TME Tuesday - Emotion Instrument Improvisation

It's Tuesday again!

Happy Tuesday! I may have posted this before, but here it is again. Working on emotion recognition of self and others...

Emotion Instrument Improvisation TME

Purpose: To increase emotional awareness through interpretation of facial/body expression; to express emotion in non-verbal setting; social awareness; fine motor skill development (grasp, hand-eye coordination); discussion of emotional states

Source: Original TME based on “Play how you feel” TME concept. © 2015 by Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC.

Materials: Orff instruments (at least one for every two group members); Large and small pictures of people with different emotional expressions; OPTIONAL: guitar or accompanying instrument to provide musical support

Environment: Orff instruments assembled (may want to use pentatonic scale for improvisation purposes); group members in area able to see large pictures

Song/Chant/Words: None

Procedure: R = Reinforcement opportunities; C = Redirection/Cue opportunities; A = Assessment

1.      C=offer instrument to each group member. Allow for free play/instrument exploration while instruments are being passed to each group member.

2.      A= assess whether group members are playing independently or need assistance.

3.      R= offer reinforcement for group members who are playing.

4.      R= redirect or model desired behavior for group members who are not playing.

5.      C= offer cut/stop cue to group. (Five countdown)

6.      A= assess whether group members stop with the cue.

7.      R= reinforce group members who stop.

8.      R= redirect group members who do not stop.

9.      C= explain that composers often try to express an emotion when they write songs.

10.  C= show group members one large emotion picture.

11.  R= reinforce group members who identify the emotion displayed.

12.  C= ask group members to play the way they think the music should sound to match that emotion.

13.  C = reassure group members that there is no way to do the task wrong. All contributions are correct and right.

14.  A= assess group members for playing when cued, playing in a manner that represents the emotion, and for watching stop cues.

15.  R= reinforce all attempts to play.

16.  C= ask group members to describe the music that they played.

17.  A= assess whether group members are able to describe emotional aspects along with musical aspects.

18.  R = reinforce all attempts to answer (there is no wrong way to complete the task!)

19.  Repeat steps 10-18 until group members demonstrate awareness of the concept.

20.  C= choose a leader to pick a small card, hide it from view of all of the other group members, and then play that emotion on the instrument without speaking or telegraphing the emotion on their faces or in their bodies.

21.  A= assess which group members volunteer.

22.  R= reinforce all volunteers

23.  R= reassure group members who express hesitation that there is no wrong way to play.

24.  C= ask group members to listen to leader.

25.  A= assess who can direct attention to leader’s solo.

26.  R= reinforce active listeners

27.  R= redirect group members who are challenged by attention to single stimulus.

28.  C= ask group members to guess the emotion.

29.  A= assess whether group members engage in discussion

30.  R= reinforce all contributions to the conversation (emotion interpretation is subjective)

31.  Repeat steps 20-30 until all group members have been the leader, group members show s/s of disengagement, and/or the session time concludes.

Therapeutic Function of Music: Music is the medium in which emotion is portrayed. As such, the music provides the framework for expression. All elements of music can and will be changed to accommodate the ideas of the group members. As all contributions to the musical environment are valid expressions of emotion, any and all music making can occur.

Melody	Pitch	Rhythm	Dynamics	Harmony
variable	variable	variable	variable	variable

Form	Tempo	Timbre	Style	Lyrics
variable	variable	variable	variable	None

Chart adapted from Hanson-Abromeit, D. (2010). A Closer Look at the Therapeutic Function of Music. Presentation at 2010 American Music Therapy Association National Conference: Cleveland, OH.

Adaptations:

·         Limit the number of emotions presented

·         Ask group members who are non-verbal to choose a picture to match the music.

·         Show group members facial expressions on therapist’s face and then the face of group members.

Extensions:

• Discuss the concept in terms of movie soundtracks. The music of the movie contributes to how we interpret the information presented.