|
by LAURA TABOR
Lifestyles Reporter
Music, an important part of R. Dean Quick’s life, is a pastime before a career.
“I’ve known since I was a senior in high school,” Quick, senior music therapy major, said. “I knew music was more than a hobby to me, making a career out of music was not going to take away from the personal joy that I found in music.”
Quick, a native of
Hamlet, knew he wanted to come to Appalachian State University, so he
started researching careers in music and programs he could go into.
He did not know he would study music therapy until he came to Boone and began taking classes in the discipline.
“I was blown away – it was an awesome thing,” Quick said. “I felt like I fit right in with music therapy.”
Now
Quick has one more semester of classes, and is secretary of the
Appalachian Music Therapy Student Association, a group that spreads
awareness about music therapy and holds fundraisers for local charities.
The
degree program in music therapy is built to teach students how to use
performance, songwriting, and improvisation in a therapeutic setting to
assist people of all ages and mental states.
“Music therapy is a systematic process,” Quick said. “You don’t just walk into a room and press play, anyone can do that.”
Music
therapy emphasizes the relationship built between therapist and client,
as well as the relationship they build with the music.
“Music
therapy can help anyone – intellectual disabilities, mental health
disorders, substance abuse, even medical issues,” Quick said. “It’s
just a matter of finding the music a particular client responds to in
order to meet them where they are – that is when the cathartic moment
happens.”
The
program at Appalachian is rigorous, because the students have to be
able to meet the needs of clients who respond to diverse kinds of music.
“I came
into the [Hayes] School of Music as a percussionist,” Quick said. “I
ended up picking up piano and guitar as well, because you can’t carry a
marimba everywhere.”
Quick
feels prepared for his impending graduation, partly because the
students engage in actual therapy situations with a partner and a
supervisor starting their sophomore year.
By senior year of the program, students are equipped to complete a senior project on their own, implementing therapy themselves.
“The
program allows you to develop your own approach,” Quick said. “I like
to take an existential approach: finding meaning in the music, and
guiding the client to find that meaning in his or her own life.”
Trackback(0)
 |
Lifestyles 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments
