Abstract

A music therapist’s voice is often an invaluable tool used in practice. Although maintenance and care of the voice appears to be an issue for music therapists, little research has been conducted to explore this topic. Research in other fields has shown symptoms, causes, and prevention measures for vocal problems as experienced by other occupational voice users. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and perceived symptoms and causes of vocal problems as they occur in credentialed North American music therapists. E-mails were sent to 6880 credentialed North American music therapists and 735 participants (response rate of 10.7%) completed an online survey that examined their use of voice, their self-reported experiences with vocal problems, the possible physiological symptoms, etiology, and psychological symptoms associated with the vocal problem, and the types of voice and vocal health educational formats they had partaken in. Results indicated that over half of respondents (59.5%) reported using their voice for 22 or more hours a week and that approximately half of respondents reported having experienced a vocal problem (53.9%). The most commonly reported physiological symptom was dysphonia, and the most commonly reported psychological symptom was dissatisfaction with the vocal component of music therapy work. Components of vocal misuse and vocal overuse were also explored, with singing in a loud environment, excessive singing, and inadequate preparation emerging as the most commonly reported. Finally, over 90% of respondents reported they felt vocal problems were a somewhat or very important issue for music therapists. Potential implications for the research as well as areas for future research are discussed.