Rhythm Clinician

By Lorenzo, Summer 2010

The rhythms, melodies and atmospheres that music provides for humanity are a testament to the power of perception. Recent studies have developed in order to explore this connection under the scientific method, but a simple look at the world around you will show you all you need to know. Music has played an integral part in all aspects of humanity, from the soberest of Baroque church organs to SF’s annual Lovefest parade. In essence, music is a vehicle for human expression in the most pleasing of ways, and there’s no reason why this can’t be just as effective as a psychological tool for therapists.

Music groups abide and abound, and in the past few years complete Doctoral Programs (like the one at Temple University) have sprung up to allow complete dedication to the movement. Neurological Music Therapy, Biomusicology, Psychoacoustics, Embodied Music Cognition and Comparative Musicology—all of these are directions one can take in the study of music therapy. But if you don’t feel like going that deep, there are simple ways to integrate the power of music into your work with clients, both alone and in groups.

Operate under the premise that ‘Music is what feelings sound like’. Listening to music together invites clients to open up about how they react to the music, comparing it afterwards to how the artist may have intended it to be. This invites the space for how subjectivity can influence perception, and how our feelings can become a lens for reality. Lyrics can give big hints, so mix in some instrumental samples and encourage clients to truly feel the ‘attitude of the sound’. Global music is another excellent option, as clients likely won’t understand the lyrics and also get to feel a different cultural worldview’s ability to express itself through music. African drumming, Spanish songs of lament or even Chinese Opera, go to town with it and allow clients to explore the inner-experience of the world around us. As if this weren’t amazing enough, without realizing it your clients will engage in mindfulness exercises that truly immerse them in the sensation of sound. Conscious listening, conscious feedback.

Rhythm workshops can create the space for a bitingly collaborative group session. Clients can choose a way to express themselves rhythmically, and together you can help create a whole room of harmonious rhythm, turning the group dynamic into a visceral embodiment of organized noise, which is all that music is, right? Try telling your group that no one can speak for the next ten minutes, and that communication must be with instruments only. A room full of laughter will quickly ensue...and afterwards you can invite clients to express good or bad memories with their instruments. The results would put a smile on any therapist’s face.

‘Music is what feelings sound like’...yeah, but what about the non-hippies? Ah, you guys can dig the nerdy stuff. Binaural beats are an up-and-coming phenomenon that use sound to actually penetrate and work with states of mind, all under the pretext that brainwaves oscillate at frequencies strikingly similar to--and vulnerable to the influence of--sound. Finding these tweaked-out noises is as easy as a Google search, and in your search you may come across a program called iDoser. This free little platform takes the Binaural phenomenon to a new horizon of Lucy and those Diamonds she’s so fond of. iDoser allegedly mimics the brainwave states of various emotions, motivational states and...yes, illicit street drugs. Try it out and let us know what you think, hopefully your short-term memory will still be intact.

A somewhat conservative approach to the Binaural movement can be found in the productions of Hemi-sync. This company produces music with Binaural undertones, so that while you may be listening to music, your mind is also getting a dose of the sounds that allegedly inspire states in the mind ranging from joy, productivity, inspiration and focus to spirituality, sleep and sexual arousal. The music tends to range from classical to New Age, so once again, my non-hippie friends, take it with a grain of Patchouli. Music therapy has great potential, then, as one could assign clients to listen to music throughout the week and document their results. Nothing beats having a client on board for more than 1 hour per week.

As you can see, there’s plenty of space to explore with music, and its ability to fit into whatever cranny of your caseload you want it to makes it an unparalleled asset to your interventional repertoire. Go and expand your musical library, and find some shabby percussion instruments at a garage sale. Make a day out of it; it’ll be some self-care for that soul of yours.