Sharing My Music with You: The Musical Presentation as a Tool for Exploring, Examining and Enhancing Self‐Awareness in a Group Setting

Abstract

Musical presentation (MP) is a diagnostic and therapeutic music therapy tool which focuses on the participant's emotional exploration and awareness‐insight development. Using this tool people present themselves through music of their choice and subsequently receive feedback from their peers. This study investigates MP as a tool for enhancing self‐awareness in the context of a voluntary activity that was integrated in courses for undergraduate students in order to demonstrate its possible uses. Open‐ended in‐depth interviews with 15 MP presenters and focus‐group interviews with 41 MP peers who listened to the presentations were conducted. The Johari Window, which is a cognitive psychological model used to help people better understand their interpersonal communication and relationships, served as a conceptual framework for this study. Qualitative analysis of the data showed that presenters' self‐awareness was enhanced through the use of both music and words. As an accessible and creative tool, the MP can be used as a way for people in both therapeutic and non‐therapeutic settings to present themselves via their music to a group and increase their self‐awareness.