Developing Social Skills: Why Music Therapy?
Making music together is an inherently social act. Children can learn invaluable skills about the social world through the nonthreatening medium of music. In order to successfully make music with other people, you must:- listen with your whole body
- be aware of yourself and others
- make eye contact with the other players
- take turns in the music
- interpret and provide nonverbal cues while playing or listening
Music therapists make use of developmentally appropriate music to address non-musical goals, such as:
- peer interaction
- age-appropriate social skills
- language skills
- communication skills
- emotional expression
- auditory processing
A music therapy group with an emphasis on social skills might include:
- live music making with or without instruments, incorporating elements such as turn-taking, leading and following, and start/stop
- music and movement activities to promote body awareness
- singing of familiar or new songs to encourage verbal expression
So does my child need to be musical, or play a musical instrument, to benefit from music therapy?
Not at all. Music therapists are trained to meet each child where they are, and to work with the musical responses each child brings to the group. The instruments used in a music therapy group require no prior music training. Children are encouraged to explore different ways of playing, and to have fun while doing it!