Kathy King
Singer/Harpist
Kathy King is a Certified Music Practitioner who provides live music at the bedside for people who are sick or at the end of life. As a therapeutic musician, she sings and plays the harp. She is available for private musical visits at the client's home, medical facility or hospice. Kathy also gives lectures and demonstrations on healing music to the public and to medical professionals.
What is a Certified Music Practitioner?
Certified music practitioners bring soothing and appropriate music to the bedside of the sick and dying. They may practice in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice agencies, the home, and many other settings.
Each Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) is a graduate of the Music for Healing and Transition Program. MHTP is a course of study which includes medical and musical classes designed to teach musicians to create a healing environment for the ill and dying with live therapeutic music.
For more information please visit their website at www.mhtp.org.
What kind of harp does Kathy play?
For therapeutic work, Kathy plays a 27-string "Timothy" harp, custom made in Nova Scotia. It is a lever harp, as opposed to the large pedal harps played in orchestras. This particular harp is sized to fit in the smallest of spaces, but has a gorgeous, rich sound. It is powerful enough to fill a large room with sound, and gentle enough to whisper at the bedside.
What Is Expected of the Patient?
Once permission for the visit has been granted by the patient or a loved one, there is no need for the patient to interact physically or even verbally with the Music Practitioner. The music is provided as an unobtrusive service for healing, not entertainment. In fact, the patient does not have to be conscious to benefit. Research has shown that even patients who are unconscious, comatose, or under anesthesia can benefit from live therapeutic music.
"Music is the principle that unites body, soul and spirit." ~ Boethius