Stories

 

Music has been a widely recognized therapeutic method for many years.  Here are just a few of our stories.

Read our stories and watch our videos.

View also an extended excerpt from the documentary "A Gift of Music" produced for the Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund and directed by Scott Rondeau.

 

Caryanne

“With Caryanne, she responds very well to music because it’s one of her only ways to connect with the world.  When she touches the instruments and there is a sound coming out of it, then she is an actor in this world instead of being just passive or receptive in her bed.“ Caryanne is a blind infant at the palliative care unit in Montreal.

Friends of Music

It’s Friday morning and the doorbell at the Music Therapy Centre begins to ring. Each time, a different Wheeltrans driver is at the door, accompanied by one of the six vibrant men and women who gather every Friday morning for music therapy. These are “The Friends of Music” and their enthusiasm is boundless.

Chin Injeti

"Music therapy literally saved my life," Vancouver-based music producer and songwriter Chin Injeti said. "It taught me how to rehabilitate myself." Injeti, who has won a Grammy for his work with rapper Eminem, had polio as a child. He had to learn how to use wheelchairs and crutches in order to walk again, and music therapy was instrumental in helping him to adapt.

Sonia

Sonia, une belle petite fille de quatre ans, frappe le tambour avec cœur et joue des carillons tubulaires avec grand plaisir tout en écoutant les chansons de la musicothérapeute. Comme elle est atteinte du syndrome de Rett, Sonia  est limitée dans son exploration et ses interactions sociales; par contre, elle s’épanouit par la musique en vivant des expériences centrées sur ses capacités. Lire plus ici.

L'Arche

Music therapy for adults with developmental disabilities provides a sense of purpose and an accessible medium for communication.

 

 

Click here to observe their music therapy process.

Brian

At four, Brian demonstrated all the typical symptoms of autism. At his first music therapy session, Brian willingly entered the music room. He turned off the lights and began ritualistic rocking movements under a chair. His therapist went to the piano and began to mirror rhythmically and melodically his body movements. Copying his movements would not only make him aware of himself but would also tell him in a musical sense that his therapist wanted to understand him and to enter his world. 

Click here to read more about Brian.

La musicothérapie en soins palliatifs

Je rends visite pour la première fois à une vieille dame alitée. Nous parlons de l'importance de la musique dans sa vie et de ce qui lui procure du sens et du plaisir. Elle parle de sa jeunesse en Hongrie. Elle aimait tellement danser à l'époque ! Bientôt, nous cherchons à ranimer ces bons souvenirs. Elle choisit certaines pièces favorites de musique hongroise d'une collection de musique folklorique et bat le rythme sur un tambourin alors que je joue les mélodies à la flûte. Lire plus ici.