How Voices Could Promote Music Therapy Knowledge by Not Being a Research Journal
Research is integral to the development of any discipline and profession, music therapy being no exception. It may seem paradoxical then, that the vision statement of Voices could be interpreted as communicating the intention of promoting the development of music therapy knowledge by not being a research journal. Before commenting upon this, let us first remind ourselves about the vision statement (to be found in the “About us” section of this website):
Vision Statement VOICES: A World Forum for Music Therapy intends to support the discursive practices of music therapists around the world by producing a free first class online International journal. This publication will encourage participation from every continent and will nurture the development of music therapy practice, theory, discussion and debate. Because culture has an important role in music and music therapy, we will encourage contributions that find their source in the cultural influences of each continental region.
VOICES: A World Forum for Music Therapy seeks to nurture the profile of music therapy as a global enterprise that is inclusive and has a broad range of influences in the International arena. The journal is particularly interested in encouraging the growth of music therapy in developing countries and intends to foster an exchange between Western and Eastern as well as Northern and Southern approaches to the art and science of music therapy.
This vision is shared by an international editorial board with editors from all the six continents. Some may find it striking that research is not mentioned in the vision statement. Obviously this means that Voices is not a refereed research journal. It is therefore not the site of selection when you want to publish a research study that you have performed. This does not mean, however, that reflections on research are of little interest for our forum.
Voices is established as an open and inclusive forum and the genres that dominate are columns, essays, stories, reports, interviews, and discussions. As the current issue of Voices clearly demonstrates, many texts submitted may still have a research foundation, as many authors e.g. share reflections on projects that they plan, summarize research they have produced and relate it to practice, or reflect upon research processes and experiences. We are happy with this, as it adds to the diversity of texts and themes presented in the forum. What we intend to avoid, however, is a gradual transformation of Voices into a regular research journal. Music therapy needs (and has) high standard international refereed journals. The vision and mission of Voices is different. Genres such as columns, essays, stories, and reports are not secondary to research articles, they are different, as they create open spaces for reflection and discussion on matters that otherwise could be silenced in forums where scientific standards and methodological rigor regulate the agenda.
Voices is a forum where anybody, within and without the discipline of music therapy, could take initiatives and contribute to an agenda for further dialogue and discussion. This is important, because knowledge is much more than information based upon research results. Knowledge is also personal and relational, closely linked to the practices and contexts of our everyday lives. Therefore, Voices will encourage participation from every corner of the world, as we believe that contributions sensitized to culture and context will nurture the development of music therapy practice and theory (and – we should add – research).
Let’s take a moment to go back to one of the key statements in our Voices Vision Statement: “Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy seeks to nurture the profile of music therapy as a global enterprise that is inclusive and has a broad range of influences in the International arena.” It’s important to note the term “forum.” In order to nurture a forum such as the one we propose, that is International in scope and inclusive, our articles must have access to a broad range of disciplines, cultures, professions and people with diverse roles in societies. Research is a culture in and of itself, with a very specific language, which often denies access to “others” not involved in the practice of research. In order to fulfil our vision of connection and communication in the broadest sense, the use of an accessible language is critical.
As Voices editors, we think about language a lot and seriously consider publishing texts in different languages, whenever possible. So, the research language is only one language, and one which often is entirely inaccessible to some of the people we hope to reach out and touch.
At the core of our vision is a kind of egalitarian ideal. For example, we believe that the sharing of ideas from traditional medicine people in indigenous societies, who use music at the core of their healing practices, is as important as the sharing of ideas of a seasoned music therapy practitioner/academic who has been doing research for many years. In fact, we encourage interviews and descriptive essays that explore these traditions. In her important book, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (1999), Maori scholar, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, explains some of the problems with research:
The word itself, ‘research’, is probably one of the dirtiest words in the indigenous world’s vocabulary. When mentioned in many indigenous contexts, it stirs up silence, it conjures up bad memories, it raises a smile that is knowing and distrustful. It is so powerful that indigenous people even write poetry about research. The ways in which scientific research is implicated in the worst excesses of colonialism remains a powerful remembered history for many of the world’s colonized peoples. It is a history that still offends the deepest sense of our humanity (p. 1).
“It conjures up silence.” Silence is not what we have in mind in a “forum” for “voices.” As the science wars rage on, Voices is free to offer something quite different than judgements based on strict criteria from reviewers. It invites participation through expression of some of the deepest concerns and creative ideas about the use of music in therapy and healing unrestricted by the politics of research. We have only clear categories of types of submissions, a steady and dedicated board of regional editors, and a free online forum, specifically to encourage global access.
The immediacy of Voices texts is unique among music therapy publications. Referred journals take up to two years from the date of submission, to publish articles. Often these articles are subject to major revisions which entirely shift the focus of the author’s intentions. Voices editors work very hard to publish texts that are edited well, but still communicate the cultural feeling and intent of the authors.
With this vision, Voices, perhaps, will influence the culture of research to be more open and responsive to a broader audience, as well. We are hoping that you will join us in encouraging a broad participation in our forum. We would welcome, for example, stories from clients, exploratory texts about innovative practices, descriptions of how you have started to engage local traditional healers to create bridges between the professional practice of music therapy and the ancient practice of music and healing, scholarly texts that describe your ideas about how music therapy relates to your own interests in sociology, history, law. There are many possibilities. We want to keep the door open and the bridges ready for construction.
Several years ago, the world-famous Chilean biologist Humberto Maturana was a keynote speaker at one of our European Music Therapy conferences. He said: “Why are you music therapists obsessed with science? Afterall, poetry is so much more interesting.” From time to time, we also publish poems.
Reference
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London and New York: Zed Books Ltd.
