Building community and exploring identity through culturally focused music-making for biracial Filipino/a/x/ Americans in the United States

This qualitative focus group study explores the use of music in building community and exploring themes of identity for biracial Filipino/a/x Americans, while also introducing participants to cultural values. Participants included Aurora, Lynn, and Kim (pseudonyms); all identify as biracial or multiethnic Filipinos. Aurora participated in all 6 music therapy sessions. Lynn participated in the first session. Kim was only able to participate in music therapy sessions 2 and 3, due to having to start fall term for her second year of music therapy studies. The first four sessions focused on a Filipino/a/x cultural value: Kapwa, Utang Ng Loob, Hiya, and Pakikisama. The fifth session involved a recap of the previous sessions and discussion of a topic related to lived experiences that occurred the week after the previous session. Session 6 focused on a recap of the cultural values that were explored and resulted in a songwriting session focusing on Hiya. Findings indicated that participants felt a closer connection to their biracial Filipino/a/x identity by being in a space with other participants who also identified as biracial Filipino/a/x, creating a space to be authentic and vulnerable, and utilizing music as a focused tool to explore identity. An implication of this study is that music therapy is an untapped allied health care resource for the Filipino community. Additionally, there is a need for biracial Asian and Filipino healthcare providers. Currently, to my knowledge there are only two Filipino board-certified music therapists in the state of Oregon both of which are biracial, including the investigator. Future studies should continue to explore the nuanced experiences of biracial Filipino/a/x individuals, with an emphasis on expanding sample sizes, incorporating intergenerational perspectives, the duality of identity, and deepening cultural specificity in therapeutic practices.