A Collection of Interviews

Question 1: Why have you become interested in environmental sounds?

Question 1: What does rhythm mean to you?

The idea of doing an interview with Dr. Dale Taylor was born, when I was teaching “Theories in Music Therapy” at the University of Windsor in Canada. My students became very excited about Dr. Taylor’s explanations of the functioning of music on the human brain, as described in Darrow’s textbook Introduction to Approaches to Music Therapy, which we used in class. The content resonated with all of us, as it takes “the myth and magic out of music therapy.” Having known Dale for more than four years through AMTA’s International Relations Committee (IRC), I decided to interview him in order to lift his theory out of the text book, and give it life through his voice, his personal experiences and anecdotes. Dr. Taylor earned his bachelor degree at the University of Kansas, worked in general hospitals and psychiatric institutes during his clinical career, served 35 years as founding Director of the Music Therapy Program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Clair, served 8 years as Chair of the Department of Allied Health Professions, as well as Editor of the International Journal of Arts Medicine. He served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the International Arts Medicine Association, over two decades on NAMT and AMTA Assembly of Delegates, as AMTA’s Certification-Registration Committee Chair, as National Coordinator of Student Affairs (USA), and as President and Vice President of AMTA’s Great Lakes Region. He is the originator of the Biomedical Theory of Music Therapy, authored Biomedical Foundations of Music Therapy, and his research is published in Music Therapy Perspectives, the Journal of Music Therapy, and in many books edited by colleagues. During this year’s AMTA Regional Music Therapy conferences, I took the opportunity to meet with Dr. Taylor and his great wife Jennifer at the Sheraton hotel in Detroit to talk about his motivation behind the development of the Biomedical Theory of Music Therapy, as well as his founding principles, applications, and much more. In this interview, Dale tells his story and shares his vision with readers and listeners of Music Therapy Today. Join me in the quest to understand the power of music on the human brain.

Question 1: What impact does music therapy have on very young children with visual impairments?

Question 1: How can music therapy make a difference in the lives of young children and their families?

Question 1: What does IRB stand for and what does it mean?

Please note: All audio excerpts are in German. Parts of this talk have been included in the movie “Felicitas Goodman, Rituelle Koerperhaltungen und Ekstatische Trance” [Ritual Body Postures and Ecstatic Trance] by Johanna Peltner-Rambeck and Hans Rambeck, SUEDWIND-FILM, Munich, 2001.

A sparkle in her eye, a story ready to tell, an open heart and always an encouraging word, that is Sr. Donna Marie Beck. I had the privilege to talk with her at the Fifth Annual American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota in November 2003. Sr. Donna Marie Beck is the Chair of the Music Therapy Department at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (http://ww.duq.edu). Throughout her professional life, she has devoted incredible time and energy to the development and growth of music therapy. For 17 years, she passionately mentored and educated numerous music therapy students and undoubtedly touched their lives. Sr. Donna believes in “meeting the student where the student is and discovering what it is the student needs to learn and what the strengths of the student are, to weave a program that is suitable for the person.” Sr. Donna Marie Beck also sat on various Boards and committees of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and has served her region as Treasurer, Historian and Archivist. As a guided imagery and music (GIM) fellow, Sr. Donna Marie Beck investigated the integration of spirituality and guided imagery and music. Her research can be found in the Journal of the Association of Music and Imagery. In this interview Sr. Donna Marie Beck shares stories from the heart and insights from her rich life as a music therapist. This interview also features a live recording of the actual award presented by Mary Adamek, president of AMTA and an unique song presented to Sr. Donna by her colleagues, friends and family members at the reception afterwards.

Question 1: When you improvise and play with others, I can hear and feel the joy, excitement and connection between you and the other musicians. What is it that connects you with other musicians?