Being Who You Aren't; Doing What You Can't: Community Music Therapy & the Paradoxes of Performance

Abstract

This article gives some introductory thoughts on the 'paradoxes of performance' in contemporary music therapy, through the perspective of the evolving practice and discourse of Community Music Therapy—where aspects of the practice, theory and ethics of performance in music therapy are currently being debated. The article looks at these aspects in two ways: firstly, through a case study of a Community Music Therapy project in East London which is being tracked as part of a larger research study; secondly, from various interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives on music, performance, and personal and social development. It suggests that the new discourse of Community Music Therapy is usefully opening up professional and theoretical discussion within music therapy to the potentials and problems of working with clients across the full continuum of private to public music therapy, and to the rich potentials of music as a performance art within reflexive practice.

Community Music Therapy and Participatory Performance

“…Community music therapists' frequent use of performance within clinical settings is an example of such work. Whereas music therapists rooted in medical and psychotherapeutic models were traditionally wary of performance, community music therapists view performance as offering unique benefits and resources (Ansdell, 2005). Community music therapy addresses issues of access, participation, and democracy (Stige & Aarø, 2012).…”

Performing Wellness: Playing in the Spaces Between Music Therapy and Music Performance Improvisation Practices

“…Brandes, 2015), and music therapy becomes more integrated with performance practice (e.g. as in the case of community music therapy (Ansdell, 2005;Ansdell & Stige, 2015)) it is helpful for diverse practitioners to dialogue. At their best, interdisciplinary explorations can serve to highlight what re-sides uniquely within the bounds of each discipline, link disciplines through common threads and illuminate new areas for collaboration and discovery.…”

The role of choral singing in the lives of amateur choral singers in Iceland

“…Research in the last two decades on the effects of singing for people with longterm illnesses and people with dementia (see, for example, Batt-Rawden 2010; Batt-Rawden, DeNora, and Ruud 2005;Ruud 2010;Ansdell 2005) has demonstrated that singing has positive effects on patients' health (see, for example, Hara 2011; Bonde 2011). People with Alzheimer's are able to participate in-group singing and some longer-term benefits are perceived by their carers (Bannan and MontgomerySmith 2008).…”