Interpretation in Music Therapy: Music and the Movement of Life

Autor/innen

  • Julie Migner-Laurin Université du Québec à Montréal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v13i1.695

Schlagworte:

Music therapy, meaning, interpretation, hermeneutics, philosophy, dialogue

Abstract

This theoretical article explores philosophical roots of the interpretive task in music therapy. Drawing from creativity practices and interpretation traditions such as philosophical hermeneutics, the author focuses on Gadamer’s concept of dialogue in the understanding of art. Distancing itself from the objective-subjective dichotomy of the scientific model, the truth of the artwork is viewed as participative, as it always requires an encounter, a form of presence. As clinicians, it encourages us to recognize and make the most of our own sensible response to music. Art therapist Shaun McNiff advocates for a temporary suspension of clinical meaning in order to expand the interpretive possibilities in creative art therapies. The patient’s creation is viewed as an Other, complex and mysterious, which whom we are invited to relate.

Through a clinical example, this paper examines how we understand and respond to our client’s music. The notions of “intuition in the act” (Kimura) and “being played” (Gadamer) show that along with our conscious decisions and interventions, we also follow the movement of music itself. Therefore, its meaning tends to transcend the materiality and the personality and connects us to our human condition. It is an invitation to open our hearts, listen deeply and respond creatively to the music played in therapy. 

Autor/innen-Biografie

Julie Migner-Laurin, Université du Québec à Montréal

Julie Migner-Laurin, Psy.D (c), M.Ps., BMT, is a musician, music therapist and psychologist. She is currently pursuing her doctoral research on interpretation in music psychotherapy. Her works, rooted mainly in philosophical hermeneutics, seek to enhance theoretical support for interpretive attitudes and practices that facilitate the music therapy process. Julie holds a private practice in music psychotherapy and clinical psychology for adults, works as a music therapist in residential care for adolescents and children, and is an assistant teacher at Université du Québec à Montréal. Her experience includes several years of music therapy work in geriatric care as well as teaching music in private lessons. Julie plays piano and flute, sings, records and has a curiosity for many instruments. She participates in diverse musical projects such as the group Soön, recently formed with music therapy colleagues. 

Veröffentlicht

2013-02-18

Zitationsvorschlag

Migner-Laurin, J. (2013). Interpretation in Music Therapy: Music and the Movement of Life. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v13i1.695

Ausgabe

Rubrik

Original Voices