WELLBEING
students both felt that there were some interesting
differences between the interaction of the visiting
children and the Sevenoaks students.
Some of the effects on exposure to the Gamelan for
a short time have been quite marked and I began to
wonder whether a more prolonged experience of playing
the instruments might produce a more long-lasting and
extended beneficial effect.
Exploring the effect
of music on Autistic
students through
the Gamelan
Jackie Hendry, Teacher of Music
Background
In the time the Gamelan has been at Sevenoaks several
thousand children have either seen and heard or played
it. Nearly every Thursday afternoon of the academic year
visiting children are in the Gatehouse and our school
students often play it too. The Voluntary Service Unity
(VSU) Gamelan team have often discussed the changes
we see in some of the children during the short time
they are playing. The sonorous harmonies and peaceful
attitude of Gamelan musicians have long fascinated me,
and I have developed a great interest in exploring the
effect of the Gamelan on children.
With two Upper Sixth students from my regular
VSU Gamelan group, we have been monitoring the
interaction between the visiting children from general
local primary schools and our student tutors. This was
undertaken for six visits and ended with a workshop run
especially for children from an Autism unit in a local
primary school. This also was observed and the two
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After watching a severely disabled 13 year old boy
change from banging his head on the wall and being
physically restrained by his carers to sitting quietly on
the floor rocking and patting the instruments I started
to look for studies to see whether such effect of the
Gamelan had been researched. There are a number of
studies into mood change when Autistic children play
the instruments but little I can find follows the children
after this experience, it is taken as a brief foray into a
different world.
These effects are not always as dramatic, although
watching an eight year old elective mute child suddenly
start to talk to her student tutor, and her teacher cry
as a result, was very moving. Children with Autistic
tendencies often complain about the noise in our
building, I have ear defenders to help to deal with this,
but again we have had many occasions where timid
and anxious children have become gradually more
outgoing and ended up happily beating the instruments
without ear defenders, this is much more noticeable
with Autistic children.
I think there is something in the combination of sound,
moving harmonies, patterns and air of calm that
generates a sense of wellbeing in its participants. Studies
I have found into gong sounds, repetition and exposing
of SEN children to differing frequencies have failed to
come up with any genuine lasting change in cognitive
effect, but these studies were all undertaken in isolation
and as the Gamelan uses all of the above, and more,
it seems to me possible that its effect could be more
lastingly significant.