Music Therapy

I took a Music Therapy course last month (no, I'm not planning to change careers entirely): "Introduction to Music Therapy/MUSC 0195", noncredit, four 2.5 hour classes at Grant McEwan Community College (oh wait, sorry, they're just called "MacEwan" now, guess "community college" isn't hip and cool now that they can offer Bachelor's degrees).

This is an area I've been interested in and intrigued by, the effects of music on health and well-being. My music teacher in BC had mentioned something once about experiments she had done in university. Also, I've had personal experiences where I've seen music definitely having a beneficial effect in others:

-my grandfather at his 90th birthday party, frail and with cognitive impairment from Parkinson's disease, yet he joined in the singing of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" as best he could (don't think he realized we were singing it about him);
-a piano student I had who I think was struggling with school and wasn't doing well at piano lessons either, so instead often we'd improvise and create music simply to have fun as I figured it was probably more important to have a good experience with music than to pressure him to learn exactly by the book
-my grandfather (again) coming to the hospital bed of my grandmother in ICU on life support and he tried to sing to her (even though he couldn't really speak well).

These are just some of the experiences that had left me wondering more about what uses people had come up with for using music in a structured therapeutic setting.

The course was very interesting - there aren't many music therapists in Alberta, and no training programs (it's actually a 4-year degree program), so little knowledge of the field amongst other health care professionals and facilities who might actually make use of it. The official definition, from the Canadian Association for Music Therapy (CAMT):

Music therapy is the skillful use of music and musical elements by an accredited music therapist to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

We went through various applications of music therapy, and learned about different components (music listening, improvisation, creative music therapy, and recreative music therapy). Overall, I think it is a good resource to know about for my future practice experience.

I have some thoughts about how music therapy pertains to Arts Trainers within Girl Guides of Canada, but that will have to wait until another day...