TME Tuesday: A TME in Process

It was the first day of school yesterday, and I had a TME that did not include any music. In my book, a TME that doesn't have any music (but was music-related) is not something that a music therapist is uniquely qualified to do with clients, so I really wanted and needed some music to go with the idea.

I came up with a little song to go with the idea. It was an explanation song - an attempt to let my clients learn about the concept we were working on while supporting their engagement and participation. It's not a bad little song (I usually write songs that fit a specific pattern), and it worked the way I wanted it to during sessions yesterday. I think it will work today as well.

So, the way I do most of my composing is not your regular run of the mill composing practice. I use an index card. Always have, and probably always will use a 4X6 inch index card. I always have them nearby (they are part of my "always" bag necessities), and they are inexpensive so I can use them for anything and everything! Having an index card within reach increases the probability that improvised songs will actually get written down.

Anyway, I jotted down the idea on an index card and then started to sing it. It's already been adjusted and adapted several times, but the initial concept is working. Now it is time for me to put it into my TME file.

At the end of this process, the TME will look very different from this quick development stage, but I find that it is very important for me to use this stage to make my TMEs become part of my repertoire. I have the melody and the lyrics finished. There is a rhythm that is part of the song, but rhythm dictation is my downfall without an auditory component, so I always leave that part of the development for when I am sitting in front of the computer with my music reading software. I can hear when things aren't right, but I can't necessarily see it when I am just writing it down. 

I already have the rest of my thoughts organized into my format - I know the purpose of this TME, I have the materials, I can talk about what role the music takes during the implementation of this TME. I simply have to transfer everything onto the computer and then, voila! I have a new TME.

Former interns have often asked me where I get ideas for TMEs. I never have a good answer for them. 

Ideas come from everywhere and anywhere. I can be inspired by something I have seen every single day and not really noticed until one day I get a spark of an idea. I may have an idea one day, write it down in rough form, forget about it for years and years, and then find it when I am looking through my TME file. Sometimes I adapt what I see others doing. Sometimes the TME comes into my head fully formed. Sometimes the idea is the result of hours and hours of agonizing attempts to get things right. 

This TME (which has a music education focus, but also has non-musical benefits for my clients) will eventually have a title and will look good, but for the moment, it is in process. That's okay for now.

Happy Tuesday!