Sing A Song Sunday - California Baylor by Nancy Wilson

A little tip into my life? I am obsessed with movie soundtracks...and the movies they come from...and everything I can find on movies...and...and...

Anyway, what I mean to say is that if you took a peek at my music library, you would find 355 soundtrack albums and over 2500 artists who have contributed to those albums. Soundtracks outnumber everything else in my library. So, I am a bit obsessed.

Today's Sing A Song Sunday choice was found when I put the iPod on shuffle. California Baylor by Nancy Wilson popped up. Nancy Wilson scored the music for Elizabethtown - a movie with Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst - and, while I didn't much care for the movie (It was okay, but I have others that I prefer), I fell in love with the music. I bought all of the music associated with the movie, and listen to it occasionally. When it showed up as the choice for today (since I ALWAYS find some randomness in my Sunday posts), I leapt on the chance to analyze it and think of how to use it in therapy.

So, presenting California Baylor by Nancy Wilson.
www.musictherapyworks.com
The song is only 2 minutes and 36 seconds long - not much time for a TME, but it does lend itself well to a relaxation TME. There are consistent rhythmic figures with a sustained melodic line along with a separate melody line. The two melodic figures compliment each other and provide a contrast within the music that allows for entrainment at two different, but mathematically related tempi.

Here's how I'll use this in therapy.

  • I'll put this on repeat for those moments in music therapy sessions when a calming moment is called for by my clients. 
  • It will be a good song to use at the end of a high-energy TME, after using the iso-principle to shift energy from high to low. 
  • It could also be used for the rare times when I combine Music Therapy with art. The relative unpopularity of the movie for my clients will be a benefit when using this song as they will have little to no previous exposure to the music itself. This unfamiliarity can support the creative process since students do not have pictures or stories associated with the music. 
  • We can use this in a scripted relaxation process
  • We can also use props when moving to this music. It will be interesting to see which tempo my client moves to. In the group setting, it will be interesting to see who moves to what speed.
Happy Sunday, all!

P.S. Check out Nancy Wilson and Rachel Portman - some of my favorite movie composers - great music for relaxation or maintenance of desired activity in clients!! And, good listening!

 

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