Synthesis Sunday - New Text, New Ideas

It's time for a new book, and I found one that I've been wanting to dive into for a long time. Here it is. Ta-da!!

So far, and I am into the first chapter, this book is not disappointing. I have been interested in Mercedes Pavlicevic for quite some time, but have not had much exposure to what she has written before now. I am finding much of this book to be poetic as well as thought-provoking. 

In the acknowledgement page, she writes, "cleverness without imagination is barren egoism."

I'm letting that thought sink in for some time.

The preface, written by Colwyn Trevarthen, reads like poetry about the movement of life. He describes clients as "people who have lost musicality and fallen out of tune with others and their behaviours" (p.x). One of the symptoms of diagnosis is an inability to synch movement through life with the musical movement of society. It's an interesting viewpoint on ability and societal expectations. More grist for the philosophy mill.

Trevarthen continues to describe and define "mimesis" - "the ability to act, dance and sing out a narrative of experiences and feelings by moving the body, any part of it, with expressive rhythm, depicting absent events and imaginary transformations" (p. xi-xii). 

Pavlicevic herself starts her first chapter with a quotation that seems to resonate with me on a deeper level.

Although music therapists from diverse theoretical and practical backgrounds define distinctive priorities, music is at the heart of all music therapy.

- Mercedes Pavlicevic, p. 1

Music is (or at least, should be) at the heart of all music therapy. Without music, we are not doing music therapy. This supports my philosophy of music therapy, and it's nice to know that other therapists feel the same way about music therapy.

Chapter One speaks about language and about defining ourselves as music therapists. Chapter Two looks at how we interpret music and assign it meaning within our lives and our profession. I don't think that I am much of an absolutist - I am much more of a referentialist when it comes to music as a tool for therapy. I also saw some parallels between Pavlicevic's discussion about ethnomusicology and the themes presented by Jennifer Adrienne in a chapter about feminist music therapy.

Can you separate music from the culture or societal influences present when the music was created? Personally, I think yes, but there are others that do not. It's an interesting perspective on music and interpretation. I am still puzzling that out for myself.

The thing that I like about my music therapy reading time and the weekly synthesis element is that I have the opportunity to think more deeply about what I am doing in my work life. I read something this week that stated that if you dedicated an hour a day to reading about a specific topic, you could become an expert on that topic in seven years. Off I go! I'm thinking I'll focus on music therapy theory and philosophy. Whee!! 

Adrienne, J. (2006). A feminist sociology of professional issues in music therapy. In S. Hadley (Ed.), Feminist perspectives in music therapy (pp. 41-62). Gilsum, NH: Barcelona

Pavlicevic, M. (1997). Music therapy in context: Music, meaning, and relationship. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishing.