Improvisation
I like to call what I do in sessions, Therapeutic Music Experiences or TMEs. I got this highfaluting series of words from an intern I supervised a long time ago, and it really seems to fit with what I think I do. The other words that I have used over the years included activities, applications, and interventions, but none of these terms ever really seemed to encapsulate the purpose of music in a therapy session the way TME does.
I use specific TMEs as parts of larger music therapy interventions. The experiences are designed carefully to address multiple goal areas at the same time. If we are addressing impulse control as a common goal for all group members, I ensure that every TME has an element of impulse control to fit within the use of music therapy as an intervention. Within one single TME, however, many different goal areas can be addressed.
This week I used a simple Orff improvisation with a group of students with diagnoses on the severe end of the Autism spectrum. These students have severe symptoms associated with their concurrent psychiatric disorders, their diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorders, and their patterns of behavior which include screaming, aggression, and difficulty remaining engaged in any experience for more than a minute. Their common goals are to increase impulse control, increase use of communication systems to indicate wants/needs, and to remain in the designated area.
I didn't have much hope for this TME - it was originally supposed to be a choice making experience. I gave each child a field of pictures of instruments and sang a short directive song asking them to choose one picture. As soon as they chose a picture, I provided them with the instrument they indicated and encouraged them to play. They started to play, gradually adding layers and layers of music until we were all playing together. Once I was finished passing out instruments, I picked up the guitar and started a strum along with their group pattern and play. I improvised a narrative song and decided to see how long we could sustain the experience.
They improvised together for 20 minutes.
Now what do I think went on? They first had an opportunity to make choices. They were supported in the choices that they had made by gaining the instrument that they selected. Once they had their desired instrument, they were encouraged to play how they wanted. Then, they started to hear their sounds as a part of a musical whole - that was something that became interesting to group members (I believe, however, this is a completely subjective assumption). We became a group, an ensemble, a society of musicians in this experience.
My simple plan morphed into so much more - went from one therapeutic focus to a completely different focus in the blink of an eye - and became so much more than the plan.
The power of music.
I use specific TMEs as parts of larger music therapy interventions. The experiences are designed carefully to address multiple goal areas at the same time. If we are addressing impulse control as a common goal for all group members, I ensure that every TME has an element of impulse control to fit within the use of music therapy as an intervention. Within one single TME, however, many different goal areas can be addressed.
This week I used a simple Orff improvisation with a group of students with diagnoses on the severe end of the Autism spectrum. These students have severe symptoms associated with their concurrent psychiatric disorders, their diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorders, and their patterns of behavior which include screaming, aggression, and difficulty remaining engaged in any experience for more than a minute. Their common goals are to increase impulse control, increase use of communication systems to indicate wants/needs, and to remain in the designated area.
I didn't have much hope for this TME - it was originally supposed to be a choice making experience. I gave each child a field of pictures of instruments and sang a short directive song asking them to choose one picture. As soon as they chose a picture, I provided them with the instrument they indicated and encouraged them to play. They started to play, gradually adding layers and layers of music until we were all playing together. Once I was finished passing out instruments, I picked up the guitar and started a strum along with their group pattern and play. I improvised a narrative song and decided to see how long we could sustain the experience.
They improvised together for 20 minutes.
Now what do I think went on? They first had an opportunity to make choices. They were supported in the choices that they had made by gaining the instrument that they selected. Once they had their desired instrument, they were encouraged to play how they wanted. Then, they started to hear their sounds as a part of a musical whole - that was something that became interesting to group members (I believe, however, this is a completely subjective assumption). We became a group, an ensemble, a society of musicians in this experience.
My simple plan morphed into so much more - went from one therapeutic focus to a completely different focus in the blink of an eye - and became so much more than the plan.
The power of music.
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