December 9, 2002.

By Rachel Delk, Music Therapy Student, Mississippi University for Women, Columbus, MS. USA. (rfd@muw.edu):

As I read the article "New Sounds in Culture" by Diego Schapira, I was reminded again of the strong role music and sound can play in one's life. Although I can't remember a historical event in which I participated in that involved sound, there are certain sounds of my childhood that, when I hear them, take me back to my past as if it were a time machine. Certain pieces of music will do the same. My sister would always play "My Favorite Things" from the musical "The Sound of Music" on her trumpet, and every time that I hear that song, I think of my sister and it is almost as if she is right there again. Not all memories are good, though. There are certain sounds like the breaking of glass that will take me back into a violent era of my childhood, and it is almost as if time stops and the tears come rushing because I am so vividly reminded of my past.

I am a first year Music Therapy student at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi. Studying about culture and music is such an important thing when practicing music therapy. I agree that it is immensely important for a music therapist to explore a client's musical history. I don't think that there can be any room for guessing or speculating what a client likes or dislikes, or what s/he has been through. We are music therapists, and as such, we should allow our client to express his own feelings and past. Are not most people's feelings made up of events that shaped their lives and line their pasts? Of course they are. A music therapist must pay attention to everything that surrounds his/her client (including history) in order to have successful therapy sessions. It is our job, after all, to serve our client's best interests, and learning his/her past musical experiences is a good way to start.