In a forum for world music therapists, culture will inevitably become a topic of interest and discussion. As an American music therapist interested in multicultural implications for music therapists, I am pleased to see the increased focus on this overwhelmingly important issue. In my dealings as a student, therapist, and educator, I cannot separate music and culture, and thus music therapy and culture. I make the claim that multicultural music therapy is music therapy. We need not make the distinction.
As a person from primarily Northern states, I find myself in quite a new situation, both personally and professionally, as a person and music therapist in the South. I spent my quest for multicultural learning focusing on American-born or Foreign-born Asians, Indians, and Africans. Dare I say "traditional" cultures? Now I am faced with a new cultural challenge- The Culture of the South- which includes a family of subcultures, namely Religion and Women.
I must now transition my focus to a new, and less obvious area of cross cultural music therapy practice. Songs such as "When the Spirit Says Sing" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," bring much closer relationships to religion than they did in my previous surroundings. The song "Dixie" is no longer a high-spirited song to inspire movement, but rather an anthem that reminisces back to "other" times. My own views of personal music and interactive music in an improvisational setting are now new and controversial topics.
At first I thought that this was not the multicultural music therapy I wanted to explore. This wasn't "true" multicultural music therapy! But as I read "New Sounds of Culture" (http://www.voices.no/columnist/colschapira110202.html), I realized that as a multicultural music therapist, I don't get to choose. I must embrace the new challenges that my surroundings provide me, and use the same self-evaluation process as I did with my previous clients. In fact, I must even more consistently self-reflect on my experiences because they are so closely tied to my own heritage as an American.
About Kristen M. Chase
Biography
MM, MT-BC, Director of Music Therapy, Mississippi University for Women.
In a forum for world music therapists, culture will inevitably become a topic of interest and discussion. As an American music therapist interested in multicultural implications for music therapists, I am pleased to see the increased focus on this overwhelmingly important issue. In my dealings as a student, therapist, and educator, I cannot separate music and culture, and thus music therapy and culture. I make the claim that multicultural music therapy is music therapy. We need not make the distinction.
As a person from primarily Northern states, I find myself in quite a new situation, both personally and professionally, as a person and music therapist in the South. I spent my quest for multicultural learning focusing on American-born or Foreign-born Asians, Indians, and Africans. Dare I say "traditional" cultures? Now I am faced with a new cultural challenge- The Culture of the South- which includes a family of subcultures, namely Religion and Women.
I must now transition my focus to a new, and less obvious area of cross cultural music therapy practice. Songs such as "When the Spirit Says Sing" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," bring much closer relationships to religion than they did in my previous surroundings. The song "Dixie" is no longer a high-spirited song to inspire movement, but rather an anthem that reminisces back to "other" times. My own views of personal music and interactive music in an improvisational setting are now new and controversial topics.
At first I thought that this was not the multicultural music therapy I wanted to explore. This wasn't "true" multicultural music therapy! But as I read "New Sounds of Culture" (http://www.voices.no/columnist/colschapira110202.html), I realized that as a multicultural music therapist, I don't get to choose. I must embrace the new challenges that my surroundings provide me, and use the same self-evaluation process as I did with my previous clients. In fact, I must even more consistently self-reflect on my experiences because they are so closely tied to my own heritage as an American.