Forced Creativity
One of the assignments that my interns have to do is to complete 75 therapeutic music experiences (AKA, applications, interventions, and SHUDDER, activities) to use with clients. I require 25 original songs to be included in the TME file, but the other 50 TMEs may be plans developed by other people and adjusted to fit my clients.
As each intern starts in my program, I emphasize that the TME file sounds like an easy assignment, but that each and every intern that I have trained has expressed that they should have started the original songs from the very beginning. Each time, the intern looks at me and nods, but each intern seems to find herself in the same predicament in month 4 - lots of borrowed ideas, but the original songs have to be forced to arrive.
Having just received the last batch of TMEs from my senior intern, I am amused that she followed the same pattern as the 18 interns before her. For some reason, the concept of writing original songs is not an easy one for music therapy students. I am not sure what the hang up is - difficulty remembering music theory concepts? Feelings of inadequacy? No expectation that you will have to compose your own songs in the future when in pre-internship situations? I simply do not know.
I remember the beginning of my own TME file. It started out as a classroom assignment and was 25 TMEs strong. The TMEs had to be split between 5 different populations, and I do not remember if we had to write original songs. I suspect we did not. I really started writing songs during my internship as part of my expanded TME assignment (which is where I got the idea to do this assignment in my own internship program - Thanks, Sheryl Kelly, ID-extraordinaire!!!). My first song that really was popular with clients was Wake Up, Body. My ID and supervising music therapists asked me to teach it to them, and they started using the song as well! I was thrilled that something I created was received so well.
I also, however, remember the crunch of completing my own TME file assignment many, MANY years ago. When creativity has to be forced - a certain number of original songs - in a certain amount of time, ideas seem to dry up. I have learned some tricks that work for me when I am in the creativity desert...
Here are some of my tricks...
Sometimes, you just have to sit down and be creative!
Look at my website, www.musictherapyworks.com for information about an upcoming webinar series on songwriting and creativity for music therapists! Hope to see you there!!!
As each intern starts in my program, I emphasize that the TME file sounds like an easy assignment, but that each and every intern that I have trained has expressed that they should have started the original songs from the very beginning. Each time, the intern looks at me and nods, but each intern seems to find herself in the same predicament in month 4 - lots of borrowed ideas, but the original songs have to be forced to arrive.
Having just received the last batch of TMEs from my senior intern, I am amused that she followed the same pattern as the 18 interns before her. For some reason, the concept of writing original songs is not an easy one for music therapy students. I am not sure what the hang up is - difficulty remembering music theory concepts? Feelings of inadequacy? No expectation that you will have to compose your own songs in the future when in pre-internship situations? I simply do not know.
I remember the beginning of my own TME file. It started out as a classroom assignment and was 25 TMEs strong. The TMEs had to be split between 5 different populations, and I do not remember if we had to write original songs. I suspect we did not. I really started writing songs during my internship as part of my expanded TME assignment (which is where I got the idea to do this assignment in my own internship program - Thanks, Sheryl Kelly, ID-extraordinaire!!!). My first song that really was popular with clients was Wake Up, Body. My ID and supervising music therapists asked me to teach it to them, and they started using the song as well! I was thrilled that something I created was received so well.
I also, however, remember the crunch of completing my own TME file assignment many, MANY years ago. When creativity has to be forced - a certain number of original songs - in a certain amount of time, ideas seem to dry up. I have learned some tricks that work for me when I am in the creativity desert...
Here are some of my tricks...
- Complete an old idea
- Ask clients to finish a melody
- Write a silly song about something absurd
- Play modal patterns and chord progressions on the keyboard - am I a total music geek if I admit that I like the phrygian mode???
Sometimes, you just have to sit down and be creative!
Look at my website, www.musictherapyworks.com for information about an upcoming webinar series on songwriting and creativity for music therapists! Hope to see you there!!!
Comments
Post a Comment