Things I Love to Use in Music Therapy

You know, after 19 years as a music therapist, there are just some things I cannot live without in my clinic. This post is dedicated to those objects, materials, instruments, and just plain old stuff that I love. Some of these things are your typical things, others are very unique. I will try to include links to more information as I can find them.

Round Bells - I fell in love with these during my internship and bought two sets as soon as I found them again. Unfortunately, the company that made the bells, F.M.T., does not seem to be making them any more. These really seem to satisfy the self-stimulation needs for kids who enjoy things that spin, and they make a very good sound. The bells are tuned to a C diatonic scale. I bought my sets from an obscure music company 10-15 years ago for $39.95 each - more than I like to pay for ANYTHING, but these were more than worth it! 
   
Rise Up Singing Songbook - This songbook offers the lyrics and chord structures for over 1200 folk and popular songs. While it does not really help if you do not already know the melody of the song, this book offers full copyright information as well as information about the various recordings available. There are a series of teaching CDs that purport to teach you enough of each song to be able to replicate them, but they seem pretty expensive, so I haven't bothered. These days, you can find either MIDI or You Tube representations of almost every song, so you should be able to learn the music without spending money on the teaching recordings.






Laminator - I cannot live without my laminating machine. I purchased it as a birthday present for myself two years ago. Mine is a Fellowes Saturn 125 (here is a link to the laminator on Amazon). I like this one because it will laminate my file folder games and activities using Menu-sized laminating film. I have also found laminating film for pretty cheap using Lamination Warehouse.

Large Die-Cuts from the Dollar Tree - I have thousands of these that I have laminated. At my local Dollar Tree, there is an entire section dedicated to The Teaching Tree - supplies for teachers and educational goals. These die-cuts are a bit smaller than an 8.5X11 sheet of paper, come in all different shapes and colors, and are easily recognizable by my students with developmental and psychiatric disorders. They come in many different patterns, themes, and colors. This is the easiest way I have found to get and store visual aids large enough for an entire group to see at the same time. At $0.10 each, I do not get upset when I need to replace a picture. Each set has five different die-cuts, two examples of each die-cut. Once they are laminated, they last for a very long time and work when visual aids are necessary for client involvement, engagement, and interest.

Here are some of the things that I rely upon in my clinic day after day. I, of course, could go on and on and on about other things, but this seems to be a good place to stop. Feel free to contact me about things that you cannot live without in your clinic - I am always interested in what others do out there.