Humour in music therapy:A narrative literature review

Introduction: Humour is a highly prevalent but little understood phenomenon. In music therapy, experiences of humour are not well documented yet anecdotally widespread. Method: A narrative literature review was conducted to identify, critically analyse and synthesise literature related to humour in music therapy. Literature was limited to accessible publications in the English language and sourced from multiple music therapy journals, bibliographic databases, electronic databases and books from the earliest available date until June 2018 using the key terms of humour/humor. Results: Two empirical research studies that focussed on humour in music therapy were identified and references to humour were found in over 130 articles. Humour in music therapy was evidently taken for granted as a phenomenon with relationship-building effects. In addition, references to humour came overwhelmingly from music therapists’ point of view. Despite one comprehensive research study exploring humour in music therapy, a lack of investigation into reciprocal experiences of humour and how this is “played out” through improvisation was identified. Discussion: This review surfaces a phenomenon that is ubiquitous yet under-researched in music therapy. In general, a kind of insider knowledge appears necessary for humour to be shared; yet the ambiguity inherent in humour means that music therapists can encounter risk in using or engaging with it in their work. These findings have led directly to further research into reciprocal embodied experiences of humour and improvisation in music therapy.https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2019.157728828pubpub

Thinking through improvisation:How arts-based reflexivity can offer new knowing about music therapists’ experiences of humour in music therapy

As part of a larger research study investigating humour in music therapy with persons with dementia, this article details how music therapists perceive, embody and experience humour in their practice. Three focus groups with music therapists ( N = 9) were organised and resulting data analysed through arts-based reflexive methods. Building on Schenstead’s (2012) articulation of arts-based reflexivity, two distinct and overlapping forms of thinking through improvisation are highlighted; self-reflexivity and collaborative-reflexivity. Finlay’s (2011) phenomenological lifeworld-oriented questions are used to explicate dimensions of experiences of humour and frame broad thematic reflections. Particular correspondence between improvisation as a way of being and humour in music therapy are explored performatively through a group improvisation involving the first author. The findings from this synthesis offer insight into how music therapists conceive of humour in their work as supportive of relational bonding, and also experience humour as distancing and defensive behaviour. Along with the perceived risks of humour in relational therapeutic work, an intricate balance between playfulness and professionalism surfaced as part of a music therapy identity. Improvisation, while seemingly taken for granted as a part of spontaneous humour, is also problematised through the perceived seriousness of learning how to improvise as a music therapist aligning with a psychodynamic approach. The consequences of these findings are discussed in relation to music therapy pedagogy and practice along with methodological implications of thinking through improvisation

“How can you have music therapy without humour?!”: a phenomenologically informed arts-based reflexive study exploring humour in music therapy with persons living with dementia

In music therapy practice, humour is closely linked to playfulness and play and is largely taken for granted by music therapists. Despite music therapists’ anecdotal interest, to date there has been little in-depth focus on humour in music therapy work. The two main studies written in the English language address the use of humour and its musical form and are positioned from music therapists’ perspectives. Thus, a need was identified for including the views of persons attending music therapy, along with more comprehensive study of relational experiences and therapeutic consequences of humour. A pilot phase of this study showed humour as relationally significant and invited the development of novel methods with which to investigate it. Subsequently, a phenomenologically informed reflexive-relational methodology was used to better understand 1. How humour enables contact in music therapy with persons living with dementia and 2. How music therapists perceive, embody and experience humour in music therapy. Interpretative methods of “interview-encounters” with persons living with dementia and their music therapists, and focus groups with music therapists, were used to gather data and arts-based reflexive methods of sense-making offered imaginal understanding of relational experiences of humour. Familiar verbal, non-verbal and embodied forms of humour, or “in-jokes”, were found to act as catalysts for intrapersonal and interpersonal contact between music therapists and persons living with dementia. These moments appeared to heighten experiences of presence in relation to self and other. In addition, contact through humour enabled a relational equality that was meaningful as well as individually agential. From music therapists’ perspectives, a tension was found between humour and a sense of professional identity and role in practice. This appeared to lead to anxiety when using or engaging with humour and meant that a sense of relational risk was embodied in performing humour in practice. The music therapists involved in the study had absorbed this sense of risk bodily through experiences of improvising with others whilst training. Important questions were therefore raised around the “tool-ness” of humour which also surfaced implicit power dynamics in music therapy relationships. Framing a sense of humour as a developmentally vital relational experience, this study suggests that a more sophisticated understanding of humour in music therapy is needed. This has broad implications for considering music therapy processes, pedagogy and practice

Experiences of music therapists sharing improvisation remotely during lockdown

Nicky Haire - ORCID: 0000-0003-1178-2960 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1178-2960Music therapy has faced challenges to practice during lockdown. In this reflexive study, the authors explored the creative possibilities of multi-tracking as a way of sharing improvised dialogues. This involved the creation of recorded improvised ‘prompts’, a few minutes in length, which were then ‘answered’ using audio software. Through reflections which draw on the principles of auto-ethnography, we seek to describe and explore these experiences and draw meaning from them. Both authors are improvising musicians, music therapists and music therapy educators. While the project began as a way of maintaining motivation for musical activity, affective experiences shared by the authors surfaced the need for more systematic reflection on the therapeutic and pedagogical potential of the process.https://www.musichealthandwellbeing.co.uk/musickingthroughcovid19https://storage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-20563976/documents/6768a976428a44cc9dafb3341d7a1382/Annesley%2C%20Haire.pdfpubpu

Increase in Depression and Anxiety Among Australian Gay and Bisexual Men During COVID-19 Restrictions: Findings from a Prospective Online Cohort Study

We examined depression and anxiety prior to and during COVID-19 restrictions in Australian gay and bisexual men (GBM). In an online cohort, a COVID-19-focused survey was conducted in April 2020. During 2019 and in April 2020, 664 GBM completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, measuring depression) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7, measuring anxiety). Increased depression and anxiety were defined as a ≥ 5 point increase on the respective scales. Mean PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores increased between 2019 and 2020 (PHQ-9: from 5.11 in 2019 to 6.55 in 2020; GAD-7: from 3.80 in 2019 to 4.95 in 2020). The proportion of participants with moderate-severe depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) increased from 18.8% (n = 125) to 25.5% (n = 169), while the proportion of participants with moderate-severe anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 10) increased from 12.7% (n = 84) to 17.3% (n = 115). Almost one-quarter of participants (n = 158, 23.8%) had increased depression; in these men, mean PHQ-9 increased from 2.49 in 2019 to 11.65 in 2020 (p < 0.001). One-in-five (20.6%) participants (n = 137) had increased anxiety; among these men, mean GAD-7 increased from 2.05 in 2019 to 10.22 in 2020 (p < 0.001). Increases were associated with concerns about job security, reduction in social and sexual connections and opportunities, and being personally concerned about COVID-19 itself. COVID-19 appeared to have a sudden and pronounced impact on depression and anxiety in Australian GBM, with a significant minority showing sharp increases. Ongoing monitoring is required to determine longer-term impacts and GBM need access to appropriate and sensitive supports both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Is the violin useful for music therapy? [Blog Post]

Item not available in this repository.https://skylarkarts.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/is-the-violin-useful-for-music-therapy

Book review: Responsiveness in music therapy improvisation: A perspective inspired by Mikhail Bakhtin

Nicky Haire - ORCID: 0000-0003-1178-2960 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1178-2960https://doi.org/10.1177/135945752096733034pubpub

Articulating process [Blog Post]

Item not available in this repository.https://www.nickyhaire.com/blog-thinking-through-improvisation/articulating-proces

Finding space to play [Blog Post]

Item not available in this repository.https://www.nickyhaire.com/blog-thinking-through-improvisation/finding-space-to-pla

Understanding how humour enables contact in music therapy relationships with persons living with dementia: A phenomenological arts-based reflexive study

From Elsevier via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-02-21, issue date 2021-02-24This article details part of a phenomenological arts-based reflexive study investigating humour in music therapy with persons living with dementia. Rooted in psychosocial and relational-centred methodology, the study arose from the first author’s experience as a music therapist. As part of a larger study, three interview-encounters with persons living with dementia and their music therapists (n=8) provided opportunities for shared reflection on humour in their work. Arts-based reflexivity within a phenomenological frame was used to address the question of how humour enables contact in music therapy with persons living with dementia. Furthermore, Christopher Bollas’ (1987) concept of “aesthetic moments” is used to think into the relational and existential importance of humour in this context and explore more deeply what contact may mean. Links between methodology and topic are explored and the correspondence between humour and intersubjective experiences in music therapy is highlighted in relationships with persons living with dementia.Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) UKhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2021.10178474pubpu