Running all Year

•           To broaden understanding of music as a means of communication and expression within healthcare and developmental psychology; to develop improvisation and performance skills, with the opportunity to apply these skills in a non-traditional performance setting  

•           To provide a basic knowledge of the psychodynamic theories used in Music Therapy and Community Music settings; to introduce skills in musical analysis within diagnosis and treatment 

Upon completion of this module you will be able to

•           Understand the aims of music as a therapeutic entity and explain how and why music is used in clinical psychotherapy and community settings

•           Demonstrate knowledge of basic psychotherapy and developmental theory that underpins Music Therapy.  

•           Identify and apply theoretical knowledge through analysing musical properties considering therapeutic aims such as communication and emotion, demonstrating music therapy technique

•           Perform and improvise interactively within a Community Music setting, enabling you to participate in future Community Music projects with relevant skill and the knowledge and understanding of its purpose and relevance.  

•           Debate the complex role of music in our society and culture and evaluate the purpose and use of music in your own life  

•           Apply for postgraduate places on Music Therapy courses in the UK with relevant experience of this work  

•           10 weekly lectures in the first semester presenting the different aspects of Music Therapy and Community Music  

•           Practical workshops of improvisation and communicative performance technique (within lectures)  

•           Individual tutorials to discuss written work            

•           A practical Community Music placement (in small groups) in the second semester choosing from:

 i)          The Orpheus Centre Easter holiday residential project  

ii)         An individually set up Community Music project

Bruscia, K. (Ed.) (1991) Case Studies in Music Therapy. Gilsum: Barcelona Publishers. 

Bunt, L. (1994) Music Therapy: An Art Beyond Words. London: Routledge. 

Holmes, C., Knights, A., Dean, C. Hodkinson, S. and Hopkins, V. (2006) ‘Keep Music Live: music and the alleviation of apathy in dementia subjects’. International Psychogeriatrics   

Magee, W. & Davidson, J.W. (2004) ‘Singing in therapy: monitoring disease process in chronic degenerative illness’. British Journal of Music Therapy 18,2. 
Pavlicevic, M. (1999) Intimate Notes. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sinason, V. (1992) Mental Handicap and the Human Condition: New Approaches from the Tavistock. Free Association Books  
Sloboda, J. (2005) Exploring the Musical Mind – Cognition, Emotion, Ability and Function. Oxford: Oxford University Press  

Small, C. (1998) Musicking: The Meaning of Performing and Listening. Connecticut: Weslyan University Press.   

Stern, D. (1985) ‘A Sense of a Subjective Self: Affect Attunement’ in The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology. New York: Basic Books.  

Wigram, T., Pedersen, I.N. & Ole Bonde, L (2002) Comprehensive Guide to Music Therapy – Theory, Clinical Practice, Research and Training. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers