PSN Issue
Music Therapy Rooms and Their Great Impact on Developing Students
What is music therapy? Music therapy is a multi-sensory experience whereby
music is used for therapeutic results. A student visually connects with the
shiny, brightly colored instruments; she hears the sound of the music;
experiences the feeling of holding an instrument; feels the vibration or
movement the instrument makes as it is played. It has been determined that
music can influence a student’s behavior by affecting the brain through sound,
and thereby impact other bodily structures. These effects are visible,
identifiable and measurable, and they are the basis for music therapy.
When did
music therapy begin as a profession? The profession of music therapy was introduced just after World War II,
in the late 1940’s, as an intervention to address
traumatic war injuries. Veterans were actively and passively engaged in musical
activities that focused on relieving pain perception. Numerous doctors and
nurses witnessed the effect music had on the veterans' psychological,
physiological, cognitive and emotional states. Universities and colleges have
since developed programs to train individuals on how to use music for therapeutic
purposes.
Who are the recipients of music
therapy? Music therapy is
typically provided to people of all age groups who have serious disabilities
including behavioral disorders, developmental delays, autism, multiple
handicaps or psychiatric disorders. Music therapy is also used for traumatic
brain injury and stroke patients, individuals with cerebral palsy, as well as
for those with Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. Music therapy is also
recommended to individuals who are in crisis or those who desire to use the
therapy for reaching other goals. Music therapy is used as a motivational tool
to promote physical movement amongst the geriatric population.
How is music therapy applied in our
school systems? Our K through12
school systems integrate music as a component of the required curriculum. This type of music education program
provides an emphasis on music education, awareness and appreciation for the
arts. Music therapy differs in
that music, specifically, is used to foster the development of a student’s
motor growth, communication, cognitive abilities, social skills and an
enhancement of emotional health. Music therapy can increase gross and fine
motor functioning through exercises performed to music, increase socialization
by providing instruction of age-appropriate music, stimulate long-term memory
through the use of similar songs from the student’s past, and increase communication through the
development of new songs written by the student.
What does a music therapy room look
like? Most often, music therapy
is performed in a multipurpose room due to space limitations in our schools.
Other times, the music therapy room is converted from another space this use
and is too small for group teaching or lacks sound-proofing. The space or
environment in which a music therapist works has an impact on the types of
instruments that can be used. Smaller spaces restrict the use of larger
instruments. Non- soundproofed spaces restrict the use of loud instruments such
as drums and horns.
A standard music room in our
K through 12 schools with typically-developing students is usually a private
room, may or may not have a piano due to budget or size, is used consistently
for teaching, is not typically soundproofed and does not typically have
recording facilities. The ideal music therapy room is always private, has
multiple instruments including a piano, is always used consistently, is fully
sound-proofed and most often has recording facilities.
What types of programs are offered
through music therapy?
There are multiple types of
programs that music therapy provide to students including early childhood
programs, pain management, wellness programs, movement disorders exercise,
psychosocial music therapy, and neurological music therapy, to name a few.
Music allows students the opportunity to express feelings of love, loneliness,
anger and grief as well as a myriad of other emotions. Music improves the
psychosocial and spiritual well-being of a troubled or disabled student through
singing, voice exercises, and controlled and free body movements. It is also known to improve social
interactions when a group of students participates.
Tom Hawley, a music
therapist who currently teaches at the University of Maryland, Baltimore
County, works with mentally challenged individuals. Mr. Hawley typically works
with no more than three individuals at a time with sessions lasting
approximately thirty minutes. Longer sessions for this population group are too
long to maintain their attention. According to Mr. Hawley, an individual with
special needs ideally is provided a six square-foot area, if not more, for
their personal space. This clear area helps to reduce conflict with any other
students. The therapy is goal-oriented and targets the needs of the specific
group of individuals placed together. Frequently, Mr. Hawley incorporates a
higher functioning individual into a group session to provide a leader for
other students to follow. Often, therapy spaces do not have the luxury of being
located on an outside wall. According to Mr. Hawley, it would be ideal to allow
natural light into the room for generating greater energy. However, this light
would need to be able to be controlled by window coverings. In addition, cameras situated so as not
to distract students would ideally be provided to allow parents or therapy
interns to observe the individual or group.
As the groups that are
mentally challenged are easily distracted, it is important to orient the room
to reduce distraction. As designers, we should be fully aware of the student
environment we are designing for when proposing any new music therapy room.
Ceiling fans are great for air movement. The floor surface should be carpet or
rubber flooring for sound absorption and have no level change or platform. In
addition, a hard surface area would be provided, as dancing is easier for a
student to move about on this type of surface. For Mr. Hawley’s therapy room,
all musical instruments would be stored away so as not to provide a visual
distraction for his group of students.
In addition, the lighting should be controllable by a dimmer to provide
the opportunity to make a space feel less institutional. “Music is one of the
areas where an individual with disabilities can participate in a band or a
marching activity with typically developing peers,” expressed Mr. Hawley. In
understanding this, the designer can understand the significance of music
therapy in our school settings.
So, how do we as designers develop the
right classroom for music therapy in our school systems? First
and foremost, we must communicate with the trained music therapist so that the
space is personalized to the group whom the professional is teaching.
Debbie Benkovitz is one of
the music therapists at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center. This new facility just opened in May 2009 and
includes a music therapy room for the children staying at the hospital. Ms.
Benkovitz is also the 2009-2011 President for the Mid-Atlantic Region of Music
Therapy. She stated that the new music therapy room in the hospital is located
on the sixth floor amongst other supportive spaces including a large healing
garden, chapel, family research center / library and a huge atrium space
flooded with four floors of natural light. The atrium space can be used almost
as a performance center to patients and families in the hospital. The new music
therapy room is fully soundproofed with double doors to allow for the
relocation of the piano into the atrium for performances. Ms. Benkovitz
expressed that the children are motivated to come to the music therapy room and
thereby receive some physical exercise in simply walking through the hospital
to the therapy room. She described
the new therapy room as very colorful with carpet inlaid with musical notes. She
expressed the importance of lighting controls in the hospital setting due to
the sensitivity of some of the children’s eyes after medical treatment.
Directly adjacent to this new room is a small office for two people. The door
of this office contains a window to allow observation by an intern. The room also contains a sink to wash
the instruments as necessary in maintaining a sanitary setting. The music
therapy room is accessed by a keypad. This will permit the room to be used by
other hospital staff for their own personal use or allow staff to enter for
group teachings.
In my interview with Ms.
Benkovitz, I inquired about the use of mirrors in music therapy rooms. As a
designer, I typically think of mirrors in performing arts rooms to allow the
student to see with their own eyes their performance. We both came to the conclusion that if used, ideally mirrors
could be covered with heavy draperies for sound attenuation or movable so that
they could be turned around to face a wall. As Debbie works with sick children,
often it would not be appropriate for these children to see themselves. In the case of developmentally disabled
individuals, it may be appropriate for these groups to watch themselves dance
to music as this may increase their excitement for the activity. Therefore, the
use of mirrors must be optional and determined in discussions with the
therapist of the school for the final design.
Although a luxury, if space
is available, two therapy rooms should be provided: a big room for group
instruction and a small room for individual teaching. A music therapy room is
typically a square or rectangular room that is ideally highly
soundproofed. Some natural light
that can be controlled is ideal. Any openings to the outside should be placed
so as not to cause distraction; thus ideally these windows would be placed high
along the wall. The extent of glass must be controlled due to its lack of sound
absorption. Music therapy rooms
also should contain ample storage cabinets or a closet so that the instruments
can be put away or out of sight.
At the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, some open storage is provided
so that the children visibly connect with the colorful instruments upon
entering the room. For Ms. Benkovitz’s students (sick children), seeing instruments
is a positive thing. For Mr. Hawley’s students (mentally-challenged), exposed
instruments can be distracting.
Using these key elements in
the design of music therapy rooms will create bright, lively and inviting
spaces for our children to continue on a positive path of growth and
development. It is well known that music therapy rooms can effect and change
the lives of individuals of every age. As Mr. Hawley stated, “Music impacts us
from the womb to the tomb.”
Cathy
Purple Cherry, Principal of Purple Cherry Architects, is the mother of a
17-year old son on the autism spectrum and she is the sister of brother with a Down syndrome. Through her lifelong
interactions and observations of her brother and son, she has an acute
awareness of relevant triggers and environmental issues that impact individuals
with disabilities. For more
information, visit www.purplecherry.com.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is of a general nature and is furnished for knowledge and understanding only.