Inside the community, alongside clinical practice: Community music therapy as social infrastructure

Abstract

Welcome to this special issue of Approaches, inspired by the International Music Therapy Conference Resonances: Sounding Communities for Better Living, held in Verona, Italy on 3–4 October 2025. The initiative was organised by the “E. F. Dall’Abaco” Conservatory of Verona in partnership with the University of Verona, the University and Conservatory of Foggia, the University of Bolzano, the University of Molise, and the European University of Rome, and was funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the PRO-BEN project (Progetto per la promozione del benessere psicofisico e la prevenzione delle dipendenze patologiche della popolazione studentesca/Project for the Promotion of Students' Physical and Psychological Well-being and the Prevention of Pathological Addictions) of the Ministry of University and Research (2025). The conference aimed to explore and promote Community Music Therapy through the voices of some leading scholars and practitioners advancing this practice and its epistemological framework. The contributions included in this special issue examine the role of music and of the music therapist as a driving force for social change and collective health. At the centre of the discussion lies the concept of “resonance,” understood as a fundamental mode of relationship between the individual and the world, and as a possible antidote to the alienation often produced by contemporary life. From prisons to nursing homes, and through to university settings, the contributions presented here offer a vision of music therapy as a form of “social technology” essential for counteracting isolation and promoting multidimensional well-being. The articles invite an interdisciplinary dialogue between music therapy, sociology, and health psychology, reaffirming music as a vital infrastructure for the care of the human being within its social context.