Drawing/Coloring to Music

Purpose and goals:

To offer a non-verbal, sensory-based way for clients to express emotions that may be difficult to articulate. By listening to music and drawing or colouring what the music evokes, clients externalize internal states, regulate emotion, and serve as a bridge between felt experience and visual expression. This is especially suitable for those reluctant to speak, recovering from trauma, dealing with anxiety or depression, or older adults seeking mood enhancement and cognitive engagement.

• Provide a safe space for emotional expression

• Support emotional regulation by discharging feelings and activating calmer brain structures through art and music

• Enhance mood and foster meaningful engagement

• Foster creativity, reduce emotional isolation, and deepen connections

• Increase capacity for self-awareness by making internal experiences visible

Theoretical Rationale:

• Engaging in drawing/coloring can deactivate certain brain structures tied to emotion regulation and provide an outlet for stress, anxiety, trauma, and depression (Hu et al., 2021). Art Therapy: A complementary treatment for mental disorders 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005

• Music activates emotional circuitry and can help bring feelings into awareness; combining with drawing allows translation of auditory/emotional experience into visual representation, which can feel safer than direct verbal disclosure (Schwartz et al., 2025). Feeling the music: exploring emotional effects of auditory-tactile musical experiences  https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2025.1592652

Art-Making:

• Select 1-3 songs (instrumental or lyrical) approx. 3-5min each. Check the appropriateness of song lyrics in relation to objectives/goals of client, culture, age, sensitivity, etc.

• Invite the client to sit comfortably and choose drawing materials (can be markers, color pencils, crayons, pastels - art therapist should determine appropriateness based on objectives/goals/mood, etc).

Prompt: We will listen to a piece of music. As you listen, draw or colour whatever the music evokes for you—feelings, colours, shapes, images. There’s no right or wrong. The goal is to let your hand respond to the music and your internal experience. start making marks, shapes, colours. Let your body and hand respond. Don’t worry about making something ‘nice’—just move with the music.”

Provide time check-ins.

Reflection:

Ask the client to come to a stopping point and observe their artwork mindfully from different angles or distances.

• What was it like to draw or color while listening to the music?

• What colors, shapes, lines, or marks stand out to you, why?

• What feelings or emotions came up during the process?

• If you did this again with different music or at a later time, what might you do differently or explore?