A phenomenological perspective of music therapy

Author(s): Gonzalez, David

Journal/Book: Music Therapy. 1989; 8: 35-46.

Abstract: Presents a qualitative research method that is directly applicable to music therapy (MT) clinical experiences. A 7-step process is proposed that begins with gathering the psychosocial history of the client and family. Next, the actual MT session is described, and the musical elements comprising the session are analyzed. Steps 4 and 5 involve describing the qualities of the sound produced in the session and the referential meaning of the session. The final steps concern becoming aware of the perspective and meaning that clients bring from their work and setting them into musical expression, as well as reviewing the data collected in the previous steps. This phenomenological approach to MT is applied to a case example of MT with a terminally ill 42-yr-old woman. ABSTRACT 2: Phenomenology is a philosophical perspective which attempts to uncover the meaning of "phenomena" through a series of maneuvers designed to isolate the object/event from any preconceived formulae or judgments. Acknowledging the limitations of quantitative research, the authors present phenomenology as an alternate model for investigating the music therapy experience. A phenomenological approach to music therapy is described and then applied to a case example of music therapy with a terminally ill client.

Note: phenomenological & qualitative research approach to music therapy; terminally ill 42 yr old female

Keyword(s): Music therapy; phenomenology ; experimentation ; terminally ill patients; adulthood

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