On a Notion of Participation in Music Therapy

Abstract

This article examines the notion of participation from a relational and culture-centred perspective, with the objective of stimulating more systematic reflection on the notion's relevance in music therapy theory. Selected examples from the music therapy literature are reviewed and related to contemporary literature on learning, music, and health. In discussing the literature, a distinction is made between two basic notions of participation; participation as individual activity and participation as collaborative activity. The first usage of the term is most common in the music therapy literature, but the metatheoretical perspective underpinning this study suggests that a notion of participation as collaborative activity is more significant. In relation to participation as collaborative activity, a further distinction is made between participation as communal experience and participation as political action (citizen participation). A focus upon participation as communal experience is a clinically relevant implication of a relational understanding of humanity, but the author argues that apolitical visions of participation as communal experience may end up invoking a romanticized view of participatory community in neglect of diversity and social conflict. In an attempt at providing a platform for further discussion of and work on the notion of participation, a brief definition of participation is offered. In conclusion, the article proposes that a) a notion of participation could be integrative in relation to educational, musical, and health–related dimensions of music therapy processes and b) more work is needed on a notion of participation in music therapy, in relation to various theoretical and practical contexts.