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TME Tuesday: Ways to Get Out of a Composing Block

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I enjoy composing music. Most of my music is for clinical application, so the songs tend to be simplistic in nature rather than complex or orchestrated. I have lots of repetition, simple sentences, and goal orientations in my pieces, but I still love writing songs. There are times, though, when I am unable to get my brain going to compose things. This usually leads me into a bit of a spiral and causes more stress than I really need, but one of the good things about being a vintage music therapist is that I know several things will happen: Creative blocks happen. They will end when they end. It is okay to take a break from composing when the ideas seem forced. There are ways to compose things when your brain will not work the way you want it to. Not every song you compose has to be wonderful or even relevant. Sometimes, just getting a song out of you is the way to unblock your creativity. So, how do I get out of a composing block? I have several different ways to help me write songs whe...
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Make It Monday: After the Crop

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It is Monday, and I am feeling my weekend. You wouldn't think that 13 hours of sitting and making things with paper would wreak havoc on a body, but it does. Also, the change in medication regimen has something to do with this, I am sure. I crashed hard this morning and did not want to get up at all. I have also not been eating well, so there are lots of things happening, but this weekend just coalesced everything into one big energy reset. Boy, I am just one big complaint this morning. Time to reset. I enjoyed my time making things with paper this weekend. I worked on my themed journals on Friday evening, and I putzed around with brainstorming as well as some other paper projects and Zentangling on Saturday. I made lots of plans on Saturday, and I have started to work through those projects.  I am working on passion projects right now. These are things that do not provide me with much financial benefit but that really make me feel satisfied. If I can get some financial support thr...
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Just A Song Sunday: Finding Something Newish

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This was a pretty musical week for me. I went to see the movie of Hadestown on Monday, and Wait for Me has been in my head since. It was familiar to me when I heard it, but I am not sure how or why it felt so known to me. Now it is an earworm, and I am trying to exorcise it a bit. I spent yesterday at my paper craft crop working on upcoming projects. This was a good choice and a good environment for thinking about products that I want to make for my fellow music therapists. I kept finding new ideas when surrounded by my favorite things, and Jackie (the person who I craft with just by happenstance) was there being quietly supportive. She is very interested in my junk journals, and always asks about them, so it was nice to spend some time just in her company and in the company of new folks. I am starting to recognize faces at these weekends. Anyway... I now have 18 things on my to-do list for today, and I am hoping to put a dent in each of the tasks. Boy, oh boy, do I have plans. Th...
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Saturday Slump - Mid-Crop, So It's to Be Expected, But...

I am exhausted today. I spent so much time yesterday getting ready for the crop night, and then I was able to stay for 5 hours before having to leave. That meant that my medication schedule was messed with, so I finally got up at 7:45 after a brief time up to use the bathroom. I am still slow, and I am just trying to figure out what I am going to work on when I am at the crop later this morning. I am feeling like making file folders and games is a good use of my time today. That, of course, means an entire different type of materials to lug to the store. I brought half of the things that I used last night back home with me, so I can switch things out pretty easily. I figured out the name of my crop buddy - Jackie! She was prepping some more paper dolls to color (which I LOVE watching), and we crafted in comfortable silence. I am also seeing other familiar faces which is great. I signed up for two of the next three crops - I'm skipping September so I can go on a trip at some point d...
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Fun Friday: Time to Play with Paper

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Tonight there will be two things happening in my life - a crop night and checking to see if I report for jury duty on Monday or if I have to wait until another time in the next two weeks. If you are not part of the paper crafting community, first of all, I'm sorry because this is a community that I am working on being a part of in my current town. I write lots about making books and decorating books and doing paper crafts because these things are how I relax in ways that are not music related. So, getting a chance to play with paper is one way I indulge in self care, and the opportunity starts tonight! I am starting to get to know people in this community which makes me feel pretty happy. There is one woman who is quiet, much like me, comes alone, just like me, and who colors the most amazing paperdolls. In the last crop weekend, she coordinated color theory cards to use during an event about 4 hours away. I have spent time crafting next to her, and she brought me two pads of paper...
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Thoughtful Thursday: I Have Left the Building...

The regular school year at my facility apparently has started this week. I received a message from a former coworker who expressed that she missed me, and that message both made me happy and sad at the same time. I have left a position that I owned for 30 years. Of course the next person is not me. Things are different, and that is not a bad thing. It's a good thing to mix things up in the music therapy room every so often. That is one of the reasons that I enjoyed having interns around. I got a glimpse of what other therapists could do with my clients that was different from my own thoughts. I also was able to see when my clients performed as I believed they would in certain therapeutic music experiences (TMEs). It was a luxury to work with other music therapists in my program - one where I had been a consistent element in the facility and school longer than any of my coworkers. The next person has had three weeks of work time so far. Most of that time would have been taken up wit...
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Wednesday: Feeling A Bit Out Of Touch

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Anyone else feeling restless on this meteor shower, new moon, some people get to see an eclipse but not me, and planetary alignment day? Usually at this time of year, I am starting a new school year, and I have new quests and things to do. I would be getting into my schedule of music therapy sessions and getting to know my new clients while adjusting to not having other clients still at the facility. I would be going through professional development completely irrelevant to my job as music therapist. I would be lamenting the lack of time available to just work in my room, but once I got that time, I would fritter it away. The students would arrive, and things would proceed as usual. This year, I am no longer working at a school as a music therapist. I stay at my home and try to do things that I have always wanted to do but never had enough time to get finished. I am trying to figure out working on projects to generate some income, but I am not always good at self-motivation, so my work...
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