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From Music Therapy – Intimate Notes – case studies compiled by Mercedes Pavlicevic

Based on an interview with Nigel Hartley who works at the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre in London and Sir Michael Sobell House in Oxford a hospice for the dying.

Spirituality is a big part of this work, but there is no reason why it should not be part of all the work that we do. It is what we are working with. ... A lot of people surprise themselves in music therapy. They come and think 'I can't play music', they do an improvisation and then can't believe it was them.. . and people also say that for them being in music is very similar to meditating.

This makes complete sense.

Meditation and prayer are about being in this space, however we access it. Spaces are there in life to be accessed, and there are different ways of getting into them... the experience of being in music, people describe as being the same space as prayer and meditation. People here at hospice talk about relating to something outside of themselves in music; they talk about the experience of being at one which can lift you outside of yourself. . ..

Music is one of the greatest mysteries ever. It is like God, whatever God you believe in, or what you think of the world - an enormous mystery that can never be solved, however much we delve around and try and understand. We will never be able to understand and put it into a box, and neither should we. We have this need to understand everything, and if we can give something a label, then we think it is safe.

I think we should avoid this.