Collaborative Work: Negotiations between Music Therapists and Community Musicians in the Development of a South African Community Music Therapy Project

Abstract

Music therapy in South Africa is slowly negotiating a practice that takes into account our continent's musical vibrancy, as well as contextual understandings of "health" and "illness." Although music therapy in the (so-called) developed world is situated within the paradigms of medicine, education, psychology and research - in the formal and often scientific sense - in South Africa, this practice needs to be re-defined to make it relevant to the contexts in which we work. The Music Therapy Community Clinic (MTCC) is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to provide music therapy services to previously disadvantaged communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Socio-political problems such as poverty, unemployment, gang violence and HIV and Aids have lead to the fragmentation and disintegration of many of these communities. The MTCC's Music for Life project emerged out of a need to provide after-school music activities and to reach a wider group of children than those seen for clinical music therapy sessions. As the project has developed and expanded, the music therapists have drawn in community musicians to offer an increasing range of musical activities to children. The collaboration between music therapists and community musicians has led to many questions about the roles and identities of each. This article is based on a presentation given by the MTCC at a Symposium for South African Arts Therapists held in Cape Town in June 2007. The article discusses the merits and challenges of the Music for Life Project and offers reflections from both community musicians and music therapists pertaining to our negotiated and changing roles as we continue to develop the project together.