Therapeutic is the playing of musical instruments in order to exercise and stimulate functional movement patterns. Appropriate musical instruments are selected in a therapeutically meaningful way in order to emphasize range of motion, endurance, strength, functional hand movements, finger dexterity, and limb coordination (Elliot 1982, Clark and Chadwick, 1980). During TIMP, instruments are not typically played in the traditional manner but are placed in different locations to facilitate practice of the desired functional movements.
Source: Thaut, M. H. (2005). Rhythm, Music and the Brain. New York and London: Taylor and Francis Group.
Big Sky Music Therapy 