Author: Keiko Maruyama
Source: The Niigata Journal of Health and Welfare. Vol 2. No. 1 pp 29-34, 2002
The author of this article is a music therapist in Niigata-ken, Japan. The author provides an overview of music therapy and describes a typical group music therapy session. According to this author the following are important characteristics of an effective music therapy program: 1) Children feel at ease and the ?training? atmosphere is diminished, 2) Individual goals for children are related to participation and improvement, rather than musical perfection, 3) Music is used as an effective non-verbal communication tool, 4) Music is used to promote physical activity, 5) The program incorporates musical games, simple dance and social activities. Parents play an integral role in the program and often assist their children during the therapy session. The author recommends that music therapy sessions be videotaped and that these tapes be used to assess the effectiveness of the session and the performance of individual children. The author also discusses the merits of individual music instruction for children with developmental disabilities.
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