Music Therapy Activities

Music Therapy activities can range from passive interventions like listening, or lyric analysis, to active interventions like music making, and songwriting. Of course, the therapy population plays a major role in the types of activities that will take place. For example, music therapy activities such as learning about sharing, or shapes, or colors would be appropriate in a special needs educational setting, but not-so-appropriate in a substance-abuse rehabilitation facility. Sessions are structured around client-preferred music no matter the genre, and the songs are chosen based on the goals, needs, and skill set of a given client or group.

 The music is oriented toward areas like education, development of social skills, behavior modification, pain management, emotional expression, communication, and physical wellness. More intellectually and musically complex interventions, like songwriting, can be made accessible to all skill levels, and are designed to be challenging while still attainable to participants. Adaptability is an important key.  

One pillar of the profession is providing clients with success-oriented therapeutic interventions; Music Therapists design activities to highlight the client’s abilities rather than disabilities which promotes positive self-esteem and can be much more motivating. In private lesson instruction with children and adults with special needs, the Music Therapist will break down the learning to smaller, more manageable pieces than the lessons that might be used in a more typical private lesson.  These types of activities provide clients with a sense of accomplishment, afford them an opportunity to work towards defined goal areas, and are a fun and enjoyable way to learn, recover, and express.