🌿What music therapy is 

Inspired by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)

At Malhar Soundscape, we celebrate music in all its forms. Whether someone sings, plays, listens, or simply shares music with others, every musical moment has value. The more music in the world, the better.

But clinical music therapy is something unique.

It is a professional, research-driven field that intentionally combines the emotional and creative power of music with evidence-based therapeutic methods to support health, healing, and personal growth.

🌿 Who provides music therapy?

Clinical music therapy is practiced only by credentialed professionals who have:

A degree in Music Therapy (bachelor’s level or higher) from an AMTA-approved university

1,200 hours of supervised clinical training

The MT-BC credential (Music Therapist–Board Certified), which ensures competence and ongoing continuing education

In some states, an additional license to practice

Music therapists are trained across psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and music, allowing them to use music intentionally within a therapeutic relationship.

🌿What music therapy is not

Many beautiful musical experiences support comfort and connection — but they are not clinical music therapy. These include:

• Someone with Alzheimer’s listening to a playlist of favorite songs
• Volunteer musicians offering bedside performances
• Sound healers, music practitioners, or music thanatologists
• Celebrities performing at a school or hospital
• A pianist playing in the hospital lobby
• Nurses turning on background music for patients
• Arts educators or artists-in-residence
• A student playing guitar in a nursing home
• A choir singing on a pediatric floor

These are uplifting and meaningful — but they do not replace the structured, goal-oriented work of a trained, board-certified music therapist.

💙 What board-certified music therapists do

Here are real examples of how credentialed music therapists support clients across different needs:

• Help individuals regain speech after brain injury
• Reduce agitation and improve cognitive engagement in dementia care
• Support children and adults in reducing asthma episodes
• Decrease pain perception for hospitalized patients
• Improve communication in children on the autism spectrum
• Help premature infants stabilize sleep and gain weight
• Improve motor coordination in individuals with Parkinson’s disease

Music therapy is not just music — it is a clinical, evidence-based profession that uses music as a powerful tool for healing and wellbeing.

🌧️ How we honor this at Malhar Soundscape

At Malhar Soundscape, I hold deep respect for the science, structure, and ethics behind music therapy. My work acknowledges the difference between general musical experiences and true therapeutic practice — and I guide every client with clarity, intention, and care.