2800. 2800!!!

When I logged into blogger today, I found the number 2800 - the number of times my blog has been viewed by others out there in the universe. Seeing this number totally changed my topic for this blog post which was originaly going to be something along the lines of "Pinned and Wriggling Against the Wall." Aren't you glad I changed my mind?

It could have been SO much worse!

Anyway...

This blog is my place to process, vent, analyze, and engage myself in thinking about music, therapy, and me - my place in the world of music therapy. I think of it as my online journal and tend to treat it as such. So, when you look at an entry on this blog, pretty much anything goes!

Today, I am thinking about the role that music plays in our lives - not necessarily from a music therapist's point of view, but from the perspective of a human being...

One of the people on the Music Therapists Unite Facebook group asked for ideas about demonstrating a music therapy intervention for a local television show. This started me thinking about how I demonstrate the use of music as a tool for people who have no idea what a music therapist actually does on a daily basis.

It seems to be easier to demonstrate the use of music as a therapeutic medium when you start with familiar uses of music.

  • Music for motivation - Listening to music when exercising or working
  • Music for learning - Use of song to convey information: ABC song, 50 Nifty United States...
  • Music as signal - Music with the morning alarm; music to cue group behavior (National Anthem); bells or tones at school; commercials and jingles
  • Music used in celebrations - Music for celebrations - Happy Birthday to You, Wedding March
Once the audience understands that music is already working on all of us all of the time, it is easy to move into a discussion about purposeful use of music as a therapeutic medium. 

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