Music Therapy Research Blog

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Music Therapy Sessions Compared to Music Listening Oct 03, 2026

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One of the most exciting questions in music therapy research is also one of the most practical: Is it the music itself that creates change, or does the way we use music with another person make the difference?

A 2020 randomized controlled trial by Rabeyron and colleagues offers an important contribution to this conversation. The researchers compared 25 sessions of therapist-led music therapy with music listening over an eight-month period for children between 4 and 7 years old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In total, 37 children took part in the study.

The results were encouraging. Children who participated in music therapy showed greater overall clinical improvement than children in the music-listening condition as measured by the Clinical Global Impression scale. However, children in both groups showed improvements.There were no other areas of difference between the two groups.

Music therapy is more than listening to music

What I find interesting about this study is the inclusion of two types of music engagement. Both groups had access to music, but the experiences were not the same. The music therapy intervention involved a trained therapist using musical experiences that were interactive. Rather than simply hearing music, the children engaged in a process shaped by the therapist and the developing relationship between therapist and child.

In the comparison condition, children listened to music without the same therapist-mediated and psychotherapeutic interaction. This distinction is central to the study. The findings suggest that simply being exposed to music may not provide the same benefits as participating in a responsive therapeutic relationship that uses music intentionally.

Why this matters for music therapy research

This study is exciting because it moves beyond asking whether music therapy is helpful. It begins to sk if it’s simply the presence of music or if the way we engage with music matters.

For many music therapists, the answer has always involved the relationship. The music is important, but so are the therapist’s responsiveness, timing, flexibility, and ability to create a shared experience with the child. A song, rhythm, or musical pattern can facilitate engagement, but the therapeutic relationship is often what helps the child meet the outcomes.

The study does not prove that the relationship alone caused the improvement, and it does not tell us which specific music therapy techniques were most important. However, the comparison between music therapy and music listening is something we should be considering within the field.

A promising finding with important limits

As with any study, these results need to be interpreted thoughtfully. The sample was relatively small, and the participants were recruited from a limited number of psychiatric facilities. The study also compared two different kinds of music experiences, so factors such as therapist attention, active participation, and the therapeutic relationship may all have contributed to the differences between groups.

More research is needed with larger and more diverse samples, clearer descriptions of the music therapy process, and studies that examine exactly how therapist-child interaction contributes to change. Future research might also investigate which children benefit most, which specific musical and relational processes are involved, and whether improvements continue after therapy ends.

Even with these limitations, Rabeyron and colleagues provide a valuable reminder: music therapy is not simply music delivered to a client. It is music experienced in relationship.

Reference

Rabeyron, T., Robledo Del Canto, J. P., Carasco, E., Bisson, V., Bodeau, N., Vrait, F. X., Berna, F., & Bonnot, O. (2020). A randomized controlled trial of 25 sessions comparing music therapy and music listening for children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychiatry Research, 293, 113377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113377

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Family-Based Music Therapy for Non-Clinical Families Oct 20, 2018

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by Kimberly Woodman

The practice of family-based music therapy has generally been directed toward families of individuals with special needs, focusing on both the needs of the indivudal and the family context/needs of the parents. There is support within the literature for treating individuals within the family context, with one meta-analysis offering evidence that care provided within the family context offers a range of benefits for the family as a whole as well as for individual family members (Dunst, Trivette, & Hamby, 2007), suggesting that it may be of value to expand access to these services to families outside of the usual clinical context in which music therapists see clients.

The current study under discussion, which was part of Nemesh’s PhD research dissertation, set out to extend family-based music therapy interventions to families who were not seeking treatment for any particular diagnosis or for a particular individual within the family unit. Three families were chosen to participate based on their interest in engaging in short-term family music therapy for the family as a whole that would be delivered at no cost to them. The study was designed to both explore the subjective experiences of the families involved, as well as to investigate the therapeutic possibilities of a family-based music therapy approach.

All families completed six hour-long family music therapy sessions that involved the improvisational method. All three families found the sessions to be effective in revealing underlying family issues without raising defensiveness, as well as in motivating positive change within their interactions. The sessions provided opportunities to practice new ways of relating to each other within the musical improvisations, then helped the families to generalize those changes to their interactions in everyday life.

I think it’s important to note that the music therapist who conducted this study is a dual-expertise therapist, credentialed in both music therapy and family therapy, so interpretation of the applicability of the results should keep this particular factor in mind. This study highlights the strength of combining disciplines to create more effective therapeutic approaches and interventions.

These preliminary results are promising, providing initial evidence that family-based music therapy provided within a short course of treatment may be beneficial. From the therapeutic perspective, the potential of this approach is best summarized by the author herself when she says that “the importance of family music therapy training lies in the fact that, as individuals, we are all part of a family system.” The author makes a strong case for why training in family music therapy should be a part of every music therapy student’s education.

The other aspect of this study that I found particularly intriguing is the intervention’s ability to be an assessment tool for identifying challenges within the family system, and to be able to do so quickly and reliably. We will need more research into this potential use of family-based music therapy, but the results of this study are also promising in this regard.

References

Dunst, C.J., Trivette, C.M., & Hamby, D.W. (2007). Meta-analysis of family-centered helpgiving practices research. Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13(4), 370-378. PMID:17979208

Nemesh, B. (2017). Family-based music therapy: From dissonance to harmony. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 26(2), 167-184. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2016.1144638

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Lullaby for Pain Management in the NICU Sep 21, 2018

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By Kimberly Woodman

There has been a substantial amount of research conducted within the last 20 years relating to the use of music within the NICU context, both by music therapists and other medical professionals. Researchers have shown that music may be beneficial for decreasing stress symptoms, crying, and the length of NICU stays. Furthermore, music may be used to increase vital signs, coordinate sucking and feeding behaviors, and weight gain. These outcomes indicate that music therapy may be an incredibly beneficial intervention for premature infants. Researchers have also sought to identify whether recorded or live music is most effective in producing positive outcomes, with live music showing a greater effect on both physiological and behavioral characteristics of the infant and social bonding behaviors between infant and parents (see Ullsten, Eriksson, Klässbo & Volgsten).

A 2017 study by Ullsten, Eriksson, Klässbo and Volgsten looked at the use of live lullaby singing for managing pain relating to venepuncture in two premature infants. Lullaby singing was chosen specifically because of its repetitive and predictable structure, as these and other features have been shown to be more effective than infant-directed speech at helping infants regulate their stimulation levels.

Both infants acted as their own controls within the study, each experiencing one venepuncture with standard care alone and one venepuncture with standard care plus the live lullaby singing protocol. The procedures and interventions were video recorded and then subjected to microanalysis using qualitative measures that identified the layers of effects from the treatment (either standard alone or standard with live lullaby singing), as well as a quantitative microanalysis of the two infants’ responses using the validated Behavioral Indicators of Infant Pain (BIIP) assessment tool.

For both infants, there was greater physiological stability throughout the procedures that included the live lullaby singing. The venepunctures that employed live lullaby singing also were shorter in total duration for both infants and required only one needle puncture as opposed to two punctures in the standard care protocols in order to get enough blood for the necessary testing.

The results of this study are promising; however, the major limitation is the sample size of two infants. It would be beneficial to see this type of study conducted with a larger sample of premature infants in order to provide stronger data about this type of intervention. I would also like to see more controlling of possible confounding factors, such as the presence or absence of one or both of the parents during both procedures, the structure of the prelude music leading into the lullaby, and the environmental factors such as outside noise and interactions with the nurse performing the procedures.

This study, combined with other available research findings, does suggest that live lullaby singing could be very beneficial in helping to manage procedural pain in premature infants. The authors of the paper also discuss a potential strength of this approach in involving the parents or caregivers in the actual singing. It would be interesting to see a study examining whether or not having the lullaby sung by a parent or primary caregiver has any impact on the effect of the intervention as compared to having the lullaby sung by the music therapist.

References:

Ullsten, A., Eriksson, M., Klässbo, M., & Volgsten, U. (2017). Live music therapy with lullaby singing as affective support during painful procedures: A case study with microanalysis. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 26(2), 142-166. doi: 10.1080/08098131.2015.1131187

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