Final answer:
Nordoff-Robbins is a music-centered approach in music therapy that uses music experiences tailored to individual needs, and is supported by the universal nature of musical emotion recognition.
Step-by-step explanation:
Yes, Nordoff-Robbins is indeed considered a music-centered approach to music therapy. This approach emphasizes the role of music itself in the therapeutic process and is grounded in the belief that everyone has an innate responsiveness to music. Proponents of Nordoff-Robbins music therapy utilize the creative, emotional, and motivating qualities of music to aid in the client's development and healing. In this approach, music experiences are tailored to individual needs, using music improvisation and composition as key tools for engaging clients and facilitating positive changes.
Stories like those of Robert Gupta, who found a link between music and medicine, highlight the profound impact of music on individuals, particularly among society's marginalized. Music therapy, with its ability to reach where conventional medicine may not, provides an alternative path for expression and connection.
Furthermore, research by Thomas Fritz and others into the universal nature of musical emotion recognition supports the idea that music transcends cultural barriers, indicating that therapeutic approaches relying on musical elements have the potential to be universally effective. This universal language of music, used in various music therapy approaches, including Nordoff-Robbins, underscores the interdisciplinary nature of ethnomusicology and its contribution to holistic health solutions.
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