<p>My son has started looking at colleges and has been noticing the Music Therapy major. He asked me what it was and I realized that I have no actual idea beyond what is Googleable. So I thought I would ask here. Is music therapy a real thing or is it one of those fake majors that sound pretty?</p>
<p>It’s a very real thing. When I used to work in the hospice sector, we had music therapists who visited with patients and/or families. </p>
<p>It is very real.</p>
<p>One of my children is on the autism spectrum. Music therapy is one of the interventions we have used. There are not enough music therapists to go around for kids on the autism spectrum. Music therapy is used with stroke victims, Alzheimers patients, in nursing homes, in hospitals. </p>
<p>When we visited Vanderbilt, we were told how students create their own major, and we heard a description of one student who majored in music therapy, a major of her own creation. I have noticed that more schools are offering music therapy as a major.</p>
<p>Wow, this is fantastic to know. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>Belmont University in Nashville has just added a Music Therapy major.
<a href=“http://www.belmont.edu/music/degrees/music_undergraduate/music_therapy.html”>http://www.belmont.edu/music/degrees/music_undergraduate/music_therapy.html</a></p>
<p>There is an incredible YouTube video of a youngish autistic girl who… well, never mind, I’m just going to find it and show a link. I cry every time I watch it. But yes, it shows the extent to which music therapy can enhance an autistic child’s life.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.wimp.com/autismduet/”>http://www.wimp.com/autismduet/</a></p>
<p>Thank you very much teriwtt! I’m going to show this to my son.</p>
<p>If he is interested in Music Therapy head on over to the music majors forum for some possible assistance for starting his search. Is he already studying an instrument?</p>
<p>I know of two talented musicians who have chosen to study music therapy - neither have graduated yet so I don’t know what jobs they will end up with</p>
<p>Zoosermom, if enter “music therapy” into the Indeed’s job search - there are quite a few ads that can give some ideas as to what the pay, demand, and job skills requirements etc. are. </p>
<p>Look at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. One of the best established music therapy programs in the country.</p>
<p>Sounds interesting. Not sure courses lean more to music, special ed, or psych/counseling (ie grad degree needed). But I think that anything that gives a kid a string to pull on while sorting through college ideas is a good thing. </p>
<p>Here’s another idea too for music kids that don’t want to major in music performance. I think the music industry program at Northeastern looks interesting - <a href=“Music at Northeastern”>http://www.northeastern.edu/camd/music/</a></p>
<p>My daughter was teaching piano to a few autistic kids in high school, sort of like music therapy, but not in college.</p>
<p>When I was an OT on psychiatric units, we had a music therapist who came to work with the patients a couple times a week. In mental health, they tended to be contract and traveled to several different hospitals/nursing homes, etc. rather than staying in one place full time. That may not be true in other settings. </p>
<p>I’m not sure if he has any interest in therapy, but he is a serious musician and this major kept coming up at schools he was researching and neither of us had heard of it!</p>
<p>Then definitely head over to the music majors forum. A lot of good info there for those considering music majors, minors, or even only peripheral invovlement in music with another major. A lot of help and support available for the search, applications, auditions, finances (it is different) and decisions. </p>
<p>Music therapy is real, and it can do amazing things. I highly recommend Oliver Sachs’ book “Musicophilia”, he talks about all these amazing things with the mind and music, and talks about how music, for example, can help someone with advanced dementia remember who they are and start interacting with people, for example. </p>
<p>Zooser, I sent you a PM.</p>
<p>One of my dear friends is a music therapist in Boulder, she studied Transpersonal Counseling/Music Therapy at Naropa University in Boulder. Her clientele includes children, those with brain injuries and senior citizens (including Alzheimer’s patients).</p>
<p>See if you can find the film The Music Never Stopped, which is based on the essay “The Last Hippie” from Dr. Oliver Sacks’s book, “An Anthropologist on Mars.” - it is a great visualization of how music therapy works for those “trapped” inside their heads.</p>
<p>Perhaps the OPs son might be interested in an undergrad program in Pre-Art Therapy & then move into music therapy as a grad school program (depending on where his particular bent is) Arcadia University in Philadelphia has a great program (my D investigate it thoroughly as she thought it might be the way she would go) <a href=“http://www.arcadia.edu/academic/art-and-design-bachelor-art-pre-art-therapy/”>http://www.arcadia.edu/academic/art-and-design-bachelor-art-pre-art-therapy/</a></p>
<p>I’ll put “The Music Never Stopped” on our wishlist. Where can we find it? </p>