A Safe Place to Land: Music Classes as Havens for Anxious and Other Youth
Abstract
What characteristics of music classrooms, classes, and ensembles lead students to feel comfortable, safe, and accepted? In this paper, I seek to answer this question through an exploration of the research literature. Beginning with my own story, as a child with crippling anxiety, and leading into an overview of the struggles facing anxious and Other youth, the following themes are identified in the literature and framed through a personal lens. These themes include: (1) music's power to heal; (2) the teacher's influence in building safe spaces; (3) friendship and connectedness in music classes; and (4) music classes as communities and subcultures.
This paper has been withdrawn.