Liberatory Music Therapy Model of Gender Affirming Voicework

Theoretical Foundations and Scope of Practice

Authors

  • Maevon Gumble Becoming Through Sound LLC, Pennsylvania, USA
  • Braedyn Inmon Connecticut Music Therapy Services, Connecticut, USA
  • Kaylynn Schachner Connecticut Music Therapy Services, Pennsylvania,USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i2.4117

Keywords:

gender affirming voicework, gender, embodiment, cishetereonormativity

Abstract

Since initial explorations of gender affirming voicework within the field of music therapy were first offered (Gumble, 2019a, 2019b, 2020), the authors have collaborated to further develop this work. From this collaboration, a specific set of ideas were collected to delineate a liberatory approach to working with gender and the voice within music therapy. These are presented as the Liberatory Music Therapy Model of Gender Affirming Voicework (LMT-GAV). The intention of this article is to integrate experiences the authors have had thus far and to (a) provide a definition, (b) summarize theories, methods, models, and concepts that are foundational to the model, and (c)delineate scope of practice.

Author Biographies

Maevon Gumble, Becoming Through Sound LLC, Pennsylvania, USA

Maevon Gumble, MMT, MT-BC, LPC (they/them) has published and presented nationally on topics related to gender affirming voicework, vocal pedagogy, and queering music therapy practice. They are currently pursuing doctoral studies in vocal pedagogy at Shenandoah Conservatory. As a musictherapist and licensed counselor, Maevon works with members of queer, transgender, nonbinary, gender-expansive, polyamorous/consensually nonmonogamous, and/or BDSM/kink communities. Their work centers on the intersections of gender, sexuality, identity, voice, embodiment, trauma, and mental health

Braedyn Inmon, Connecticut Music Therapy Services, Connecticut, USA

Braedyn Inmon, MMT, MT-BC, LPC-A (they/he) grew up in so-called Texas, completed their undergraduate education in music therapy at Texas Woman’s University, and became an MT-BC in 2016. They have a clinical background of working in hospice care, neuro-rehabilitation, and habilitative settings. In 2023, they became a first-generation graduate degree holder after completing the MMT program at Slippery Rock University, and their thesis was titled “Imagining a Post-Intentional Phenomenology of Cisnormativity: A Philosophical Inquiry.” Braedyn currently resides in so-called Connecticut, where they provide gender affirming voicework and mental health services through Connecticut Music Therapy Services, LLC, as a music therapist, and Growth Therapy, LLC as a music therapist and LPC-A. 

Kaylynn Schachner, Connecticut Music Therapy Services, Pennsylvania,USA

Kaylynn Schachner, MMT, MT-BC (they/she) is a CoMT-oriented music therapist based in so-called Pittsburgh, PA, USA. After becoming board certified in 2020, they have worked primarily in community settings, namely by incorporating social-emotional learning and trauma-informed practices into a recording studio songwriting program for youth. Kaylynn recently completed their Master of Music Therapy through Slippery Rock University, with a critical narrative thesis titled “Unmasking Alienation in the Lived Experiences of Songwriters.” They currently practice music therapy locally through Three Rivers Community Care and remotely through Connecticut Music Therapy Services, LLC.

Author photo, 4117 Gumble et al

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Published

2025-07-01

How to Cite

Gumble, M., Inmon, B., & Schachner, K. (2025). Liberatory Music Therapy Model of Gender Affirming Voicework: Theoretical Foundations and Scope of Practice. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i2.4117

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Theoretical Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Maevon Gumble, Braedyn Inmon, Kay Schachner

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Articles published prior to 2019 are subject to the following license, see: https://voices.no/index.php/voices/copyright