What I'm Reading - Finally! Chapter 5

Psychophysiological Foundations of Music - page 97 of Emotional Processes in Music Therapy, by John Pellitteri.

Please forgive me if this is a bit outline-ish rather than discourse. I am trying to get back into the habit of reading these music therapy texts so I can finish this particular one before the end of the year. (Remember my January goal of reading 13 music therapy texts this year??? What a silly MJ that was! If I finish this one, I will be finished with exactly 3 texts!) As a result of being a bit of a reading slacker, I am trying to get things going a bit more. So, I will probably be outlining rather than talking about what I am reading...

P. 97 - " In clinical interventions the music therapist intervenes in a manner that impacts one or more of these psychophysiological processes." - yep. By the way, the pp processes that are referred to are physiological, cognitive, social, and behavioral.

Changes in the processes bring about changes in emotions that can provide therapeutic progress.

"Using music as a medium to activate emotional processes and engage the client on this level is one of the unique strengths of music therapy that distinguishes it from purely verbal therapies."

p. 98 - Neuromusicology - "examines the brain functions... that are associated with the perception and production of music (Brown, 2000)." 

Research design in this field seems to be focused on either clients with organic lesions and a loss of function or neuroimaging of musicians and nonmusicians during musical tasks to see where areas of the brain activate during specific tasks. p. 99

p. 99 - no longer feeling that hemispheric centers of the brain is an accurate description - music is still a whole brain experience. Different elements are processed in different parts of the brain.

p. 100 - "The patterns of brain activations and the neuroanatomical structures required in the processing of music can be influenced by experience." "Capacities for the complex cognitive representation of information increases with age and with the development of the brain."

p. 101 - Complexity theory - "As with any learning process, greater levels of competence allows the individual to process more information in an efficient manner and to employ effective strategies to create responses to the task demands." "Music therapists will naturally adjust the music making with a client to the client's current level of musical capacity." - hmmm. Don't we strive to this? Isn't it still something that has to be learned?

Radocy and Boyle reference for the term!! I loved Dr. Radocy! - "This view considers the degree that music can be preferred or considered aesthetically pleasing or interesting."

p. 102 - Two aspectis - "...there is an optimal level of complexity that maximizes aesthetic or positive affective value." "The other aspect of complexity theory is that it considers the client's ability level.

Built upon Meyer's notions of expectation and tension in music - (Meyer, 1956).

That's it. That's how long my brain will pay attention to this chapter. A whole 5 pages! I find it funny that I thought I could read through all of my books in a year! Oh, past MJ! Current MJ is thinking you were WAY too enthusiastic about all of this!! My mushy brain did finish 5 pages, though!!

Why can I read fiction without any difficulty but have to slog through music therapy theory??