In this article, Erinn Epp talks about self-expression through music in music therapy. She begins the article by giving three examples from her clinical work of situations where the topic of self-expression has arisen, she relates it to music therapy, and introduces the theories of musical self-expression already present in music therapy literature and clinical work of Mary Priestly, Helen Bonny, and Paul Nordoff & Clive Robbins. In their models, there are three common theories of musical self-expression: 1.) psychological realities can be heard in the clients’ music, 2.) music offers an immediate picture of the client’s inner world, and 3.) the role of musical form. Later, she discusses concepts of musical self-expression that are unique to each practice of music therapy: imitation theory in Nordoff-Robbins, arousal theory in GIM, and expression theory in Analytical Music Therapy.
This article struck a particular chord with me, especially when the author explains the imitation theory of Nordoff-Robbins music therapy. I am a student music therapist who has experienced a wide variety of clinical populations and approaches to music therapy during my university practicum work. Out of all of the clinical work I have logged, I have never been as deeply affected as I have while observing and using the Nordoff-Robbins improvisation method. In this particular placement, I worked with an adult who had profound intellectual disabilities (mental retardation.) She was extremely low-functioning, non-ambulatory, and non-verbal. However, at even the slightest introduction of music, like the music therapist or me singing her name, she would begin to move, and she would amazingly vocalize in the same key as the music she heard. There was no doubt that music affected her, and she showed it in music therapy sessions.
Like the author at the beginning of the article, there were many times when my mind raced at each new reaction from the client. She would begin to vocalize, and I would be fascinated, wondering what part of the music had elicited this sudden burst of expression, and experimenting with sounds to see what else she had to “say.” Though she was non-verbal, I often found myself clearly understanding the client’s emotion… her expressions in response to the music were so vivid and powerful, no one needed words to know what she had to say. The musical experience was, as the author said, a “representation of the client,” or a “sound-portrait in which she could recognize herself,” and in which I could recognize her. As I read this article, I found that clear application to my past clinical work. In a sense, musical self-expression really makes music therapy “come alive” for me: it is something I can’t wait to implement in my future clinical work as a professional music therapist.