Simplicity
An online music therapy friend of mine posted yesterday that she had witnessed the power of a drum with a client who is mostly nonambulatory. Apparently the child took several steps in order to keep playing the drum, surprising both my friend, the client's father, and the child - once the child realized what was happening.
I love stories like that. I love that it is often the simplest of things that make music therapy such a meaningful form of treatment for so many people. I love that music reaches us all, but I especially love that a trained music therapist is able to recognize the significance of how that music reaches each one of us.
Often the simplest therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) are the best with my clients. There is nothing wrong with making sounds with one another in a free-flowing pattern. I often turn on a background beat (from the organ) and pass out instruments. We play music with one another. The sophistication of our musical experiences vary, but we are all contributing to the experience in real time, in a common environment, and together!
My friend's story illustrates to me the fact that music often allows for work to become play, an almost unconscious interaction for the client.
Another example of this. My mother is an occupational therapist who works with children with a variety of therapeutic and educational concerns. One day, I went to work with her and followed her around as she worked with kids. She had one little child who needed work on finger strengthening and asked him to place small chips in a color-coded sorting box. He was not showing any interest in the task. She finally persuaded him to try one chip, and I made a strange sound when the chip went into the correct slot. He stopped, looked at me, and picked up another chip. When he had placed the same type of chip in the same slot, I made the same sound. He picked up another, a different color this time, and placed it in its correct slot. New sound! We kept doing this, chip, slot, sound, until he had completed all of the chips three times. He had never completed the task before that time.
Drop the complex visual aids for every TME. Don't bother with having props available all the time. It is important to get back to the basics - rhythm, tempo, meter, and simply making music.
I love stories like that. I love that it is often the simplest of things that make music therapy such a meaningful form of treatment for so many people. I love that music reaches us all, but I especially love that a trained music therapist is able to recognize the significance of how that music reaches each one of us.
Often the simplest therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) are the best with my clients. There is nothing wrong with making sounds with one another in a free-flowing pattern. I often turn on a background beat (from the organ) and pass out instruments. We play music with one another. The sophistication of our musical experiences vary, but we are all contributing to the experience in real time, in a common environment, and together!
My friend's story illustrates to me the fact that music often allows for work to become play, an almost unconscious interaction for the client.
Another example of this. My mother is an occupational therapist who works with children with a variety of therapeutic and educational concerns. One day, I went to work with her and followed her around as she worked with kids. She had one little child who needed work on finger strengthening and asked him to place small chips in a color-coded sorting box. He was not showing any interest in the task. She finally persuaded him to try one chip, and I made a strange sound when the chip went into the correct slot. He stopped, looked at me, and picked up another chip. When he had placed the same type of chip in the same slot, I made the same sound. He picked up another, a different color this time, and placed it in its correct slot. New sound! We kept doing this, chip, slot, sound, until he had completed all of the chips three times. He had never completed the task before that time.
Drop the complex visual aids for every TME. Don't bother with having props available all the time. It is important to get back to the basics - rhythm, tempo, meter, and simply making music.
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