This article explores Carolyn Kenny’s inclusion of justice values in music therapy
theory. The
A concept that emphasizes a society founded on principles of equality, one that
values and promotes human rights … [It] involves actively working to eliminate
structural injustices based upon one group or individual having unfair power or
privilege over another group or individual (
The way Carolyn Kenny lived her life, her teaching, and her publications, elevated
awareness of justice values. Her mindful and reflective practice, combined with intense
social and political activism, foundationally influenced by her Native American
heritage, informed her personal philosophy and theoretical disposition. In Kenny’s
(
Kenny’s personal and professional philosophy of experiencing beauty fully and deeply along with her profound relationship with nature was reflected in every aspect of her work with her clients, her teaching, and her writing, a continual expression of her justice values. This personal focus led her to depart from the typical medical and behavioural music therapy theories and incorporate her personal and cultural values and knowledge into her theoretical contributions. Using data from an interview with Kenny, Lindan (2015) created a poetic biography about Kenny’s life:
My father's parents fled their home, with light bags and strong bones. Mygrandmother, our pillar. Through each trial, her love prevailed. My mother's mother fled her life, left her little child behind. My mother, heartbroken, came to reject her Choctaw blood. Yet, she spoke her people's wisdom, and she made her peace with them. She made her peace before she travelled through the veil of life and death.
I let her go, compelled to know more about our people's ways. Many nations took me
in, called me sister. Called me daughter. Every human is a soul, on whom we can't
impose our will. The Spirit will decide, I learned this from my Haida mother.
Interwoven plight and beauty, stories that elude the mainstream. Stories that infuse
my bones to champion from the margins (
Kenny’s formal studies on how to bridge contemporary music therapy practice and
traditional Indigenous healing practices began in 1979. This path was inspired by the
teachings of Musqueam Elder Walker Stogan as well as her music therapy practice at the
University of British Columbia Department of Psychiatry (
For I am in many ways only a product of my culture, a culture which has developed mind to amazing lengths and created an ever-increasing hunger for that mind to be satisfied with intellectual insights and understands - an over-abundant assignment of word symbols. As all nature, mind is a thing of great beauty. We tend to get lost in words. We work to understand and describe the things we love. Music is one of these mysteries, which defies description (p. xii).
She also reflected on the inadequacy of scientism in the profession of music therapy.
We speak only of observable data. We superimpose statistical formulae, hoping that if we develop the scientific side, the artistic, spiritual side will magically emerge. We rarely mention that music goes beyond sign to spirit. We describe and develop the objective, knowing all along that the subjective has as much, if not more, influence on our patients, our clients, and ourselves (p. xiii).
She explained:
Music is a resource pool. It contains many things – images, patterns, mood suggestions, textures, feelings, processes. If selected, created and used with respect and wisdom, the clients will hear what they need to hear in the music, and use the ritual as a supportive context (p. 5).
Unlike the medical and behavioural music therapy theories typically employed at that
time, the core of this publication reflected the death-birth cycle present in music,
myth, and nature. In a subsequent publication in 2002, Kenny discussed
The central thesis of this work is that music communicates patterns and structures of
tension and resolution that translate into themes of death and rebirth that can be
effectively used in music therapy. This work can be characterized as distinctly
ecological (
Kenny explained that, “Poetry and metaphor are always good choices when attempting to
translate traditional, indigenous concepts into academic and professional contexts,”
(
I and other music therapists very concerned with the dearth of sociocultural critique in
traditional music therapy theories and models of practice happily received Kenny’s
illumination of the connection between art and science, life and death, music and
health, and myth and truth.
In 1985, Kenny expanded the work of
Music is the expressive connective tissue guiding us into wholeness. It is not only a
metaphor, but a living model which resonates the deep truth and beauty contained in
the phenomenon of wholeness (
This way of thinking and processing music therapy was very different from the behavioural and medical focus found in theories in general use in music therapy at that time. It provided a holistic framework for music therapy practitioners to think and feel broadly and deeply about their work, engage in reflective practice, and increase ethical inclusive practice.
Kenny followed this article in 1989 with her second book,
The Native principle of noninterference is about recognizing conditions, as we do with the land. This is much like The Field of Play. For me, it's not about interventions. It's about paying attention to the conditions and having a sense of mutuality, as opposed to domination. That is why I have a very hard time with behavioural theories. I do not think that we should impose goals and objectives about changing people's behaviour to make society more comfortable (p. 32).
As Kenny wrote in 1989:
The Field of Play suggests an attention to subtleties, quiet and implicit non-verbal cues, which communicate the natural healing patterns of the human person and imply an order which can guide and inform us into the best movement, which will lead us into wholeness (p. 139).
These concepts of mutuality and non-interference reflect the justice values that permeate Kenny’s work.
I really feel that our job as music therapists theoretically is to create a space: a
space that nurtures growth, but does not determine what that growth should be. In The
Field of Play, I give conditions of the space and certain primary principles, like
mutuality. But beyond those, I want people to fill it in with their own
particulars
Kenny’s second book,
In 1999, Kenny furthered her concepts of general theory in music therapy. She taught her readers that “theories are abstract” (p. 128) and continued:
In general theory, we would like to see general principles which could help us to understand different methods, different populations, different models. We are seeking coherence and subsequent foundational ideas. Nevertheless, this coherence would need to be flexible, if it is to embrace the complexity and difference necessary to be relevant and useful to a large group of music therapists (p. 128).
The construction of general theory will take an honest engagement, one which is constantly monitored by both the acute listening and finely-tuned articulation of each music therapist. How do different music therapists interpret the grand narratives of their region? How can we include music therapists who are not represented in our conversations? How can we gather and interpret data from patient experience with an eye for general theory? (p. 134).
Kenny outlined this process:
As modern intellectuals, we engage in discursive practice. And in the present intellectual climate, if we are playing by the rules of discourse and if we are in the current "thought stream", we refer to ourselves as located, situated, embodied beings. This is context. This is how we identify who we are, where we are from and the details about our location, our situation, our bodies in time and space (p. 127).
In this article, Kenny again shared her core value that aesthetics are central to general theory of music therapy. “When therapist and client are perceived as forms of beauty, it sets the stage for the evolution of music therapy as art” (p. 129).
An aesthetic approach reminds us that we can make sense out of our lives, even when they seem fragmented or chaotic. This coherence comes through authentic expressions in the music. Something settles. Something reassures. Something works when music brings our lives into an aesthetic form. The music therapist, of course, is both participant and witness in this process (p. 129).
This publication expanded her previous writing, challenging her readers to explore music therapy research and practice contextually while listening deeply to the grand narrative of the field.
2001 saw Kenny realize her vision of an open access journal for music therapy
And in the
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 forum 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 (www.voices.no).
In the third edition of
If we imagine that solutions to our dilemmas will only be found in fields of
engagement that focus on military, diplomatic and economic solutions, we are badly
mistaken. Solutions are found in everyday life. And perhaps the solutions we can
discover and create are available to us through collegial relationships and
conversations about our work in music therapy. We consider the individual and
collective questions. We think about how we can apply sound principles to our work.
Often these principles have secure roots in cultural values, beliefs, norms,
behaviors, feelings, customs, taboos, languages and other cultural practices (
2002 saw Kenny patiently sharing her perception of how traditional wisdom can be incorporated into music therapy without participating in cultural appropriation, educating the readership on cultural respect.
This is the underlying rationale for the study of concepts rather than imitating
practices when it comes to the traditional healing systems of Indigenous peoples.
Concepts allow us to engage in the material world as academics without committing the
colonizing act of appropriation (
Kenny wrote that this work strove to “create a definition of ritual that would reflect
the concepts of a traditional, indigenous worldview and also be practical for music
therapists” (
Continuing her quest for social justice, Kenny penned the anti-war article,
Kenny continued to support justice values in music therapy and
When non-Western Music Therapists create their research protocols and standards on models from the West, we can use our imagination to balance out the cultural factor in an attempt to avoid hegemony. Hegemony reminds us that any system is embedded with the values and beliefs of the people who created the system. We can ask the question:
What kind of research and standards would these cultures have invented for Music Therapy if they had not had Western models upon which to base their own models?
… we can only function well as global citizens if we embrace the diversity of life, which includes the diversity of standards of practice and research protocols.
The diversity of voices represented in
2014 saw Kenny revisit
The Field of Play is all about conditions in the space, the primary one being, as my
mother instructed,
Also,
The Field of Play is not a theory about how
Throughout her career, Kenny explored the music therapy space proposing a general theory
that addressed the emergent aesthetic self supported in a safe playful space for human
growth and development. She critiqued models with expectations of ideal ways to be and
live, which venerated the white male. Instead she proposed a more inclusive ecological
paradigm leading the way in post-modern theories in music therapy (
One of my mentors was a Musqueam elder: Vince Stogan. I would have so many problems
at SFU (Simon Fraser University) with people not understanding what I was trying to
do up there. So, I call Vince, and I'm crying, and I say: Oh, what am I gonna do,
they won't hear anything. And he says: I'll come and buy you coffee. So, he takes me
out for coffee, but you know what he does to set up the mutuality? He holds my hand
and says: Oh, baby, I wanna tell you what I was doing yesterday. And I'm thinking:
I'm sitting here in tears, I'm suffering, and you're telling me what you did
yesterday?! But you know what? That was a wonderful way to set up the mutuality. I
think we can apply that kind of teaching from an elder to stabilize the relationships
in mutuality. By telling our own story … . In the oral tradition, I learn all kinds
of things when people are telling me their stories. The unfortunate thing in our
trainings is that we're told to not say much about ourselves to our clients. Well,
that's a pile of bunk in the Native world! Because you're like a non-person until you
reveal aspects of yourself. I'm imagining being a client with a music therapist
sitting in front of me for the first time. As a client, I'm thinking, who is this
person as a person? How safe am I? And only when they hear the music therapist's
stories, about their vulnerabilities, will they begin to feel this mutuality with the
music therapist. So, I think we need to be more self-revelatory
In her writing and her life, Kenny deeply linked her Indigenous knowledge and wisdom
with her understanding of music therapy, sharing justice values through her theoretical
focus. Furthering the understanding of her readers, she explored the experience of
living between two worlds with her colleague, Dr. Richard Vedan, an Indigenous Lodge
Keeper and medical social worker. They noted “you have to constantly negotiate the two
worlds … this is true for … many Native people who are trying to be in the modern world
as professionals yet … have these other identities as Native healers” (
I feel like I have one foot in each culture. It’s like I have my left foot in one
canoe and the other foot is in another canoe. And I’m in the rapids and I have to
deconstruct the canoes from a Western paradigm to a traditional paradigm and not
drown in the process and sing songs along the way (
In 2016, Kenny illuminated theory that supported the broad and foundational significance
of music in our lives and our communities, sharing how music is effective to create
positive social change. She explored “the relationships between land, culture, music,
health and healing, and Indigenous societies … [sharing that] [m]usic has played a
central role in our lives since the dawn of our existence as human beings.” That,
“[s]ocial cohesion, identity formation, memory, [and] virtual time, represent only a few
of the important themes about how music performs itself in life-sustaining service”
(
Kenny revealed deeper clarity on her understanding of the relationship between music and
play with her stories in the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy (
When I was a young classical piano student, I obeyed the nuns who were my teachers. I practiced my scales over and over again, played single measures and longer phrases repeatedly until they reached perfection, memorized Bach, Beethoven, Schuman, and others. The nuns were strict teachers. So I learned to play well. I learned the value of repetition and discipline. But in quiet moments when no one was at home, I put aside the strict protocols and gave myself over to the intuitive spontaneity of improvisation (p.1, ch. 25).
And:
Improvising created space for me to claim my uniqueness and my spirit. The piano was a play space in which I could move beyond discipline, protocols, imposed structures, and the expectation of others. It was an unconditional space that invited spontaneity and freedom. On days when I was happy, I played my happiness. On days when I was sad, my playing reflected this. (p. 2, ch. 25).
This early childhood learning influenced her understanding of therapeutic experience in music therapy.
One is more likely to access a sense of play when one feels secure. Music therapists work with so many people who are traumatized that a sense of play is far from their awareness. So many people coming to music therapy services are unable to imagine being playful. Once a patient feels secure in the musical space, then, a new field emerges—the field of play. This is not a stage or a level. It is a space with particular conditions and can happen anytime in the therapeutic encounter. The primary condition is safety (p. 7, ch. 25).
There is a paradox in the notion that as we move toward beauty, we move toward wholeness if we accept the premise that we are already whole. But this liminality in our patients and ourselves reminds us that we strive toward a more and more elegant and complex beauty and wholeness over time (p. 9, ch. 25).
It takes a great deal of faith to adopt and adapt the field of play. The boundaries are different every time. There are no concrete controls. There isn’t a list of prescribed procedures. The only goal is to play. (p. 12, ch. 25).
If we accept this river, then we can do or try our work as part of a natural process in an ecology of being. This approach mirrors a very important Native American principle—the principle of non-interference. And I can’t help but recall the many times I have seen the term “intervention,” a kind of interference, used in music therapy literature. Maybe that’s why I had to take this journey to find some new language and new concepts for my own practice (p. 12, ch. 25).
Now that I have the field of play I feel liberated from the command and control of language that might inhibit me from the deep and rich human encounters that are available through music in music therapy (p. 12, ch. 25).
Kenny, our teacher in all aspects of death and rebirth, offered this short discussion in Lindan’s research:
As a music therapist, you can't always heal people by keeping them alive or changing
a behaviour. In my belief system, even death can be a healing. The Spirit has its own
life, and it's going to decide about the healing. So I think of a human being as a
soul on a journey, and they are the only one that really knows what that journey is
(
Carolyn Kenny’s contribution to justice values in music therapy theory is exponential. She inspired and continues to inspire music therapists globally toward inclusive aesthetically based ethical practice that supports social change. Kenny’s use of poetry punctuated her writing with artistry and truth. As such, this poem will complete this article.