Music facilitation styles and behaviours across the health-care continuum: explanatory multiple case studies

ABSTRACT

Background

Understanding how music group facilitators work across the health-care continuum has received sparse research attention.

Methods

An explanatory multiple case study design was used to identify approaches employed by experienced facilitators. Five music facilitators working in contrasting areas of practice were interviewed and video recorded engaging with the same groups at three timepoints.

Results

All facilitators demonstrated four common behaviours: applying a consistent structure for each session; creating a positive and relaxing atmosphere for the work; engaging with varying musical repertoire and activities; and offering clear instructions for the participants. Their styles of practice were found to be shaped by their personality, educational background, as well as the size of the group, health conditions, and cultural identities of their music participants.

Conclusion

These skilled facilitators showed flexibility, always aiming to accommodate participants’ needs, and revealing new evidence of a common approach to music facilitation across different types of participant groups.

KEYWORDS:

• MUSIC facilitation
• music therapists
• community musicians
• facilitation styles and behaviours

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Trauma-informed approach enables you to (1) “gain a contextual understanding of the experience of trauma and (2) value the cultural and individual processes of recovery (or healing) from trauma when working with the indigenous people” (Nathan, 2013, p. 1). The trauma-informed approach is not only useful for First Nations people, but it can also be used to support people with various conditions and from diverse backgrounds (Heiderscheit & Murphy, 2021).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Australian Research Council [Grant DP 140102679].