Variations on a Theme: Part Two
Some of you may have already read part one of this discussion, but in case you haven't click here for the first part of this analogy.
I propose the concept that we, as music therapists, work within a common musical construct - that of the theme and variations. Our primary structure is that of a specific pitch center and construct.
(Now, I am going to be making some assumptions about what we believe here - these ideas are simply my own, but I think I can make these statements pretty confidently. If not, please feel free to contact me through the comments here on this blog.)
We all believe that music can affect change in the lives of human beings. We believe that, when musical elements are applied by someone who is trained in the concepts and processes of the effect of music on human beings, that music can affect exponential change in the lives of consumers.
For me, this is our foundation. This is our pitch center. The pitch offers the first level of structure - before even the theme starts up.
The first theme is that of theoretical foundation. Within the same pitch center, you have unlimited ability to develop a theme. The idea of theme includes the melody line (possibly the philosophy??) and the harmonic elements are ways to present that melody.
My first theme in music therapy was behaviorism. The foundation of my education was behaviorism and we started with that melody from the beginning. We learned about antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. We discussed the function of behavior. We learned how to take data to measure the effect of treatment on our clients. All of these things made up my first music therapy theme.
There are many others who started with the theme of psychodynamic music therapy. There are still others who started with the theme of neurological music therapy. Others, analytical music therapy. Still others, community music therapy. We all started with a theme - a melody and harmonic structure that was presented to us by our professors and teaching assistants.
Then, we started the first step of our individual variations. We entered our pre-internship clinical experiences. In my experience, I was encouraged to vary the theme presented by my mentors while still retaining the structure. My educational program was encouraging of exploring other themes as well, but we were always asked to return to our common theme. That theme was easy for us all to engage in - it was familiar to us all. As we continued in our early clinical practice, we were able to move farther from the initial theme - more complex variations.
Then, it was time for internship. For me, internship was the first real time that I recognized that there were different themes out in the world of music therapy. My internship introduced me to the theme of sensory integration (significantly different from behaviorism but still with the same pitch center). My job was to interpret the new theme from within my old construct and then make my own variation, incorporating the two themes. For the first time, I had two themes to use in my music therapy repertoire.
As I left my internship and entered the world as a professional music therapist, I was exposed to new themes and new variations. There were the themes of enthusiastic therapists who had lots of energy and ideas - ornamentations, and there were the themes of therapists who were burnt out of the professions - this tended to be more like a calando reiteration of the first theme that the therapist had learned - no variations, no enthusiasm, no musicality. I had the opportunity to choose my theme and my variations again.
At this point in my music therapy life (I am coming up to my 24 year anniversary of completing my internship and becoming a music therapist - this Thursday, in fact), I think my foundational theme is that of humanism with elements (musical phrases, maybe) of the other philosophies and theoretical frameworks that I have learned. My theme is no longer that which I was taught so many years ago, but you can still hear phrases from that particular melody and harmony recurring. If I were to be the professor, I know that my students would hear bits and pieces from my own initial learning, but they would also hear the changes brought on by experiencing music therapy first hand as well as the changes that others have made during my professional life.
At this point now, I am finding that I am seeking exposure to more of the melodies and harmonies out there in the world. I am fascinated by the ideas of therapists in different parts of the world who practice from a place significantly different from my own place in the music therapy universe. I am hearing those melodies and am adopting portions of them into my own variation on the basic theme. My harmonic structure has become more and more complex. There are melodies and countermelodies. There are ornamentations and interpretations present in my variations.
This, though, is just all about me. Tomorrow? We will start to think about what the client brings to this analogy.
Comments welcome.
I propose the concept that we, as music therapists, work within a common musical construct - that of the theme and variations. Our primary structure is that of a specific pitch center and construct.
(Now, I am going to be making some assumptions about what we believe here - these ideas are simply my own, but I think I can make these statements pretty confidently. If not, please feel free to contact me through the comments here on this blog.)
We all believe that music can affect change in the lives of human beings. We believe that, when musical elements are applied by someone who is trained in the concepts and processes of the effect of music on human beings, that music can affect exponential change in the lives of consumers.
For me, this is our foundation. This is our pitch center. The pitch offers the first level of structure - before even the theme starts up.
The first theme is that of theoretical foundation. Within the same pitch center, you have unlimited ability to develop a theme. The idea of theme includes the melody line (possibly the philosophy??) and the harmonic elements are ways to present that melody.
My first theme in music therapy was behaviorism. The foundation of my education was behaviorism and we started with that melody from the beginning. We learned about antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. We discussed the function of behavior. We learned how to take data to measure the effect of treatment on our clients. All of these things made up my first music therapy theme.
There are many others who started with the theme of psychodynamic music therapy. There are still others who started with the theme of neurological music therapy. Others, analytical music therapy. Still others, community music therapy. We all started with a theme - a melody and harmonic structure that was presented to us by our professors and teaching assistants.
Then, we started the first step of our individual variations. We entered our pre-internship clinical experiences. In my experience, I was encouraged to vary the theme presented by my mentors while still retaining the structure. My educational program was encouraging of exploring other themes as well, but we were always asked to return to our common theme. That theme was easy for us all to engage in - it was familiar to us all. As we continued in our early clinical practice, we were able to move farther from the initial theme - more complex variations.
Then, it was time for internship. For me, internship was the first real time that I recognized that there were different themes out in the world of music therapy. My internship introduced me to the theme of sensory integration (significantly different from behaviorism but still with the same pitch center). My job was to interpret the new theme from within my old construct and then make my own variation, incorporating the two themes. For the first time, I had two themes to use in my music therapy repertoire.
As I left my internship and entered the world as a professional music therapist, I was exposed to new themes and new variations. There were the themes of enthusiastic therapists who had lots of energy and ideas - ornamentations, and there were the themes of therapists who were burnt out of the professions - this tended to be more like a calando reiteration of the first theme that the therapist had learned - no variations, no enthusiasm, no musicality. I had the opportunity to choose my theme and my variations again.
At this point in my music therapy life (I am coming up to my 24 year anniversary of completing my internship and becoming a music therapist - this Thursday, in fact), I think my foundational theme is that of humanism with elements (musical phrases, maybe) of the other philosophies and theoretical frameworks that I have learned. My theme is no longer that which I was taught so many years ago, but you can still hear phrases from that particular melody and harmony recurring. If I were to be the professor, I know that my students would hear bits and pieces from my own initial learning, but they would also hear the changes brought on by experiencing music therapy first hand as well as the changes that others have made during my professional life.
At this point now, I am finding that I am seeking exposure to more of the melodies and harmonies out there in the world. I am fascinated by the ideas of therapists in different parts of the world who practice from a place significantly different from my own place in the music therapy universe. I am hearing those melodies and am adopting portions of them into my own variation on the basic theme. My harmonic structure has become more and more complex. There are melodies and countermelodies. There are ornamentations and interpretations present in my variations.
This, though, is just all about me. Tomorrow? We will start to think about what the client brings to this analogy.
Comments welcome.
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