The Musical Culture of a Family: Implications for Music Therapy Practice

Music is a central part of life with some families.  Parents are music makers and they actively use music with their children on a regular basis.  Family members may engage in formal study of music or they may just have a keen appreciation of different styles of music.  In other families, however, music has a much more minimal role.  So, how does the musical culture of the family impact music therapy services?

In my current study which examines family and institutional cultural practices, participants described working with families with a range of experiences.  Some families engage in regular music making.  One music therapist shared about a family that had family music time once a week.  Families that identify with music and regularly engage with music may already see music as a source of relationship building, learning, and healing.  The music therapists noted examples of families who advocated for music therapy services for their children.  Families with a previous relationship with music helped to foster on-going interactions with music therapy to benefit their child. Simply said, they believed in the music.

Other families resist active music making and claim, “I have never played anything”.   Therapists described parents that get anxious when encouraged to sing with their children.  In this case, the music therapist needs to focus on coaching the parents as music makers and reminding them that their children are not looking for perfect singers.  These families may need more education and support about the benefits of music and music therapy because their own relationship with music is either minimal or filled with anxiety. 

Family context and the practices of the family shape belief systems and behaviors.  Seeking information and understanding of the family context can help develop supports and directions for music therapy programming and intervention.  Whether the family members are present in the process or not, their presence may be felt in the acquired beliefs and behaviors of the client.  Whether the “child” is 3 or 83, they may still be influenced by messages and practices of the family members.  Therefore, it may be important to take time to learn about the musical culture of the family.