Abstract This article details the 4-year journey of a client named Carol in Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, conducted by a music therapist in training in the Nordoff-Robbins Approach. Carol is a young adult with a global developmental delay associated with Angelman syndrome. The weekly sessions were divided into three major phases: (1) The beginning of the process, in 2019, which depicts the musical potentials and challenges perceived in the first sessions and the goals set; (2) Novel experiences to stay connected, which include remote prerecorded sessions and the enlargement of the therapist team, both carried out in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) Singing-laughing, which describes musical engagement and the development of Carol’s vocal expressiveness during in-person sessions in 2022. All phases are illustrated with video excerpts and musical transcriptions from sessions. Listening to Carol’s musical potential, musically inviting her to play and sing, and supporting her expressiveness through melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic forms were essential for us to share meaningful musical experiences and, thus, for Carol to benefit from music therapy.
Freire et al. (Thu,) studied this question.