Willem van de Wall: Organizer and Innovator in Music Education and Music Therapy

Abstract

This research is an analysis and description of the unique role of Willem van de Wall in the development of music education and his influence on the development of music therapy in the first half of the twentieth century. During his career, he served as a professional harpist, a choral director, and a professor of music education. During the course of his professional life, van de Wall wrote numerous articles and several books that advocated the structured and controlled use of music in institutions, including schools, psychiatric hospitals, general hospitals, and prisons. Although his early writings focused on development of handicapped individuals, his later work shifted to a broader application of music in the education of normal children and adults. Van de Wall believed that musical behaviors were influenced by biological and emotional factors. He strongly encouraged research to establish credibility for the influence of music on normal and aberrant human behavior. Van de Wall's writings contributed significantly to music education and shaped the practice of hospital musicians, who later established the field of music therapy.