Locating the Autonomous Voice: Self-Expression in Music-Centered Music Therapy

It is a common, perhaps self-evident notion that people express themselves when they are engaged in musical activity. However, there seems to be little music therapy literature that deals explicitly with theories of musical expression. This paper examines some of the existing notions of self-expression in the music therapy literature, focusing on three models: Analytic Music Therapy, Guided Imagery and Music, and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. Implicit assumptions about the self and musical expression are explored, the latter in light of well-known musicological theories. The paper then looks at music-centered music therapy and the role of self-expression in it. In particular, the role of musical structure in self-expression is considered. It is suggested that a theory of self-expression for a music-centered practice cannot detach expressive content from the lived performance of music.