Selective Mutism for Singing (SMS) and its treatment: Conceptualising musical disengagement as mass social dysfunction

Abstract

This paper reports on a different conceptualisation of the problem of lack of musical engagement in modern societies like Australia. It begins with defining the problem of engagement and looking at the various social conditions, both within education and society more generally that may contribute to the problem of mass disengagement. Such problems include the deference shown to expert performers, the passive nature of musical consumption, the popular view of musical talent and the way in which formal education can support the status quo. The second half of the paper characterises musical disengagement as a type of mass social dysfunction analogous to the psychosocial disorder known as selective mutism. It suggests that this type of characterisation of musical disengagement may help educators and legislators see a simple, economical and productive way forward. It offers a definition for Selective Mutism for Singing (SMS) and a discussion of how conceptualising mass disengagement in the social arena can help us head towards different ways of 'treating' the problem. The paper concludes with a brief description of a practical application that is being used to treat and prevent SMS and from which the theoretical construct has developed.

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