music, therapy, and me

I am absolutely exhausted.

Yesterday was our super-secret special event, and it went very well, but it left me so completely exhausted that I am now thinking about going back to sleep rather than writing any more of this post. I would really like some food other than what I have in the fridge right now, but I will make due with what I have because it takes less work than trying to get dressed and go into the cold morning to grocery shop.

Not only am I tired, but I am lazy.

My to-do list is growing. I have to find out if the mechanic can replace my headlight this morning - I noticed it was out on Wednesday evening. I am going to see if the chiropractor can fit me in sometime this weekend - my body hurts in all of my joints. I need to vacuum which means corralling some of the mess so I can get from point A to point B with the vacuum without knocking over stacks of stuff. I want to clean out a bit more so I can have some space in the closet, so that's on the list as well - cleaning out …

Tomorrow is a scheduled day off. For some reason, we get a random Friday off in April every year. Tomorrow is the day. I have some big plans for tomorrow - sleep in and then try to uncover some carpet so I can vacuum. I also need to grocery shop. Before all that can happen, though, I need to get through the Super-Secret Special Event at school today.

In the job description of all jobs that I've ever had, there is a handy little phrase at the end - "Other duties as assigned." This little phrase is why I am getting ready to dress up in a cape and spend my day regulating bouncy houses and gift bags - it's another duty that's been assigned.

I don't mind duties like this (I do mind the duty of having to go to endless meetings that have nothing to do with my job, but this one isn't bad). I like having the duty of coming up with something creative and to make some fun for my clients. The day will be exhausting, but it will also be a good experience for my clients.

…

I was moving from my session area to my office yesterday after a session that had been a bit challenging, and I was thinking about things as I am wont to do. As ideas and thoughts moved through my head, one of them was that I wasn't really spending much time writing new songs and TMEs lately, but my sessions were full of new music.

You see, I've been improvising lots of music lately.

It's interesting that I go through periods of time when music is at my fingertips, seems to flow out of me, and then it completely disappears. Other times, the music in my head simply has to be written down. It rarely happens at the same time. I find this pattern to my creativity within the music very interesting.

On Monday, I used a song that I often use - Put Your Cough and Your Sneeze in Your Sleeve - and improvised several new verses (I should really update my TME file to include the new verses for later...) about other manners and expectations. My clients seemed to enjoy the first verse (we …

As you know, if you read yesterday's post, we are getting ready for our Super-Secret Special Event to be held on Thursday. This year's theme is super heroes. I got my shirts yesterday, and they look great! Anyway, that sent me searching for a super hero therapeutic music experience (TME), but I haven't written any. I had a wonderful intern who wrote a great song, but since it is her intellectual property, I cannot share it here. Here's another something to use - you could adapt it into a super hero origin song, I guess - the changes that occur when you become "super." I love Randy Newman, so try this out and let me know what you think....


Therapeutic Music Experience Strange Things Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC

Every year at my facility, we have an all-school event. This Super-Secret Special Event (S-SSE for short - more about the name later) used to be our school prom for our high school students. We changed it into an all-school dance and then a luau. In the past several years, the planning and implementation of this event has fallen on the shoulders of four of us at the facility. We were absolutely exhausted of the luau theme, so we made an executive decision to change the theme every year. This year, our S-SSE is on this Thursday, and I am getting ready.

Why do we call it the S-SSE? My former principal wanted to keep it a secret from our students when she called it the luau. We've continued that part of the tradition - it is still supposed to be a secret. Once we moved away from that particular theme, we needed a new name. The new name is a not-so-subtle reminder to everyone else that no one is supposed to talk about the day with our clients. It rarely works, but that's life. 

Our…

It is time for me to get back into my research reading routine. I took a hiatus over the past couple of months, mainly because I didn't want to do any reading. I'm back into a reading mood, so here we go.

(By the way, this reading mood is almost always spurred on by the arrival of music therapy journals in the mail...aahh, guilt.)

My first step is always to gather my materials so I have them near me for the entire process. 

Essential Materials:
Post-It NotesResearch-Informed Clinician Sheets - look at the bottom of the page linkMy favorite pensWith my materials in hand, I am ready to start reading!

I am a bit old-fashioned when it comes to reading research, so I always print out my articles or use my printed journals when I am reading. This allows me to touch the pages - for some reason that is important to me. I've never really got into the whole electronic thing.

I pick up my reading - in this case Music Therapy Perspectives, 34(2), 2016 - and start with the Table of Contents.…