Just A Song Sunday: Sensory-Elaborated Behavior and the Thoughts of Sears
I am also enjoying the perspective of thousands of music therapy sessions as I re-read this chapter. I think it is one thing to read texts while you are immersed in learning about music therapy, but it is a completely different thing to read those same texts with years of experience to synthesize as well. I think my perspective on what Sears speaks about has matured over my career, and I find myself taking my own experiences and filtering through them Sears' thoughts.
Anyway, here is the next part of the Sears outline - "music provokes sensory-elaborated behavior."
Music is steeped in sensory information. A listener receives sensory input when in the presence of music, and a person actively participating in making music receives exponentially more input through the process of musicking. The sensory benefits of music can be extremely valuable to those who do not process sensory stimuli easily because of the richness of the sensory input and the multi-modal method of the stimulation. As a therapist who has worked with many clients with sensory needs, I cannot count how many times staff members have remarked that specific clients do more and many different things in music therapy than in any other educational setting. I think that has to do with the music itself (and a bit with the specific application of the music shaped around each client).
Sears goes on to state that "music demands increased sensory usage and discrimination" (p. 38). The focus of this paragraph is the different skills and steps that a musician takes to complete the active music making process. In order to make music (especially with a group of others), there are many different things that have to be organized and initiated. Each participant has to interpret, respond to, and initiate responses within the construct of the group musicking experience.
The last part of this outline topic includes the idea that "music may elicit extramusical ideas and associations" (p. 38). This aspect of music is included in this chapter (I believe) because of the power of music to elicit memories which can provide sensory stimulation and experience. I think this aspect of the chapter was influenced by the work of Helen Bonny and the development of Guided Imagery with Music (Historical Side Note - Bonny studied with both Gaston and Sears and was completing her Ph.D. under their advisement during the "late 60's"). It is possible (and I am completely just making some connections here that have never been confirmed) that Sears was not exactly sure what the implications of Bonny's research was on the field of music therapy (uh, significant!) and felt that it needed to be mentioned, but was not able to be elaborated upon due to the timing of the publication and the concept development.
We now know that music can elicit strong responses that can trigger memories, block pain receptors, and prompt specific behaviors. We also know that music stimulates multiple parts of the central nervous system (also the peripheral nervous system) simultaneously. We also have glimpsed inside the brain to see where music activates brain activity. We are starting to understand more and more about why these things that Sears wrote about actually happen in our clients.
This concludes the first level of the outline - Experience within Structure. Next week, we delve into the exciting world of the second aspect of music within group therapy, Experience in self-organization. Stay tuned!
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