Song Switch Sunday - Lyrics
This is one of the easiest ways to switch up the musical interaction in your music therapy sessions - change the words!
It often seems like a "duh" kinda thought, but changing lyrics to familiar melodies is a quick and easy way to increase novelty and direct attention towards the therapist or the music. When songs are familiar, they may not make much of an impact on a client who gets into a routine easily. It is easy to tune out and just go with the routine, so changing the words can shake up the routine.
Think of the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It's a culturally familiar song. Here in the USA, this song is a ubiquitous element of early childhood development. There aren't many people in this culture that do not know this song. Yet, members of the culture automatically know what to sing when you start to play. They sing Twinkle Twinkle, or The ABC Song, or Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. It is an interesting exercise to start playing the song and watch clients start to sing (without leadership from the therapist) to see which version they are thinking about at the moment. I can tell you what will happen - some people will start singing one song, notice that someone else is singing another set of words, and then change to follow that someone else. It usually tends to be the strongest personality that acts as the leader and makes the decision about which words to sing.
Anyway...
Piggybacking new lyrics onto a familiar melody is a great way to introduce some novelty into a session.
All of a sudden, the words are different and start to demand attention. I often piggyback directions into my songs. We may start with the song as I originally decided to present it, but the lyrics start to change to instruct my clients as to what I want them to do. There is never a reason to tell someone when you could sing to them!
I am a MUSIC therapist, after all!
So, the point is that lyrics are a powerful tool for music therapists to use on a regular basis. I'll eventually talk about more than just piggybacking, but seriously, start with changing the words to familiar songs to increase novelty and change your musical interactions with your clients.
(By the way, if you are interested in learning how to sing new words to familiar songs, you can investigate preschool theme songs on the internet to see many, MANY examples of new words to sing to familiar songs... I like typing general themes such as "Thanksgiving Songs." There are always TONS of resources that pop up. Check it out!)
It often seems like a "duh" kinda thought, but changing lyrics to familiar melodies is a quick and easy way to increase novelty and direct attention towards the therapist or the music. When songs are familiar, they may not make much of an impact on a client who gets into a routine easily. It is easy to tune out and just go with the routine, so changing the words can shake up the routine.
Think of the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It's a culturally familiar song. Here in the USA, this song is a ubiquitous element of early childhood development. There aren't many people in this culture that do not know this song. Yet, members of the culture automatically know what to sing when you start to play. They sing Twinkle Twinkle, or The ABC Song, or Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. It is an interesting exercise to start playing the song and watch clients start to sing (without leadership from the therapist) to see which version they are thinking about at the moment. I can tell you what will happen - some people will start singing one song, notice that someone else is singing another set of words, and then change to follow that someone else. It usually tends to be the strongest personality that acts as the leader and makes the decision about which words to sing.
Anyway...
Piggybacking new lyrics onto a familiar melody is a great way to introduce some novelty into a session.
All of a sudden, the words are different and start to demand attention. I often piggyback directions into my songs. We may start with the song as I originally decided to present it, but the lyrics start to change to instruct my clients as to what I want them to do. There is never a reason to tell someone when you could sing to them!
I am a MUSIC therapist, after all!
So, the point is that lyrics are a powerful tool for music therapists to use on a regular basis. I'll eventually talk about more than just piggybacking, but seriously, start with changing the words to familiar songs to increase novelty and change your musical interactions with your clients.
(By the way, if you are interested in learning how to sing new words to familiar songs, you can investigate preschool theme songs on the internet to see many, MANY examples of new words to sing to familiar songs... I like typing general themes such as "Thanksgiving Songs." There are always TONS of resources that pop up. Check it out!)
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