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

creatively manage their affect through music.
Perhaps it is not necessary to view musicality as a
possession of the few. Victor Zuckerkandl (1973) offers
us an alternate view of musicality other than that of a
special gift. He defines musicality as "...an essential
attribute of the human species." (p.7)
The implication is not that some men are musical while
others are not, but that man is a musical animal, that is,
a being that for its full realization must express itself in
tones and owes it to itself and to the world to produce
music. In this sense, musicality is not something one
may or may not have, but something that along with
other factors - is constitutive of man. (p.8)
Nordoff and Robbins (1977) reinforce the concept of
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universal musicality and embody this concept in their
term "the music child". They do not restrict this concept
to the child with special musical gifts, but rather focus
..attention on that entity in every child which responds to
musical experience, finds it meaningful and engaging,
remembers music, and enjoys some form of musical
expression. The Music Child is therefore the
individualized musicality inborn in each child: the term
has reference to the universality of musical sensitivity
the heritage of complex sensitivity to the ordering and
relationship of tonal and rhythmic movement; it also
points to the distinctly personal significance of each
child's musical responsiveness. (p.1)
Where does this musical sensitivity originate? Man's
musical experience, from an ontogenetic perspective,
begins in the womb. Vascular vibrations, respiration and
the mother's heartbeat are all integral components of
the intrauterine environment. Sound is transmitted to