Music—The Therapeutic Edge: Readings from William W. Sears

Long overdue is a revision of William Sears Processes in Music Therapy, Chapter Two of E. Thayer Gastons edited work, Music in Therapy, 1964, and such is the centerpiece of the present work. The revision presents in greater detail the Processes, and finely characterizes them with well-crafted graphic figures. The most significant change is the proper elevation of music demands time-ordered behavior from a construct, that is an explicit relation between music and human behavior, to its position as the overarching force that allows music to happen.

Moving beyond the Processes, this book presents a group of Sears lectures and addresses, all of which were taken from tape recordings. One chapter fittingly focuses on time, borrowing heavily from J. T. Fraser, the world-renown dean of the study of time. In addition to the figures displayed in the Processes chapter, Sears had more to say about the value of models as teaching tools in the chapter, Models for Thinking. Yet another chapter topic, The Influence of Music on Behavior, constantly held Sears attention. On Music, Mind, Education and Human Behavior is drawn from a plenary presentation at NAMTs 1977 conference in Anaheim CA. Rounding out the collection is a discussion of general semantics and existential implications for music therapy. This book is a must for music therapists who found the original Processes compelling, yet confusing, and for those who have come on the scene since then. 2007, Paperback, 180 pages.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments / iii

Table of Contents / vii

Foreword by Charles Eagle / ix

Introduction by Margaret Sears / xiii

Chapter 1: Processes in Music Therapy / 1

Chapter 2:  A Re-Vision and Expansion of Processes in Music Therapy / 16

Chapter 3:  Models of Thinking / 42

Chapter 4:  On Music, Mind, Education, and Human Development / 89

Chapter 5: The Influence of Music on Behavior / 111

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Chapter 6:  Time, the Servant of Music / 125

Chapter 7: Semantic and Existential Implications for Music Therapy / 149

Afterword/ 163