The "Why" Behind Music Therapy: Insight on How MT's Make Clinical Decisions
- Miss K
- May 26
- 2 min read
Last week, I posted an original composition meant for first time greetings named, "Oh, It's Nice To Meet You". This week I would like to explain the "why" behind the song. Like any mental health practitioner, music therapists chose certain interventions with specific therapeutic goals in mind. Here is a summary of mine as well as the sheet music for the composition, written for piano.
Within my composition, "Oh, It's Nice To Meet You", I am addressing the domains of Referral, Assessment, Interpretation of Assessment, and Treatment Planning and Treatment Implementation and Documentation (the 5 domains that make up criteria for Music Therapy Board Certification). The near walking pace and legato melody is intended to gently introduce the client to their initial session, leading the therapist to be able to assess the client’s reaction to the music that addresses their first meeting, and the potential for various types of music making/engagement. It is a clinical adaptation of consonant, medium paced, flowing music in order to create an emotional and physical safety in the musical environment. The lyrics also denote a gentle invitation to music, with the objective of inviting the client into a musical relationship with the therapist and with the therapeutic environment. This composition is intended to be used with new clients, perhaps for the first month or so of therapy, in order to gently introduce them to the therapeutic environment, and facilitate an open minded and anticipatory disposition, without adding too much pressure or expectation. The rhythm of the instrumental is simple and open, symbolically creating space for the client. Implementing the composition with this in mind will lead to smooth assessment and treatment implementation.
Definitions of Musical Terms Included:
Walking pace- "Andante", which is an "Italian musical term that means “moderately slow” or “at a walking pace.” It’s a tempo marking used to indicate that a piece should be played neither too fast nor too slow, but at a moderate, steady pace." https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/andante/
Legato- "Italian for “tied together” and it is also referred to as a slur.
This notation indicates that the musical notes are played or sung smoothly and are connected to each subsequent note without a gap or pause. It’s like writing words in cursive vs each letter on its own. This produces fluid, flowing phrases that have no silence between each note." https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/legato/
Consonant- "Notes that sound good together when played at the same time are called consonant. Chords built only of consonances sound pleasant and “stable”; you can listen to one for a long time without feeling that the music needs to change to a different chord." https://www.aboutmusictheory.com/consonances-dissonances.html
Please let me know if you would like for me to write about clinical terminology and intent in music therapy in more detail for the next blog post!
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