Three aspects of dialogue in music therapy: A theoretical treatise

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The concept of dialogue is frequently used in music therapy. Our literature survey reveals that studies discussing the term dialogue in relation to music therapy have focused almost exclusively on either clinical music improvisation or verbal discourse. We believe that the concept of dialogue deserves more elaboration and systematic attention, illuminating its different aspects and potential meanings that it might have in music therapy.

Method

We introduce a theoretical framework that we have developed to broaden the notion of dialogue and its place in music therapy. This theoretical framework, structured as a triadic typology, denotes three aspects of dialogue: ontological, ethical, and pragmatic. The potential of our triadic typology in capturing the dialogical aspects in music therapy is demonstrated through the analysis of a case vignette of a teenage boy diagnosed with leukemia.

Results

The analysis of the vignette provides insights into the complexity of the dialogical dimensions in music therapy and how these dimensions are constantly intertwined to form an ongoing polyphony of dialogue. The insights offered in the analysis reflect the vast connotations of dialogue upon which clinical encounters in music therapy are based.

Discussion

We perceive our triadic typology as a theoretical framework that can be utilized in the analysis of a variety of clinical encounters in music therapy. Therefore, we propose that the reader consider our triadic typology as an analytical tool that might assist music therapists in obtaining a broad understanding of dialogue in the context of music therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Music therapy
• musical dialogue
• musical communication
• communicative musicality
• dialogue

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Over the past 20 years, music therapy in Israel has been utilized extensively in pediatric settings within a wide range of specialties, such as psychiatry, general medicine, surgery, intensive care, cardiology and oncology. The clinical vignette illustrates an open-ended, behavioral-emotional assessment of a teen patient admitted to an oncology ward following his diagnosis of leukemia. The content and the characters appearing in this vignette are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Notes on contributors

Gabi Frank

Gabi Frank is a music therapist, holding a PhD from Bar Ilan University. Dr. Frank has extensive experience working with children, youth, and families experiencing emotional and behavioral disorders associated with hospitalization due to physical trauma and/or chronic disease. He is presently head of the music therapy program at Ono Academic College, Israel.

Avi Gilboa

Prof. Avi Gilboa is a music therapist with experience working with autistic children, hospitalized children, and children with ADHD. He is currently chair of the Music Department and lecturer at the music therapy program at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His fields of research include theoretical and clinical issues in music therapy, and social aspects of music.