thought process, enables individuals to sort their emotions, and gives them the ability to communicate grief or joy, and reminiscence on memories. Music therapists use songwriting to assess mental health, and to assist the patient by enhancing the quality of their life. Although some patients are confident writing original songs, there are several other songwriting techniques. Sometimes music therapists and their patients will sing well known songs, substituting individual words or phrases with an appropriate alternative. Sometimes using an existing melody and replacing the original lyrics with inventive words generates parodies of songs. Goodbye songs are an uplifting tactic to close a music therapy session. It gives the patient an opportunity to write about medical milestones and memories.
Music and songwriting date back centuries. Cultures, families, and religions have all used it as a way of expression and unity since the very beginning of time. Song writing in particular has become one of the most popular ways for society to express their thoughts and views of the caucus around us all. Music is a common language that we’ve all learned to speak and appreciate, and it is one way for us to stay connected as people. Larry Suess, in his article “Music Therapy and Song Writing” describes music therapy as an aid to expression and management of emotions that can contribute to the healing process.
Music therapy may also be experienced from more of a “listening” perspective, where a person suffering from depression listens to a particular piece of music and pays focus to any feelings, emotions, and images that emerge as a result. Using this as a basis, in 1970 an American music therapist by the name of Helen Bonny created what is known today as Guided Imagery and Music therapy (GIM) (Chou & Lin, 2006). GIM consists of the patient listening to therapeutic and calming music, eventually reaching a state of mental and physical relaxation (Chou & Lin, 2006). Once a patient is in this state, and with the help of the therapist, an individual explores images and feelings that arise in their mind as a result of listening to this music (Chou & Lin, 2006). This remains to be of particular importance as those suffering from depression often feel a lack of connection with one’s self and one’s feelings. Subsequently, the individual and the therapist work together discussing the images and feelings that the patient experienced, exploring the figurative meaning and themes and how they connect to the patient’s issues and everyday life (Chou & Lin, 2006). Such communication and exploration often allows for those afflicted with depression to express negative emotions more easily and bridge the gap between their internal state and expressing that state outwardly in a verbal manner (Chou & Lin, 2006), something that exclusive talk therapy at times struggles with. Mei-Hsien Chou, an instructor at I-Shou University in the Department of Nursing; and Mei-Feng Lin, who holds a PhD and is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at National Cheng Kung University conducted a study featuring five subjects who suffer from depression and the use of GIM on their overall mood, quality of life, and personal experience. While the study is limited in terms of subject
Music is used in a variety of different ways. Some are very simple and logical, many others are creative and complex. Music is used to give emphasis to movies and advertisements, commercials and TV shows. Music is also used to express feelings and to communicate ideas and thoughts, without the barrier of language. People who cannot understand a language, can respond to music by singing, dancing, beating on a drum, in whatever way; people respond to music, and they like it (Weiss). A song may mean totally different things to different people with their own preferences and cultures. Show a popular piece of music to two different people and without a doubt, their interpretations and views of the song will almost never be exactly the same (if you need more sources this would be an EASY one to find a quote/reference to). The same song in the U.S. may be interpreted the same way in Germany, or Japan, or it may be interpreted in a different way. This is the great thing about music it is all relative to one’s personal views and preferences. Meaning that music is the universal language to speak with and through, allowing for the ultimate tool to both express feelings and to interpret other’s feelings. One more use of music, and possibly one of the most underutilized ways is to heal. Musical healing has been used for millennia with positive results. (Again…it would be super easy to pop a date in here and reference a source). Utilized by the very first shamans who practiced the change in consciousness to make contact with the spiritual realm. Music therapy has healed wounds both physical and mental and has been proven effective against many forms of diseases (Reiser). In Ancient Egypt, physicians sang scripture in curative tones. Witch Doct...
Music therapy isn’t the same as other therapy. Music therapy uses music to help establish a connection of ...
B., Gfeller, K. E., & Thaut, M. H. (2008). An Introduction to Music Therapy: Theory and
Ostwald, P. F. (1992). Psychotherapeutic facilitation of musical creativity. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 46(3), 383-404.
In 1995, Ballard and Coates reported that “neither the lyrical content nor the music type affected suicidal ideation, anxiety, or self-esteem” (Journal Of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development 1) Music itself has been used as a form of therapy in of residential and adult day care centers it’s been reported that music had been the cause of elevated or depressed moods. This suggests that music is an effective technique in therapeutic interventions and should be incorporated more thoroughly in medical and psychiatric practices. Experimental studies conducted by Prickett in 1988 have documented the effects of music on individuals as they interact with the environment. Participants of the study were reported to have shown increases in their expression of feelings, awareness, and socialization. Furthermore, music may also be able to help individuals cope with pain and anxiety. In other studies the use of music made traditional psychotherapy more effective and led to a drop in the levels of depression for more individuals that using regular therapies
The art of music can influence people’s lives in such a vast amount of ways. It has been told to many that music is the key to the soul. Music is the universal language that, in some way or another, touches one’s heart and shows them who they are, could be, and wants to be. It gives an idea of how one thinks and lives, when others cant understand them on their own. Popular music such as the songs “One of These Days,” originally written by Marcus Hummon, and “Humble and Kind,” originally written by Lori McKenna, can impact how you treat people and look at the world, how you view mercy and forgiveness, and educate and impact current social concerns such as bullying.
Music Therapy deals with listening to music, making or singing music, and being apart of musical activities. As a form of therapy, it has been receiving more exposure due to studies and experiments that have dealt with how music affects human behavior and emotions. Listening to music forces the listener to unknowingly question what they are listening to and to discern what the motivation of the composer of the piece is. Stephan Koelsch, a German scholar who has studied music therapy reported that “during music listening, individuals a...
Musical therapy is an often overlooked type of treatment that assess and treats the needs of patients through the use of music. As musical therapy’s popularity begins to grow, more questions begin to surface. Should doctors and therapists need to learn the importance of musical healing to help improve the condition of the patients? Many people wonder if music therapy is a thing. The answer is yes, music therapy is very much a thing. Music therapy is used within a therapeutic relationship to help with physical, emotional, and social needs of individuals. After assessing the strengths and needs of each client, the qualified music therapist provides the indicated treatment including creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music. Through
Songs have always captured my attention, but none so much as Earth Song. This song expresses how I feel about music. It tells of how music can be a light in the darkness of this world. This is truly what music has meant to me. This is why as I go into college I would like to pursue a degree in music therapy. Other students often ask me for help, and I have been told several times that I would be a good teacher. I love children and have always been able to connect with them. Pursuing a degree in music therapy allows me to combine my strengths and passions.
There are different forms of music therapy that are used in the healing process. The first type is called improvisation. This is when a music therapist tells the patient to recreate his or her own music, perhaps a song. The patient is to write new lines of music based on their emotions, events, or situations, which are brought up during a session. The next type is composing. A patient works with a therapist to crea...
In the book “Music and Emotions,” Bunt and Pavlicevic state that these methods are useful because the procedures allow for people of different backgrounds to come to music therapy and make connections between their emotions and the music. In their chapter Music and Emotions: Perspectives from Music Therapy, the two writers describe the active approach as “a method in which the patient is encouraged to show emotions by forming musical gestures and structures (Bunt and Pavlicevic).” This method can usually be found in improvisational music therapy, which is when a music therapist will make up songs on the fly using an instrument, words, or even both. During this type of session, sometimes the patient will join in causing the roles of composer and performer to merge. Similarly, in the receptive approach, various emotions can be brought to life while listening to live music played by the therapist or on a recording (Bunt and Pavlicevic). In the collaborative approach, the parent or guardian of the patient will typically communicate with the music therapist throughout the treatment to help the patient obtain their clinical objectives. This approach is necessary because it combines the viewpoints of the music therapist, the patient, and the guardian altogether(Schwartzberg and Silverman, 2017) . Reconciling these viewpoints
Music has existed for centuries and brought joy to millions of souls. It has ingrained itself into multiple cultures and bears the capability of emotionally moving people with a few strums of a guitar. Music does not only serve as an enjoyable activity to destress; it can become a beneficial tool to help patients cope with illnesses. How could people use such a simple device to help others? The answer is music therapy. Music therapy harnesses positivity and brings smiles to patients’ faces as well as everyone else around them; it has much more power than we give it credit for. This kind of therapy consists of using instruments to support the family and patient. It first got documented in 1789 “in an unsigned article in Columbian Magazine titled