Music Therapy Board Certification Exam
Music therapy
"The clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individual
goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has
completed an approved music therapy program" (AMTA, 2015).
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Public Law 94-142; passed in 1975 to call for mainstreaming of students with disabilities
into public schools in the United States ("free and appropriate" education)
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Developed in 1978 through IDEA to improve the education of students with disabilities
who are qualified for special education in the United States; written plan that includes an
assessment of the student's strengths and limitations, concrete goals and objectives for
education, a list of the people administering the program, related services, and methods
for evaluation
American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)
The national organization that represents the field of music therapy in the United States
today; promotes awareness of the profession, advances clinical and scientific
knowledge in the field, and sets and maintains the standards of music therapy practice
Iso principle
The concept that music should be chosen to initially match the mood state of a client
and adjusted gradually to the desired mood state; described in Kircher's (1602-1680)
theory of temperaments and affections, in the dissertation of Samuel Mathews in 1806,
and by Esther Gatewood in 1920; termed in the 1940s by Ira Altshuler
National Association for Music Therapy
Established in 1950; first national organization to represent the field of music therapy;
signaled the birth of the music therapy profession
American Association for Music Therapy
Established in 1971; originally called the Urban Federation for Music Therapists
(UFMT); the second national organization that represented the field of music therapy;
merged with the NAMT in 1998 to form the AMTA
Board Certification exam
Established in 1985 by the NAMT and the AAMT to increase the credibility of the field of
music therapy; an exam taken by a music therapy student to measure his or her
knowledge of music therapy principles and foundations, clinical theories and
techniques, general knowledge about music, and professional roles and responsibilities
Sensorimotor
The first stage of Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages of
zero and two; the child learns through his or her senses and motor movements
New musical activities: listening to lullabies, listening to speech and environmental
sounds, being rocked, vocal play, babbling, and moving rhythmically to music
,Infant-directed speech
An innate speech tendency used with infants that is characterized as high in pitch,
exaggerated in affect and speech contour, and drawn out
Preoperational
The second stage in Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages
of two and seven; the child's language and conceptual skills and interpersonal
awareness increase
New musical activities: playing musical instruments, coordinating gross and fine motor
movements to music, singing songs, improvising melodies, and participating in musical
games
Parallel play
The mode of playing during which two or more children engage in the same activity
without interacting with each other
Beat competency
The ability to follow and maintain a simple, steady beat
Concrete operations
The third stage of Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages of
7 and 11; the child can think systematically and solve problems within his or her reality
New musical activities: learning and playing an instrument, reading musical notation,
performing in an ensemble
,Formal operations
The fourth stage of Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages of
11 and adulthood; the child can think abstractly; new musical activities: composition
Elements of music
Pitch, intensity, duration, and timbre
Functions of music
Proposed by Alan Merriam in 1964; physical engagement, communication, emotional
expression, aesthetic enjoyment, entertainment, integration of society, conformity to
social norms, validation of social institutions and religious rituals, symbolic
representation, and continuity and stability of culture
Tactile
Referring to the sense of touch
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)
A music therapy approach created by Hellen Bonny that involves listening to classical
music from a relaxed state and experiencing internal imagery while a music therapist
provides verbal guiding interventions in order to expand self-awareness, enhance
creativity, develop spirituality, and achieve a healthier state of being
Attention
The act of attending to a stimulus of interest; this can be shifted, divided, or sustained
Perception
The brain's way of processing information received through the senses; involves
recognition, organization, synthesis, filtering, and meaning
Good Gestalts
According to Gestalt psychology, the principle that figures and patterns tend to be
perceived in the most stable form as sensory input will allow; a whole
Memory
The storage and retrieval of information in the brain
Retrieval
The re-accessing of long-term memories stored in the brain
Encoding
, The storage of memories
Mnemonic device
A memory tool
Long-term memory
Information that is rehearsed and stored in the brain and is accessible for a long period
of time, sometimes throughout life
Safety valve function
The use of music to express disapproval of a social reality or deep-felt emotions
Extramusical associations
A thought, emotion, or sensation experienced in response to a sound that represents
something nonmusical; e.g. linking a bell tone to the end of class
Cultural convention
A set of common standards or social norms in a group of people; e.g. in Western music,
the dominant triad leads to the tonic triad
Referentialist philosophy
The principle that music finds its meaning in the symbolic representation of nonmusical
ideas or events
Iconicity
The use of musical structures to represent a feeling, object, or event; i.e. word painting,
tone painting, text depiction
Isomorphism
In Gestalt psychology, the principle that there is a parallel between Gestalt perception of
a pattern and the actual experience of the pattern structure in the brain; in music, the
principle that the structural characteristics of music can mimic human emotions or
behaviors
Association through contiguity
The connection between two events that occur in proximity; e.g. hearing a piece of
music that stimulates memories of an event during which the piece was heard
Expressionism
The philosophical concept that the elements of music itself enable music to elicit
emotional responses and take on meaning
Optimal complexity theory
Proposed by Berlyn in 1971; the belief that a balance of familiarity and complexity can
elicit a pleasurable emotional response from music
Theory of expectations
Proposed by Leonard Meyer; the belief that musical surprises elicit pleasurable
emotional responses
Cue Redundancy model
A theory proposed by Balkwill and Thompson in 1999 that some musical cues are
universal while other musical cues are culture specific
Intellectual disability
Originally referred to as mental retardation; a developmental disability marked by
decreased intellectual capacity and impaired adaptive behavior that manifests before
age eighteen; causes are biomedical, environmental, and educational and can occur
prenatally, perinatally, or postnatally; IQ is 70 or less
Down's Syndrome
Music therapy
"The clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individual
goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has
completed an approved music therapy program" (AMTA, 2015).
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Public Law 94-142; passed in 1975 to call for mainstreaming of students with disabilities
into public schools in the United States ("free and appropriate" education)
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Developed in 1978 through IDEA to improve the education of students with disabilities
who are qualified for special education in the United States; written plan that includes an
assessment of the student's strengths and limitations, concrete goals and objectives for
education, a list of the people administering the program, related services, and methods
for evaluation
American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)
The national organization that represents the field of music therapy in the United States
today; promotes awareness of the profession, advances clinical and scientific
knowledge in the field, and sets and maintains the standards of music therapy practice
Iso principle
The concept that music should be chosen to initially match the mood state of a client
and adjusted gradually to the desired mood state; described in Kircher's (1602-1680)
theory of temperaments and affections, in the dissertation of Samuel Mathews in 1806,
and by Esther Gatewood in 1920; termed in the 1940s by Ira Altshuler
National Association for Music Therapy
Established in 1950; first national organization to represent the field of music therapy;
signaled the birth of the music therapy profession
American Association for Music Therapy
Established in 1971; originally called the Urban Federation for Music Therapists
(UFMT); the second national organization that represented the field of music therapy;
merged with the NAMT in 1998 to form the AMTA
Board Certification exam
Established in 1985 by the NAMT and the AAMT to increase the credibility of the field of
music therapy; an exam taken by a music therapy student to measure his or her
knowledge of music therapy principles and foundations, clinical theories and
techniques, general knowledge about music, and professional roles and responsibilities
Sensorimotor
The first stage of Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages of
zero and two; the child learns through his or her senses and motor movements
New musical activities: listening to lullabies, listening to speech and environmental
sounds, being rocked, vocal play, babbling, and moving rhythmically to music
,Infant-directed speech
An innate speech tendency used with infants that is characterized as high in pitch,
exaggerated in affect and speech contour, and drawn out
Preoperational
The second stage in Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages
of two and seven; the child's language and conceptual skills and interpersonal
awareness increase
New musical activities: playing musical instruments, coordinating gross and fine motor
movements to music, singing songs, improvising melodies, and participating in musical
games
Parallel play
The mode of playing during which two or more children engage in the same activity
without interacting with each other
Beat competency
The ability to follow and maintain a simple, steady beat
Concrete operations
The third stage of Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages of
7 and 11; the child can think systematically and solve problems within his or her reality
New musical activities: learning and playing an instrument, reading musical notation,
performing in an ensemble
,Formal operations
The fourth stage of Piaget's theory of development that takes place between the ages of
11 and adulthood; the child can think abstractly; new musical activities: composition
Elements of music
Pitch, intensity, duration, and timbre
Functions of music
Proposed by Alan Merriam in 1964; physical engagement, communication, emotional
expression, aesthetic enjoyment, entertainment, integration of society, conformity to
social norms, validation of social institutions and religious rituals, symbolic
representation, and continuity and stability of culture
Tactile
Referring to the sense of touch
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM)
A music therapy approach created by Hellen Bonny that involves listening to classical
music from a relaxed state and experiencing internal imagery while a music therapist
provides verbal guiding interventions in order to expand self-awareness, enhance
creativity, develop spirituality, and achieve a healthier state of being
Attention
The act of attending to a stimulus of interest; this can be shifted, divided, or sustained
Perception
The brain's way of processing information received through the senses; involves
recognition, organization, synthesis, filtering, and meaning
Good Gestalts
According to Gestalt psychology, the principle that figures and patterns tend to be
perceived in the most stable form as sensory input will allow; a whole
Memory
The storage and retrieval of information in the brain
Retrieval
The re-accessing of long-term memories stored in the brain
Encoding
, The storage of memories
Mnemonic device
A memory tool
Long-term memory
Information that is rehearsed and stored in the brain and is accessible for a long period
of time, sometimes throughout life
Safety valve function
The use of music to express disapproval of a social reality or deep-felt emotions
Extramusical associations
A thought, emotion, or sensation experienced in response to a sound that represents
something nonmusical; e.g. linking a bell tone to the end of class
Cultural convention
A set of common standards or social norms in a group of people; e.g. in Western music,
the dominant triad leads to the tonic triad
Referentialist philosophy
The principle that music finds its meaning in the symbolic representation of nonmusical
ideas or events
Iconicity
The use of musical structures to represent a feeling, object, or event; i.e. word painting,
tone painting, text depiction
Isomorphism
In Gestalt psychology, the principle that there is a parallel between Gestalt perception of
a pattern and the actual experience of the pattern structure in the brain; in music, the
principle that the structural characteristics of music can mimic human emotions or
behaviors
Association through contiguity
The connection between two events that occur in proximity; e.g. hearing a piece of
music that stimulates memories of an event during which the piece was heard
Expressionism
The philosophical concept that the elements of music itself enable music to elicit
emotional responses and take on meaning
Optimal complexity theory
Proposed by Berlyn in 1971; the belief that a balance of familiarity and complexity can
elicit a pleasurable emotional response from music
Theory of expectations
Proposed by Leonard Meyer; the belief that musical surprises elicit pleasurable
emotional responses
Cue Redundancy model
A theory proposed by Balkwill and Thompson in 1999 that some musical cues are
universal while other musical cues are culture specific
Intellectual disability
Originally referred to as mental retardation; a developmental disability marked by
decreased intellectual capacity and impaired adaptive behavior that manifests before
age eighteen; causes are biomedical, environmental, and educational and can occur
prenatally, perinatally, or postnatally; IQ is 70 or less
Down's Syndrome
