From laughing into singing in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy: a case study of Carol

This study presents excerpts of the music therapy process of Carol with specific focus on leading her laughing into singing. Carol participated in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy sessions, a music-centered approach that understands music as the primary agent of therapeutic transformation. Carol is a young lady who likes laughing. She was born with Angelman Syndrome and has global developmental delay. Because she was often laughing during sessions, the music therapist worked with her laughs as potentials for expressing and communicating. We detected four stages that led her laughs into singing, adapted from Nordoff and Robbins (2007): Influenced laughs, Laughing-singing, Singing-laughing and Expressive singing.