Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2010

Department

Faculty of Music

Abstract

The process of engaging in arts-based research is unique; it draws upon the creative essence of the researcher to work with artistic forms which carry intangible information that is perhaps unknowable by other means. In this process, the researcher is engaged wholly; all faculties of the person are drawn into the artistic world. This article explores the experiences of two music therapists conducting arts-based research studies, weaving together distinct narratives with common themes. The reader is taken along the journey of two separate music therapy research projects: one whose participants are a group of music therapists, one whose participant is a child living with mental health challenges. Thinking retrospectively, the researchers discuss links between their personal artistry and the arts-based research process, exploring issues such as trust, creativity, and the credibility of information carried in artistic media. Visual art, musical excerpts and creative writing are included. By exploring the professional and personal journeys as music therapists in the arts-based research process we highlight the strengths and challenges of this approach that shaped our studies and gave light to emergent understandings through the arts.

Comments

Copyright © 2010 Darolyn Arnason and Deborah Seabrook. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited.

This article was originally published in Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v10i1.154

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