As part of the STEM festival, all year 8 students took part in a Music Therapy workshop. Music Therapy is an area of growth as we are becoming increasingly aware of how music can benefit mental health, memory and general wellbeing. Current research which our visiting music therapist is part of, has suggested that music therapy can potentially assist in reducing medication costs in the NHS and have a positive impact on so many people.
We were delighted to welcome Rebecca, a professional Music Therapist, and Ryan, a professional musician who plays with numerous orchestras around Europe. They began the workshops in complete silence, allowing students to explore instruments with no guidance whatsoever. Rebecca used her experience as a music therapist to mirror whatever students played and the music slowly grew and all participants were able to grow in confidence and explore their ‘sound-world’, as would so often happen within a music therapy session.
Students demonstrated curiosity in the different elements of Music therapy through asking some thoughtful questions about how music can help people living with a range of different conditions such as dementia. Rebecca and Ryan were able to share their own stories and they showed some powerful video clips of music therapy in action.
We look forward to linking this into our work in class on Music therapy and how music can promote positive wellbeing.
Mrs Little, Music Department
