The Primacy of Music and Musical Resources in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy

Paul Nordoff (1909-1977) holds a distinctive place in the fields of music and music therapy. As an American neo- romantic composer, he wrote in many compositional forms, including orchestral and chamber pieces, art songs, and musical theater. He received the Bearn Prize for his Piano Concerto, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship. Lee and Houde (2011) describe his music as eclectic, containing a range of styles and influences.While on sabbatical from teaching composition at Bard College, Nordoff visited several Rudolf Steiner schools that inte- grated the arts into education to enhance overall development. He later shared his reaction upon first observing a musician serv- ing the communicative needs of a child. "Here am I in Europe with a trunk full of music trying to get a symphony performed and here is a musician using music to bring a child into speech. There is no doubt in my mind which is the more important" (Robbins, 2005 p. 12). Nordoff changed the course of his life at age 50 to explore the therapeutic impact of music on the lives of children with special needs. His identity and experience as a pianist and composer quite naturally influenced his clinical approach and effectiveness with the individuals he encountered. 1Clive Robbins (1927-2011), an experienced special educator with a deep connection to music, worked in England at Sunfield Children's Home, a curative educational setting. He strove for a more effective way to reach his students and found his answer in the musical gifts of Paul Nordoff, when Nordoff began to collabo- rate with Sunfield staff members. Nordoff and Robbins embarked on the creation of songs and musical activities for the classroom while "exploring the application of improvisation as a versatile communicative medium" (Robbins & Robbins, 1998 p. xviii) in individual sessions with withdrawn children and adolescents.Robbins focused with precision on the relationship between words and music in songs for children with developmental challenges, and wrote lyrics that were both clinically effective and artistically satisfying. He expressed, "For me, it was such a release that this area of endeavor (daily work in the class- room), which was usually so earnestly serious, could be trans- formed through creative musicing into an arena of celebra- tion and joyful achievement" (Robbins, 2005 p. 14). Robbins took great pride in his membership in the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)2.With Nordoff as primary therapist/music maker and Robbins as co-therapist/facilitator, the team intervened through inter- active musical experiences-evoking, supporting, celebrat- ing, consoling, and challenging clients to progress. Their work reflected an integration of humanistic values and artful music. Nordoff excelled at the spontaneous creation of forms respon- sive to each client's musical expression, changing actions, and emotional state. He intuitively and intentionally created music with voice and piano that stretched the bounds of what was thought of as "musically appropriate" for children and discov- ered it to be a powerful means of engagement. As Robbins had the foresight and technical knowledge to begin audiotaping ses- sions, Nordoff could meticulously review and transcribe musi- cal motifs, themes, and rhythmic ideas considered significant. This practice of session recording and review-continued by many practitioners today-enabled Nordoff to further develop and reintroduce the originally improvised music, creating an individualized repertoire for clients which imparted a sense of continuity to the process. Holck (2004) refers to this personal- ized music as "interaction themes", which reflect a "joint inter- action history that bears the stamp of both partners" (p. 8).Primacy of Music and Musical ConstructionIn their clinical work, and throughout their many texts, Nordoff and Robbins emphasized that music itself can be a prime motivator for relationship, therapeutic work and change. …