The meaning of silence in music therapy Cover Image

Znaczenie ciszy w muzykoterapii
The meaning of silence in music therapy

Author(s): Anna Konopacka
Subject(s): Music, Clinical psychology, Sociology of Art, Pedagogy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
Keywords: silence; muteness; music therapy; music therapist; sound;

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, the author attempts to provide a comprehensive description of the complex phenomenon of silence and sheds light on its significance within the context of music therapy. By considering various definitions of silence, as well as ways of approaching the phenomenon of silence, in both the domain of interpersonal communication and the abundant realm of sound, the author aims to highlight the multifaceted nature of the matter. The author discusses the distinction between the silence and the muteness, draws attention to an interdisciplinary character of the field, enumerates diverse angles of considering the issue, and examines the role of silence within a larger perspective of fields of psychotherapy and music therapy. In the presented cases of music therapy work, silence is a kind of a therapist’s tool. Owing to an insufficient amount of research papers on silence in music therapy, it is impossible to produce pioneering findings in the very field. In this paper the author ventures to summarise latest data, points out the urgency of delving deeper into the issue, and discloses novel prospects for music therapy to be discovered in pursuit of investigation of the ambiguous notion of silence.

  • Issue Year: 141/2023
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 43-59
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Polish
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