Music in the therapeutic context is, as Ansdell puts it, "neither pure feeling nor pure form," (128). Rather, music opens the door for a dialogue and communication between client and therapist that might otherwise never occur. As with any form of creative expression, music ultimately depends on an audience. Otherwise, music cannot be used in a therapeutic setting because the medium is instrumental in helping the client "to get beyond this bubble of self," (126). Yet while the creator, or in the psychotherapeutic setting, the client, is undoubtedly using the medium of music for self-expression, the therapist should take care not to over-speculate about the "product." Music can be a symbolic "language of feeling," as Langer explains, but that language of feeling could take years to decipher (221). If the therapist infers that a drone piece created by the client denotes sadness then the therapist infers too much and does the client a disservice. Rather, the role of the music therapist is to provide an open setting in which therapist and client can communicate in non-verbal ways. Non-verbal communication is essential in some therapeutic settings, such as with clients who are catatonic, autistic, or otherwise emotionally inexpressive.

Music transcends the limitations of conventional language in fostering communication. Like the mother talking to her infant, music does not depend on pure understanding of form or even of feeling. For music to be therapeutically effective the therapist need only to listen to what the client has to "say" and respond to it in turn. The medium levels the...

Furthermore, the role of the therapist differs sharply from the role of the music critic, for which the "distinction between good and bad" is foremost (Langer 207). For the therapist, an "improvised dialogue" is the essence of the therapeutic process.
Kivy, Langer, and Ansdell each advocate a middle-ground approach to music and emotional expression. All three authors agree that music is both expressive of universal emotional states independent of the musician; and that music can allow the musician to express personal emotional states dependent on the musician. Moreover, music has the potential to evoke emotional states in the listener, and it is this facet of music that can be the most dangerous because of the possibility of misinterpretation and misattribution of emotional states. The therapist needs to understand the difference between these different roles of music and take care to focus on the process of dialogue; the therapist must also resist inferring too much about the client's emotional state based on the "product" created in therapy.

Works Cited

Ansdell, Gary. "Expressing." Chapter 15. Music for Life.

Kivy, Peter. "The Paradox of Musical Description." Chapter One. Sound Sentiment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989.

Kivy, Peter. "To Express and to be Expressive." Chapter Two. Sound Sentiment. Philadelphia: Temple University, 1989.

Langer, Susanne K. "On Significance in Music." Chapter 8. Philosophy in a New Key.…