Interview to Fernando Callejo: psychology to help musicians

This psychologist and coach has helped musicians to face the creative process.

Historically, the use of music is one of the characteristics that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal species.

This is not a superficial characteristic about our psychology, precisely; we experience the properties of the musical through basic mental processes in the functioning of our brain, to the point that we can use rhythms and melodies as a complement to psychotherapy.

In this article we we interviewed Fernando Callejo, CEO and co-founder of the psychological assistance center in Madrid UPAD Psicología y Coachingwhich works both with music students and professional musicians seeking psychological care and solutions to creative blocks, as well as with patients who benefit from music therapy.

Interview with Fernando Callejo: music as a form of expression.

In his psychology center, Fernando Callejo works with a constant relationship with music and the performing arts. The musical is both in forms of psychological intervention, such as music therapy, and also in the focus of the needs of some clients and patients dedicated to music and creativity.

In this interview, Fernando tells us about his experience in UPAD Psychology and Coaching as a psychologist and coach.

The use of music and what today we would call performing arts is one of the oldest social activities in the history of mankind. What do we know about its origin?

The truth is that there are many theories about the origin of music, since the first musical instruments found in archaeological sites correspond to prehistoric times.

Many philosophers, historians and musicologists comment that music as such is produced by singing, so they believe that it was discovered at a time similar to the appearance of language. Other studies indicate that musical expression appeared in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

As for the performing arts, it seems that the origin is located in the Greek theater, but as with music, it is difficult to specify an origin of both.

What do we know thanks to the research field of the Psychology of Music?

The study of music has opened many fields in terms of science. Today we find musicologists, psychologists and music therapists conducting, among other research, the influence of music on emotions or how music can alleviate the negative effects of cancer.

In the field of physical and intellectual disability, we are also seeing great advances, because as I mentioned at the beginning, music can serve as a form of expression.

What is most fascinating about the way the human brain processes music?

When I work with professional musicians, on the one hand, what impresses me most is the creative ability to compose lyrics and melodies that express what they feel, and on the other hand, the ethereal conversations we have when we talk about how to transmit what they create. Honestly, it is beastly to analyze the language of these privileged people.

Another of the qualities of music is that it is beyond words. Is this a disadvantage when it comes to giving it the importance it deserves in the educational system?

Not at all, or at least I don't think so. In the end, music is a form of expression for many people who cannot find words to explain what they feel. Music therapy teaches us this.

There is so much diversity in the world that it would be good for schools to begin to work on other forms of language as a compulsory subject. An example could be sign language.

The problem we find in our educational system with respect to Music is that it is not taken seriously, it does not have the importance it should have. There are people who don't like Mathematics, History or Science, but who doesn't like Music? It is something universal, and we should treat it as such.

In the same way that the passing of the centuries has changed our culture, surely our way of experiencing music has changed in the last centuries, or even in the last decades. Where are these changes most noticeable?

I think the change lies in accessibility. Nowadays it is easier to get to different types of music. This means that people have more freedom to choose what suits them best. Another thing is to analyze where musical tastes and fashions are going... it seems that nowadays "anyone" can make music.

But come on, to answer the question I think the key is that it is becoming easier to access all kinds of music... commercial, rock, classical, etc.

And as for the therapeutic applications of music, how is it used to improve the well-being of clients?

At UPAD we work with many musicians, both therapeutically and in their personal and professional development.

We meet people who have a lot to transmit but are trapped or mistreated by their saboteur or because the world around them paralyzes them.

They tend to show certain insecurities (which undermine their self-confidence) when facing new projects, such as the composition of a new album or the fact of how they want to develop a tour. Many others come to our center of psychologists in Madrid to prepare auditions or concerts that have a lot of weight in order to face the following professional challenges.

Our goal is to achieve high levels of performance (what I do), satisfaction (what I think) and well-being (what I feel), working on five psychological skills that we consider basic when working with anyone

What kind of public comes to UPAD Psychology and Coaching to work in the musical field?

We really find all kinds of profiles, from children and teenagers studying at a conservatory to musicians with proven professional careers.

In the first case, they are future musicians who are developing their skills and who are often faced with situations in which feeling evaluated, as could be an audition or a test to enter a chamber group, causes them difficulty in coping with it.

In these cases we try to work on the basis of their personality and self-confidence through strategies such as goal setting (SMART) for motivation, or Jacobson's progressive relaxation to control activation.

In the case of professional musicians, whether they are oboists in a quartet, violinists in a chamber group, guitarists in a rock band or singer-songwriters, we develop an action plan aimed at fostering their creativity and building their confidence, among others, so that they can design their own future as they have always dreamed of it. We always teach them that the difference between a dream and a goal is a date. Where they see problems, we see challenges.