Whatkindofmusicians?All UK music therapy training programmes audition their applicants before admission. Alvin’s foundational view that ‘the music therapist should first be a fully trained… musician’ still holds (Alvin 1975:158). But what kind of musicians do training programmes look for? Regulatory standards (HCPC 2013) specify minimum musical proficiencies but programmes may differ in their music-therapeutic orientation and emphases. Debate also exists around the ‘continuity between clinical and non-clinical uses of music’ (Aigen 2010:154). Do musical admissions criteria reflect these concerns? And if so, how?

Adis2nc2vemusicianship?The researcher, a music therapy tutor and practitioner, is investigating musical admission criteria as part of broader PhD research into the musical training of music therapists. One question is whether there is a distinctive ‘music therapy musicianship.’ This question has implications for music therapy training and theory.

DataandMethods All seven UK music therapy trainings approved by the Health and Care Professions Council were included in this study (HCPC 2016). These are all are at masters level and involve 2 years full-time or 3 years part-time study. Data was sourced from training institutions’ public web-sites. Text on the main music therapy training page and relevant linked pages up to two ‘clicks’ removed was included (excluding headers, menu bars, button and caption texts). Two analyses were made: a content analysis of audition requirements; and a qualitative analysis of the language used to describe required or expected musicianship skills. Limita2onsI have chosen to use only the data from institutions’ public websites. This may not fully represent the practice, attitudes or policies of institutions at a more detailed level.

AcknowledgmentsWith thanks to my supervisors Dr Stuart Wood, Dr Biranda Ford, my PhD seminar group and Ann Sloboda, Head of Music Therapy at the Guildhall School. Poster design based on http://colinpurrington.com.

Observa2onsonAudi2onsAudition descriptions are broadly similar across all programmes: •  at least one performance test, one or more improvis-

ation tests and a group audition test are common to all the programme auditions described;

•  most programmes include harmony instrument and voice tests (c.f. HCPC Standard of Proficiency 13.34);

•  an initial musical audition preceding interview and/or further audition is sometimes used (live or CD/DVD);

•  expected musical standards are usually ABRSM Grade 8+ (1st study) and Grade 5/6 (2nd study or keyboard);

•  ‘paper’ qualifications in music are NOT required. Ques2ons:? Most auditions require a harmony instrument and voice, but allow performance on up to two other instruments; how important is multi-instrument skill in music therapy? ? Only one programme tests music-reading skills; how important is music reading ability in music therapy? ? Improvisation and group tests are not described in detail; what skills/qualities are being tested?

Observa2onsonLanguageThree kinds of language use were identified in relation to musicianship skills: •  a ‘technical’ language (‘Grade 8’, ‘professional’,

‘harmonic skill’ etc.) common to all programmes; •  a ‘relational’ language (‘communicative’, ‘sensitive’

etc.) showing some variations between programmes; •  a ‘cultural’ language (‘variety of styles’, ‘classical

repertoire’, ‘world music’) which differs across programmes, and can be accommodating or actively affirming of different musical cultures/backgrounds.

Ques2ons:? Not all programmes indicate expected standards using ABRSM grades; how relevant are conventional standards/performance values in music therapy? ? Four programmes explicitly mention variety of musical experience and/or non-classical traditions; how culturally broad/sensitive is UK music therapy training? ? Descriptors such as ‘symbolically’ and ‘generosity’ do not obviously refer to musical qualities; how far can musicianship be separated from other personal qualities required for music therapy training?

DonaldWetherickPhDStudent,GuildhallSchoolofMusic&Drama,London

LiteraturecitedAigen, Kenneth. 2010. Theoretical issues in considering music as a

therapeutic medium. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. 15.2:154-166.

Alvin, Juliette. 1975. Music Therapy. London: Hutchinson & Co.

HCPC. 2013. Standards of proficiency – Arts therapists. London:

Health and Care Professions Council. HCPC. Register of approved education and training programmes.

Available at: http://www.hcpc-uk.org/education/programmes/register/index.asp [Accessed March 5, 2016].

Furtherinforma2onDonald Wetherick is a clinical tutor in music therapy and PhD student at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. He also works as a music therapist with the charity Nordoff Robbins. He can be contacted at: donald.wetherick@gsmd.ac.uk.

Programme Audi2oncontentasdescribedonwebsite Musicianshipexpecta2ons

Ins:tu:on Awardfaculty

1stStudy

2ndStudy

HarmonicInstrument

Voice Improvisa:on

SightReading

GroupTask

(sampledescrip:onfromwebsitetext)

MA Music Therapy

Arts, Law & Social Sciences

‘demonstrate your keyboard skills’

‘improvise as directed’

‘A high standard of flexible musicianship…’

MA Music Therapy

Music

‘simple keyboard harmony’

‘free improvisation [and] role-play’

(2)

‘sensitive and expressive musical communication, and the potential to develop improvisational skills, alongside technical skill.’

MMT (NR): Music, Health,

Society (ext. validated)

DVD

DVD

DVD

‘[sing] accompanying yourself on a harmony instrument’

NS (2) ‘you don’t have to be an experienced

improviser…’

NS (2) ‘does help to… read

music’

(2)

‘a well-rounded musician with real communicative capacity… flexibility, responsiveness and generosity as a communicating musician.’

MSc Music Therapy Health

Sciences

NS ‘proficiency on an

harmonic instrument’

‘improvise on a given theme’

‘a high standard of practical musicianship and flexibility…’

MA Music Therapy

Psychology

CD +(2)

CD+(2) ‘one piano piece if this is not your first study’

(2)

CD ‘a free improvis-

ation which may be given a title’ + (2)

(2)

‘...demonstrate expressive qualities, musical imagination and depth as well as technical competence.’

MA Music Therapy

Psychology, Psychotherapy

‘improvise with a staff team member’

‘substantial experience of musical practice, including exposure to and experience of, a variety of styles of music.’

MA Music Therapy

Psychology

NS

‘professional musical skills’

NS ‘skills... to provide harmonic support on guitar or piano’

NS

NS

‘particular interest in improvisation’

NS

NS

‘a high level of practical musicianship (which could include non-western traditions) and a particular interest in improvisation.’

= included in audition = not included in audition = candidate’s choice NS = not stated DVD/CD = recorded submission (2) = second stage "

A Qualitative Analysis of Musicianship Descriptors!Adjectives and phrases used to describe musicianship were identified from programme websites. Three kinds of descriptors were found, relating to ‘standards’, ‘qualities’ and ‘experience’ of musicianship. Programmes are shown next to the descriptors used on their website, most common first.

Standards‘technical’language(1ststudy)

‘high’ level ARU, Guildhall, NR,

QMU, Roeh., UWE ‘Grade 8’ etc. ARU, Guildhall, NR,

USW ‘professional’ Roehampton, UWE ‘competent’ NR, Roehampton ‘capable’ UWE

Experience‘cultural’language(training/tradi7on)

‘practice/-al/-ing’ QMU, Roe, USW, UWE ‘experienced’ ARU, USW, UWE ‘classical/ly’ Guildhall, NR, Roe. ‘less formal’/ NR, Roe, UWE ‘non-trad.’/‘world’ ‘styles’ (var./diff.) Roe., USW ‘well-rounded’ NR

Quali:es‘rela7onal’language(useofmusic)

‘communicate/ Guildhall, NR, -ive/-ively/-ion’ Roe., USW ‘flexible/-ility’ ARU, NR, QMU ‘expressive’ Guildhall, USW ‘sensitive/ly’ Guildhall, NR ‘symbolically’ USW ‘generosity’ NR