Systems in Music Therapy: Taking an Idea from Design Phase Into Actuality

I've decided to write about my idea process for this entire week, offering you glimpses into how I create visuals, therapeutic music experiences, and songs for my clients to experience during music therapy to get them close to their desired outcomes. It sounds pretty impressive, doesn't it? It's not all that unusual (I think) for music therapists to do any of these things, but here is how I do things. 

Today, we will be focusing on my system of taking an idea of mine and making it happen. (Yep, there is a system for this!!) Think about what you do in this type of situation, and let me know what tips you have for us as therapists - things that work for you!! The things that I talk about are the things that work for me - they are not going to be the same for others - THAT'S GREAT!! Find your way (but share your way, okay??).

Yesterday's post was all about my initial thoughts about what I want to do and what I want to make. I am in a making type of mood, so I started with looking at Pinterest and then I sat down with my pieces of paper and started to write. This is always my first step - brainstorming on paper. For some reason, until I physically write something down, I am not really committed.

I scribbled some thoughts onto this first piece of paper to see if there was anything that resonated with my brain (pun intended) and the thing that stuck out was using note names and placing note names onto a grid of some sort (errorless task) as a first step. Once that idea came into my brain, the rest started to flow.
 
I started by thinking about using strips to place notes onto - that was a good idea, but it really didn't flow from this task to the next several that I came up with, so I continued the brainstorming process...file folder...LAPBOOK! Ta-da! This was the idea that I was looking for - a way to take the first task and then make it more complex as learning occurred!

I have made lapbooks before, and I enjoy making them from a purely creative point of view, so looking at this task and wanting it to move from one musical and symbolic concept to another seemed to be most doable in a lapbook format. This would allow one client to complete the task of establishing a melodic line, then pass the entire thing to another client who could match the note name to an instrument who would then pass to another client who would focus on placing the melody into a rhythmic structure who could then pass the entire folder to a person who was transferring the entire phrase into a composition comprised of many of these finished folders.

Idea!! Time to start working.

I started making lists (another one of the things that I really enjoy!). There is a list of the materials that I will need. There is a list of the steps that I will take to make this project, and I finished up with a list of the digital files that I have to generate to finish up this file and turn it into a lapbook. All of these things will need to be included when I turn this into a digital file to share with my Teachers Pay Teachers customers. I then finished up with some thoughts about taking this idea from a small lapbook into a large group setting. I believe strongly that anything I put into a file folder can also be used in a large version and vice versa! I just have to consider the space that is used in storing said large and small versions! Six things, folks!

So, this system can be boiled down into a couple of different steps.

1. Brainstorming - any and all ideas are written down because you never know what will stick in your brain and challenge your creative spirit
2. Refining - taking an idea and exploring all ways it can be used
3. Materials - listing what you will need
4. Steps - start making a task analysis list for how to complete the task
5. Extra ideas - write down ideas as they arrive back on the brainstorming idea collection page to capture ideas.
6. Make the thing(s)
7. Brainstorm TME ideas
8. Develop TMEs
9. Use the thing(s) with clients and refine as neededPackage them into digital format for sale
10. Release for others to use

We'll spend some time tomorrow talking about how I create digital files and the structure for this particular idea. It's really easy!

How do you progress through your idea creation process? Let me know in the comments!