Jake Grimsley

James Madison University

Music Therapy and Music Education

Background:

Last fall I completed a literature review on music therapy and music education.

Specifically, I wanted to know the ways the two interact, and whether or not music therapy could

be incorporated in public schools more. Many may think of music therapy as simply a way of

helping students with disabilities, but they have proven to help in both mainstream and special

schools, aiding with issues such as bullying, teenage violence, and more in many countries

(Karkou, 2009). The two fields differ in “intention and content”, education being geared towards

“artistic outcomes” and therapies focusing on psychological results instead (Salvador & Pasiali,

2016). This is likely the primary reason music therapy is not widely as widely used in

conjunction with music education as it could be.

Still, whether or not used in public schools, music therapy has benefits not just for people

with disabilities but for everyone. With or without education involved, most all teenagers see

mental or physical gain from music therapy (McFerran & Wigram, 2010). In addition to this,

they actually are used together often, with music therapists present in many schools in Europe,

but not as much in America. While they obviously work as separate things, they do have many

intersections, and many benefits could be present with some changes in their interactions

(Salvador & Pasiali, 2016). Some suggestions for how to incorporate the two better is for

educators and administrators to increase their understanding of music therapy, for music

therapists to be treated as allied professionals, and to improve music educator preparation so that

they may be more prepared when situations that may warrant music therapy would come up
(Salvador and Pasiali, 2016). Going forward from learning more about how music therapy and

music education work together in other countries and situations, I wanted to know more

specifically about how the two worked together near JMU, and what thoughts educators around

Harrisonburg had on the topic.

Method:

I created a short, anonymous, eight-question survey to send out to music educators from

around the area. The survey was sent via email to 75 teachers, 25 at the elementary school level,

25 at the middle school level, and 25 at the high school level. This survey was created via a

Google form that could be filled out quickly and without much effort by anyone that sent in

answers. At the time of writing this, 18 responses were recorded.

The first question was asking what education level each individual taught, as the survey

is anonymous so I do not know who individually answered it. The second question asked if the

teachers know if any of their students have disabilities, and if so, how many. The third question

asked if they felt prepared to teach students with disabilities going into their profession. The

fourth question asked if they knew of any licensed musical therapists in their area. The fifth

question asked if they have ever utilized the services of a licensed musical therapist within their

classroom. The sixth question asked if they are familiar with any techniques or practices within

music therapy that they could incorporate into their classroom, and if so, whether or not they

have used any. The seventh question asked them to rank how often in their classroom that they

consider the mental benefits students receive from their instruction on a scale of 1-5, 1 meaning

almost never and 5 meaning extremely often. The eighth and final question asked whether or not

they believe working with a music therapist would benefit their overall classroom environment.
Results:

As previously stated, I received 18 responses of the 75 teachers I emailed the survey to.

The first question, which asks what level they teach, was answered 50% by elementary school

teachers, 22.2% by high school teachers, 22.2% by middle school teachers, and 5.6% by a

teacher who wrote that they teach grades 5-7. I’m assuming I counted this person as one of the

25 middle school teachers that received the survey. The second question asked how many

students or theirs have disabilities that they know of. 38.9% answered that 1-5 students had

disabilities, 27.8% answered that 21-25 students had disabilities, 16.7% answered that 11-15

students had disabilities, 11.1% answered that 6-10 students had disabilities, and 5.6% answered

writing in that they have 6-10 in their semester classes this year, but they have a 6th grade

rotation that includes almost every 6th grader so the number is well over 25 for the course of the

year. For the third question, asking if they felt prepared to teach students with disabilities going

into their profession, 72.2% said no and 27.8% said yes. For the fourth question, asking if they

know of any licensed music therapists in their area, 88.9% said no and 11.1% said yes. For the

fifth question, asking if they had ever utilized the services of a licensed music therapist in their

classroom, 100% responded no. For the sixth question, asking if they know of any music

therapy practices they could use in their classroom and if they had used any, 61.1% responded

no, 27.8% responded yes and that they have used some, and 11.1% responded yes but that they

have not used any. For the seventh question, asking them to rank how often they consider the

mental benefits students receive from their instruction, 61.1% responded 5, meaning extremely

often, and 38.9% responded 4. For the eighth and final question, asking if they believe working

with a music therapist would benefit their overall classroom environment, 72.2% responded yes

and 27.8% responded no.

I found the results of this survey to be fairly surprising. As a student, I do not know of

music therapists near Harrisonburg or my hometown, but I thought that more of these

professionals would. I also found it incredibly interesting that 100% of those surveyed have

never utilized a music therapist in their classroom. Granted, I never had this experience in my

education, but I did not expect it to be as uncommon as it was. To combat this though, all who

responded stated that they think of the mental benefits their students are receiving from their

instruction very often, and a 27.8% have actually utilized some music therapy techniques

themselves. I was interested in researching this topic whether or not fully licensed music

therapists were actually needed to use their practices in a classroom, or if the music educators at

these positions could do it themselves. While I do not have very many specifics on the answers

given in the survey, just the fact that many educators are incorporating even the smallest bits of

music therapy into their classroom shows that it can be done. Maybe also, the only thing holding

music therapy from being used more in conjunction with music education is that many do not

possess the knowledge necessary to incorporate it. 72.2% responded that they think music

therapy would be helpful in their classrooms, so maybe knowledge is all that’s missing.

As found in my literature review, music therapy and music education have many

similarities, but are separated mostly on a core level of approach, one being focused on

performance and one being focused on mental benefits (Salvador & Pasiali, 2016) While music

therapy can have many benefits for students without disabilities, it is most commonly used to

help students with disabilities, and the fact that 72.2% responded that they did not feel prepared

to teach students with disabilities going into their profession leads me to believe that what’s

holding music therapy back from being used more in classrooms is, again, general knowledge on
the subject. To help educators incorporate it more, I would go back to the suggestions found in

my literature review. Increasing educators’ and administrators’ understanding of music therapy,

therefore removing the idea that it shares no overlap with music education, treating music

therapists as allied professionals who do not need to be certified teachers to practice in schools,

and improving music educator preparation for issues requiring music therapy, increasing overall

knowledge and skills in the process (Salvador & Pasiali, 2016). Whether or not licensed

therapists are hired more often in schools or not, it seems music therapy has a place alongside

music education, and the options or using it just need to be explored more by many.

References:

Ballantyne, J. & Baker, F. A. (2013). Leading together, learning together: Music education and

music therapy students’ perceptions of a shared practicum. Leading Together, Learning

Together: Music Education and Music Therapy Students’ Perceptions of a Shared

Practicum, 35(1), 67-82.

Darnley-Smith, R., & Patey, H. M. (2003). Music therapy. Music Therapy, 11-110.

Hohmann, L., Bradt, J., Stegemann, T., & Koelsch, S. (2017). Effects of music therapy and

music-based interventions in the treatment of substance use disorders: A systematic

review. Effects of Music Therapy and Music-based Interventions in the Treatment of

Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review, 12(11), 1-21.

Karkou, V. (2009). Art therapies in schools: Research and practice. Arts Therapies in Schools:

Research and Practice, 9-279.

music therapy practice and skill-sharing in dementia care. Indirect Music Therapy

Practice and Skill-sharing in Dementia Care, 55(3), 255-279.

McFerran, K., & Wigram, T. (2010). Adolescents, music and music therapy: Methods and

techniques for clinicians, educators and students. Adolescents, Music and Music Therapy:

Methods and Techniques for Clinicians, Educators and Students, 17-288.

Nordoff, P., & Robbins, C. (2006). Music therapy in special education. Music Therapy in Special

Education, 12-208.

Salvador, K., & Pasiali, V. (2016). Intersections between music education and music therapy:

Education reform, arts education, exceptionality, and policy at the local level.

Intersections Between Music Education and Music Therapy: Education Reform, Arts

Education, Exceptionality, and Policy at the Local Level, 118(2), 93–103.

Schmid, W. & Ostermann, T. (2010). Home-based music therapy - a systematic overview of

settings and conditions for an innovative service in healthcare. Home-based Music

Therapy - a Systematic Overview of Settings and Conditions for an Innovative Service in

Healthcare, 10(1), 1-10.

Swart, I. (2019). Benefits of music education to previously disadvantaged south african learners:

Perspectives of music teachers in the greater tshwane metropolis. Benefits of Music

Education to Previously Disadvantaged South African Learners: Perspectives of Music

Teachers in the Greater Tshwane Metropolis, 38(1), 52-65.