Music Therapy Commons^™

Benefit Of Harp Music In A Music Therapy Setting, Emma Christensen

Student Research Symposium

Music therapy is an evidence based form of arts therapy that utilizes music in order to achieve non musical goals. Music therapy is an accessible, personalized form of therapy that utilizes music making in the forms of improvisation, composition, reception, and performance. This often includes, but is not limited to, the use of guitar, piano, and singing.

While not the most common instrument used in music therapy settings, the harp has a reputation for bringing peace and comfort to listeners due to the timbre and resonance of the instrument. With its similarities to the harp, research on the monochord table …

Building Community Through Athletic Activities, Alyssa D. Taylor

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Utah has a significant population of immigrants and refugees, which is constantly increasing. With the Cache Refugee and Immigrant Center recently recognized as an official resettlement agency, the refugee and immigrant populations are projected to grow, especially from Somalia and Syria. These families have a variety of physical, mental, emotional, and social needs. In Europe, formal athletic groups help migrant background families integrate into their communities through sport. Although research has been completed in the United States on informal soccer pickup games, no research has been done on formal groups and their ability to build community in the U.S. like …

Unscripted Journeys: An Exploration Of Music Therapy Practitioner Perspectives On Improvisation Within And Beyond Clinical Application, Abigail Lee

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Improvisation is a phenomenon used often in music settings, clinical settings, and in life in general. Within music therapy settings, clinical improvisation is one of the most common and useful skills music therapy practitioners use to help clients achieve their therapeutic goals. Proper acquisition and implementation of this skill is therefore crucial to the aspiring music therapist’s education. While many approaches to clinical improvisation are outlined within current literature, less literature exists regarding how the background and lifestyle of a music therapy practitioner may affect their development and implementation of clinical improvisation in session. Through qualitative data collection via seven …

The Value Of Neurologic Music Therapy For A Student Music Therapist, Katie Fairbourn

Student Research Symposium

Neurologic Music Therapy(NMT) is an interdisciplinary training, unaffiliated with the music therapy profession. NMT is a world wide medical organization that specializes in research, techniques and practices that specialize in the brain's relationship with music. Due to the broad nature of the music therapy profession, many undergraduate students either briefly know about NMT or don't know anything about it at all. Research has proven the effectiveness of NMT techniques and principles, but no one has examined the worth of NMT training when combined with music therapy education and clinical experience.My project examines and analyzes the effect of NMT on the …

Opportunities And Challenges Of Qualitative Research As A Young Researcher, Alyssa Burton

Fall Student Research Symposium 2021

After joining a sociological research project—one well outside the bounds of my current major in music therapy—I have been introduced to the opportunities and challenges of qualitative research. To encourage other students in their research pursuits, this presentation will discuss qualitative research in general, my experience implementing it, and its implications for both the current project and my future. Every student, no matter their discipline, deserves the opportunity to participate in research.

Pitch Perception In Preschool-Age Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Megan Lambert

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This research thesis will 1) provide an overview of the psychoacoustics of music perception, particularly as related to the properties of pitch perception in young children and 2) describe the methods and outcomes of an exploratory study to evaluate the efficacy of obtaining pitch perception data from preschool age children with hearing loss. Each child completed a series of three tasks, including coaching and practice, single note perception, and pitch contrasts. All of the children readily understood the single-note pitch perception task. Pitch contrast performance across participants ranged from 50% to 96% correct for the first data collection period and …