Developments in the MAP: A method for describing and analyzing music therapy sessions

Abstract

The Music Therapy Analyzing Partitura (MAP) is a method for describing and analyzing music therapy sessions. The aims of this study were to examine whether music therapists (MTs) are able to use the MAP and what, if any, further improvements and developments need to be made. Qualitative research methods were used: five MTs were asked to use the MAP to describe and analyze two music therapy sessions with clients of their choice. Subsequently, the MTs participated in a focus group. The verbatim transcripts from the focus group were then analyzed thematically. The analysis showed that the MTs were able to implement the MAP and that they found it to be a useful clinical and research tool. The MTs discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the MAP, the necessary requirements for creating a MAP, and made suggestions regarding the MAP's future development. Additionally, the work of three other MTs who used the MAP as part of their research projects is also described. It is of special interest to note how these researchers adapted the MAP to suit their particular research requirements. Suggestions for future developments of the MAP as well as recommendations for potential users are discussed.

Keywords:

• music therapy
• clinical analysis
• graphical notation
• focus group
• usability

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Sagit Ben-shetrit, Efrat Roginsky, and Ayelet Dassa for giving their permission to use their MAPs in this article. Thanks to Yael Amitai for providing the MAP that served as the basis for Figure 1. I would also like to thank the five MTs who contributed time and energy to this study. MAPing their sessions and reflecting on their work provided a great contribution to the development of this method of analysis. Finally, I would like to thank Tali Gottfried who helped with the analysis of the verbatim transcripts of the focus group and Susanna Cohen who devotedly proof-read this article.

Notes

¹Derived from the Latin, meaning “score”.

²Names of the boys in this group and of all of the clients cited in this article were fabricated for ethical reasons.

³Those who are interested in reading a fuller account of the MAP method are referred to Gilboa (2007) and to Gilboa and Bensimon (2007), where the MAP and its principles are described extensively.

⁴It should be stressed that although aural and visual aspects of music therapy sessions can be different modalities of experience, according to the MAP there is no essential difference between audio-tapes and video-tapes of sessions. In both cases the researcher follows the recording and MAPs the events that occurred in that session. The only difference is technical: with a video-tape of the session it is easier to differentiate between client(s) and therapist and to accurately know who said or played what.