Heartbeat Recordings In Music Therapy: A Sequential-Explanatory Mixed Methods Study

Heartbeat recording projects—the combination of a patient’s recorded heartbeat and a meaningful music recording—are becoming popular in music therapy practice. This study used a sequential-explanatory mixed methods design to better understand the current practice, clinical use, potential barriers, and ethical implications of heartbeat recording projects in music therapy. Results of this study indicated that while there may be some barriers to learning how to use the intervention, heartbeat recordings are nevertheless being used across all regions of the American Music Therapy Association in a variety of populations for a variety of clinical goals not limited to legacy work. The results of this study also suggested that music therapists must navigate a balance in the process and product and that music therapists can be creative in their introduction and use of the intervention. Additionally, music therapists may need to consider difficult questions of copyright issues, cultural sensitivity, and how the heartbeat recording may act as a representation of a traumatic time.