music therapy

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Music therapy
Part One
How did you first encounter the topic?
My first encounter with the topic of music therapy was during summer break when I attended a local music concert at our community center. During this event, I got a chance to interact with some of the performing artists. As I was interacting with one very talented female singer, I was curious to know how she got into music. From her story, when she was growing up she was very introverted, and her parents were concerned since she always kept it to herself. Her parents took her to a therapist who recommended music therapy as a remedy.
What do you know about this topic that makes it relevant to you?
Music therapy is relevant to me because I have experienced it at a personal level. From the interaction with my peers, it is evident that music therapy is a matter that needs deeper understanding to employ when in situations that affect one physically, psychologically and emotionally. Knowing that there will be tough days and situations that will always come about in future, I am more interested in fully grasping how it works.
How do you encounter this topic in your current life?
I love music, and I believe it’s a very powerful tool for expressing one’s emotions and educating young people. Whenever I have had a bad day, or I just want to relax my mind, I listen to music. Despite the initial temperament, I was in, whenever I listen to it, it automatically changes to the mood of the song.

Listening to music while working or taking a walk in the park gives me inner peace and creates an environment full of possibilities and positivity within me. Understanding this topic further is essential for me to experience the full benefits of this type of therapy.
What makes you curious about this topic?
There are various aspects of this topic that stimulate my curiosity. For instance, does it work for everyone? I would also like to investigate the process in which our minds respond to music. Does the therapy only work in form of listening to music or are there any other forms? I am also intrigued to know if it only is helpful to those who have psychological problems. Another aspect that provokes my curiosity is whether music therapy is applicable or useful in other fields.
Preliminary research questions
What is music therapy?
What are the benefits of music therapy?
Why does music therapy work?
How is music therapy used in other fields?
Part Two
Sources
Website
“American Music Therapy Association.” AMTA Press Release on Music Therapy – Jan. 2014 | General News – News | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), 2014, www.musictherapy.org/amta_press_release_on_music_therapy_-_jan_2014/.
www.musictherapy.orgThis website is very resourceful offering a wide array of information on music therapy. According to this website 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 and an approved music therapy program.
According to this website, there is a difference between clinical music therapy and general therapeutic music. A college student playing an instrument in a hospital, a pianist playing in a nursing home, a person listening to his/her favorite song, a choir singing in a hospital, a celebrity performing in a school, arts educator are some of the examples of therapeutic music. However, clinical music therapy involves a credentialed music therapist working with a patient suffering from Parkinson’s disease to improve their motor functions, working with autism patients to improve communication abilities, working with patients to reduce pain, etc.
This source is very insightful clarifying on the basics of music therapy. According to this source, music therapy promotes wellness, alleviates pain, helps in the management of stress, enhances memory, improves communication, helps in the expression of feeling and stimulates physical rehabilitation. This source has aided me to understand and answer my preliminary questions on the benefits of music therapy and what is music therapy. It is credible since the information posted is from experts in the field.
Newspaper or magazine
The Ways Music Therapy Can Lift Body and Soul – ABC News. www.bing.com/cr?
http://www.abcnews.go.comThis article highlights how patients have improved their conditions through music therapy. It broadly focuses on a patient who is in isolation room but relies on music for strength and support. The music therapist who works with the hospital sings and harmonizes with him which makes the patient feel better. This hospital is among the many that have integrated music therapy programs with their medicine and treatment services, and they offer group and individualized sessions with the aim of nourishing, connecting socially, easing pain and bringing familiarity and peace to the patient.
The article further highlights how music has been integrated into medical services. According to this article, music therapy in the US was used to help children with special needs therapeutically since 1940. However, this has been expended to a broader spectrum with the therapy being used to treat other medical illnesses, e.g., palliative care and hospice, neonatal care as well as hospitalized adults and children.
Music therapy, in this case, involves “playing a song at the rhythm that matches the heartbeat.” This helps in regulation of patients breathing to ease the pain, lull them to sleep, enhance the mood and distract them from the illness reality. Additionally, through regulated breathing, oxygenation of the body is enhanced which in turn raises the energy levels in the body. Endorphins are also released during this process which in turn improves the patient’s mood, reduces stress and boost the body’s immune.
Music therapy also helps in encouraging communication and collaboration, e.g., among children suffering from psychiatric illnesses. Furthermore, this therapy type of therapy helps in rerouting the brain by improving its functions especially in patients that suffer from stroke or lesion. The article site an example of Gabrielle Gifford who after being shot in the head, regained her communication abilities through music therapy.
This source is very insightful and given it’s an article from one of the most reputable news company it has been thoroughly edited and indicates the use of very credible sources, e.g., experts in music therapy. It has addressed some of my preliminary research questions, i.e., the benefits of music therapy, music therapy integration in other fields and how music therapy works.
Blog
Merzenich, Marghi. “Top 12- Brain-Based Reasons Why Music as Therapy Works.” BrainHQ, 2010, blog.brainhq.com/2010/04/22/top-12-brain-based-reasons-why-music-as-therapy-works/.
This briefly describes what music therapy is and list twelve reasons why music therapy is effective. According to this blog, music is a social experience, non-invasive, motivating and creates a safe space. These are some of the aspects of music that make its therapy effective. Additionally, music therapy works because, in our brain, music is the main function, i.e., we process and respond to music at a very young age (even infants). Our bodies are also entrained to rhythm and music taps into our memories and emotions. From this source, it is also evident that music helps improve our attention and learning as well.
This source addresses the question of why music therapy works. However, it lacked links that would allow one to do further reading on some of the discussed points
Non-fiction book
Stevens, Christine. “Music medicine: The science and spirit of healing yourself with sound.” Sounds True, 2012.
This book is a good read and does not require one to have prior knowledge of music or psychology. It is very easy to read and understand. Christine describes how our body, mind, and spirit are affected by music. She also gives tips and activities one can engage in to incorporate this type of therapy in daily activities and at home.
The stance of this book is that music already exists inside every individual and therefore, this is a tool to enable one embrace what is already in us. This can be achieved through the activities and tools she suggests to develop, open and connect with one’s musical spirit. The information presented in this book is helpful to anyone interested in using music as therapy in their daily activities. It is a credible source since the author is a certified and experienced music therapist and also uses research to elaborate further on some of the key issues.
Video or television program
KalaniMusic. “What is Music Therapy?” YouTube, 3 Jan. 2016,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn6E9GAe-7sAccording to this source, music therapy has been in existence for decades, and it occurs when there a certified therapist, musical experiences and a client to achieve therapeutic goals, not music goals.
In this video, an example is given to clearly elaborate what music therapy is. The example state that is talking to anyone is not therapeutic as talking to a certified psychotherapist or talk therapist. Similarly, music alone does not offer therapeutic value instead it is a tool for a music therapist to offer therapy to a client. This source, however, acknowledges that music is therapeutic but requires a certified music therapist for one to attain the maximum therapeutic value intended to achieve individualized goals.
Summary and reflection
From this research, I have seen that different sources focus on different aspects of the topic. However, they have all been very insightful, and the information from each source has enabled me to gather answers to some of the most provoking questions I had before in regard to this topic. I have learned that music therapy is a very crucial topic and effective form of therapy. The process and the science behind the interaction of music and our brain are mind blowing, and from it, I now understand better why learning my ABCs in kindergarten in form of a song was fun and easy to remember. I intend to use this information to improve my studies to recall some of the concepts that may prove challenging. From this research I have been able to know that while listening to music on my own is therapeutic, it is not considered as music therapy since there is no professional to guide the process to achieve the therapeutic goals.
Works cited
“American Music Therapy Association.” AMTA Press Release on Music Therapy – Jan. 2014 | General News – News | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), 2014, www.musictherapy.org/amta_press_release_on_music_therapy_-_jan_2014/.
KalaniMusic. “What is Music Therapy?” YouTube, 3 Jan. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn6E9GAe-7sMerzenich, Marghi. “Top 12- Brain-Based Reasons Why Music as Therapy Works.” BrainHQ, 2010, blog.brainhq.com/2010/04/22/top-12-brain-based-reasons-why-music-as-therapy-works/.
Stevens, Christine. “Music medicine: The science and spirit of healing yourself with sound.” Sounds True, 2012.
The Ways Music Therapy Can Lift Body and Soul – ABC News. www.bing.com/cr?