23.7. 1993 Vitoria-Gasteiz / Spain - World Federation of Music Therapy

listening to their own recordings and be disappointed by
the chaotic sound of their improvisations. It may be
difficult to distinguish who is playing each instrument
and background noises and talking will interfere.
Videorecordings of music therapy sessions are much
easier to follow. For the music therapist,
videorecordings provide the enormous advantage of
following the process involved in the music making
rather than focusing purely on the sounds involved in
this process.
I once recorded a music therapy session on audiotape.
as well as having the session videotaped, and then
analysed both the audio tape and the videotape s
From the audio tape it is possible to hear the little girl I
am working with, request a familiar nursery rhyme. One
can then hear a variation of this nursery rhyme played
on the piano by the two of us but it is unclear who is
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doing what. When viewing the video tape it is
immediately evident that the little girl is communicating
actively and enthusiastically with me. Our body
language and actions are an important part of the
therapeutic process. Although the music is essential, on
it's own it does not convey the purpose or the creativity
of this session.
There are also some disadvantages to videorecordings.
Clients (and/or parents) will always have to be informed
that they are being videod and some people may
choose not to be on camera. Unobtrusive cameras and
microphones may not always be available and the client
and the therapist may be influenced by the camera or
the person holding the camera.
However, people are getting more and more used to
being on "video" and children in particular often tend to