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Ellen: Can you tell me about your educational background and experiences in music therapy prior to working as a professional?Ralf: It began in 2002 when I began to study music therapy at the University of Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. If you want to study music therapy, it is a four-year course. After your study, you have to investigate and work for six months to one year, and then you are licensed in music therapy (in Spanish, licencial en musicoterapia). Then when I finished there, I went to Centro CAMINO, which is a center that now has eight music therapists.In the beginning, I started with all kinds of patients, including ones with autism, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome. Then I realized that working with autism was not for me, and I realized that cerebral palsy was what I really liked – in children and adults. I started there with Gabriel Federico, who is the director of the center. I started with going to the World Congress and reading about music therapy. Here in Argentina, we have access to research about music therapy but not as much money to purchase instruments.Ellen: Can you tell me a little bit more about the program that you coordinate, Todos Hacemos Musica? What kinds of patients do you see, what are some of the goals you have for them, and things like that?Ralf: I am the coordinator for a program called Todos Hacemos Musica, which means “Everybody Plays Music.” It is similar to Play For Change, and I work with children with special needs in this program. I realized that all my patients have potential in learning keyboard. Many times my patients say to me, “I want to learn this particular song,” and I say, “let’s try it,” so I am using music education as well as music therapy. On the outside I am teaching music, but I am also using therapeutic techniques to do so, such as color-coding to learn keyboard. For me, the goal is not to learn to play the song; there are a lot of other goals being addressed.At the end of the year there is a concert where they play the songs they learned. The purpose of the concert is to be there and to show what they have learned. It doesn’t matter to me if they make mistakes in the concert. It helps with their self-esteem, and it’s nice to see how they get better. We post a video on YouTube, which is another goal for them. They prepare their songs all year to be in the video. I help them figure out what they want to play, and it gives them a goal to work towards.Ellen: Music and culture are vital for music therapists to understand in my area of the United States because the culture informs musical preferences with patients. What kinds of cultural considerations does the music therapist need to make when working in your area of Buenos Aires?Ralf: At my practice we start in the beginning by interviewing the parents on their child’s musical preferences. Here in Argentina we play a lot of tango, folk, cumbia, reggaeton, and Argentinian bands; a lot of our musical preferences are Latin-based. I can tell you, however, that a lot of kids like popular music from Queen to Miley Cyrus. So, we have to learn those songs, too. It depends on where you’re working. The good thing is that it is very different, and you have all kinds of musical styles.Ellen: Have you ever worked or seen music therapy practiced outside of Argentina? If so, can you tell me about the cultural differences you observed and how that impacts music therapy practice?Ralf: Here in Argentina music therapy is based in psychoanalytic theory. We have good musicians, but what I noticed is most is music therapists in Argentina do not put as much emphasis on the music as in other places. When I was in New York observing Nordoff-Robbins music therapists, the therapy was very heavily based in the music. This inspired me to want to learn to play instruments at a higher level. I wanted to learn the keyboard and the guitar to the level that I saw there. It was great.Ellen: Yes, that is great! Are you currently conducting any research at the Argentinean Center for Music Therapy? If yes, what do you hope to find out?Ralf: I bought Wendy Magee’s new book, Music Technology in Therapeutic and Health Settings. I work a lot with technology because, for me, it is a very important resource for music therapists. At this moment I’m starting to write about technology adaptations, music adaptations, and how they impact the client. I am also writing about Ayumi, a group of musicians based out of New York who created a program that uses technology such as cameras to capture movement to make a musical experience. Ellen: That sounds great! What are the essential skills you think students need to have to be successful as music therapists working in Buenos Aires?Ralf: Wow, what a great question. First, I think there is no perfect music therapist. Everyone makes mistakes, and it is very difficult to be perfect. But, I understand we all want to be perfect. The first thing I hear music therapists in Buenos Aires say is that we should focus on the positive and what we can hope to achieve rather than talking about the negatives. Second, music therapists should have good interdisciplinary skills with other professionals. If I have a client who has other professionals working with him or her, I need to be able to talk to them about our client and work with them in a good way. Many professionals don’t do it, and that’s a big mistake. Third, MUSIC! We’re music therapists; we have to make more music! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Sometimes students are afraid because they might not be strong on guitar or keyboard. I tell them, “you have to study instruments as well as your music therapy coursework.”Ellen: Speaking for myself, I would say that I am very interested in learning about music therapy from around the world. How do you suggest a student learn more about music therapy outside of her or his country?Ralf: Practice. If there’s a music therapist that you know in another country, go there! For me, it was amazing to be in New York and to be with Nordoff-Robbins music therapists. Visit places that interest you; read about music therapy practices around the world. But for me, it was most important to see it in person.Ellen: Those are all great answers. Thank you so much for you time, Ralf.
About the Interviewee:
Ralf Niedenthal is a licensed music therapist working in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He began studying music therapy at the University of El Salvador in 2002, and when he finished in 2006 he began working at Centro CAMINO and became licensed in music therapy. His current interest is working with clients with cerebral palsy. He is currently the director of Todos Hacemos Musica, a music program to help children with disabilities learn how to read music and play musical instruments. In this program, Niedenthal teaches music and how to play musical instruments, but is using therapy techniques to effectively teach. Niedenthal is also involved in research coming out of Centro CAMINO, and is in the beginning stages of writing a book about music therapy and technology.
Ellen Trammel, Music Therapy Student, University of Louisville, USA
Music Therapy Intern, University of Louisville, Music Therapy Clinic, Louisville, USANote: This interview series was part of the University of Louisville’s Internship seminar under the instruction of Dr. Petra Kern.[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible" margin_top="40" margin_bottom="" background_color="rgba(255,255,255,0)"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"][fusion_separator style="dotted"/]
Window to the World
Did traveling, studying, or working abroad change you? Do you have a meaningful music therapy experience from your home country or culture?Share your story by sending us:
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