Includes bibliographical references (pages 326-334) and indexes.

"Melody is regarded is the 'essential core' of music. In the context of music therapy, looking at how patients develop their own melodies in improvisation can explain how they find their own voice and determine their position in relation to the world, and can also play an important role in how they relate to their therapist." "Gudrun Aldridge and David Aldridge explore the concept of melody within its historical context and investigate current theories of melody. They develop a new method for analysing melodic improvisation, called 'Therapeutic Narrative Analysis', and utilize this case study approach to demonstrate how such an analysis can work in practice. They show how the interaction between patient and therapist is affected by the patient's melodic statements, and how the process of improvisation offers patients a chance to transform their inner experiences into externalized expressions." "Melody in Music Therapy is an important addition to music therapy literature, and will be of interest to music therapists, educators and students, as well as musicologists."--Jacket.

SACFinal081324