New Idea - Now, How Do I Implement It?
When I started this last round of intern seminars, I had the bright idea that I would increase the number of seminars from 6 to 8 and would add in two different topics. Those topics included one that I really love, "The Therapeutic Triad," and another that was completely brand new, "Understanding Our Tool." The new one is scheduled for this Thursday, and I am trying to figure out how to structure the discussion.
I know what I want to start talking about.
I want us to start to think about music as something we use in addition to something we do. Ooh - that may just make the conversation...
Now, I'm not implying that we don't think about music as something we use, but we (this is a collective "we" by the way - me included) sometimes cannot articulate how we are using our music to move our clients towards their therapeutic goals. We are not always aware of the options that are available to us within the music itself. When administrators or hiring directors ask us questions like, "Why should we hire a music therapist instead of [fill-in-the-blank with whatever the alternative is this week]?" We need to be able to answer in terms of what we can do with music to bring more meaning and more effective treatment than other things, materials, volunteers, etc.
I know that I am often immersed in the experience of making music during therapy sessions. It is often difficult to remove myself from the process of active music-making to think about what I am doing with the various elements of music to support my clients, but I have found that thinking this way has increased my awareness of what is happening in the music and what is happening with my clients. My increased awareness of how I am manipulating the music has provided me with opportunities to demonstrate to others the benefits of music and the advantages of having a music therapist to maximize those benefits for clients.
I think the quest that has led me to this topic for an intern seminar has also been the impetus behind my recent series of Sing A Song Sunday posts. I've spent some time analyzing music to see what I can manipulate within the music in order to engage my clients in their therapy procedures. The other half of the equation - the clients - brings even more variables to the session. I can see all the possibilities within the music, but I don't know which possibilities I will need until I am within the music with the client.
So, what do I want to tell interns?
Our job is to use music in a purposeful manner. In order to do that, we need to know what we are doing and how we are doing it so we can replicate the effect or produce the effect in the first place. In order to truly use music as a tool, we have to be able to understand it as such - in a way that makes sense within the therapeutic environment.
Most of the time, during our coursework, we do get information on the elements of music, but we don't often link those things to what happens in the therapy setting. We discuss pitch and frequency, but we don't often talk about what clients do, say, respond to in regards to pitch selection. We learn about tempo, but we don't often talk about how to engage our clients through the use of tempo. We know about meter, but we don't always know that meter awareness is a developmental indicator. Some people work better within a 3 beat meter, and others work better in a 2 beat meter.
The information and theoretical knowledge is there, but the synthesis is not present in our education. We seem to leave that to each therapist as he or she enters the workforce, and we hope that each therapist will be able to integrate this knowledge with the clinical experience. We don't really know if that ever happens, except for those few who stay in the profession for a long time.
Awareness of this is the first step to encouraging that synthesis, so I'm going to try to start the process for the interns who are attending my current and future seminars.
Time to finish my outline. Thanks for reading and allowing me to think "out loud" about this conundrum.
I know what I want to start talking about.
I want us to start to think about music as something we use in addition to something we do. Ooh - that may just make the conversation...
Now, I'm not implying that we don't think about music as something we use, but we (this is a collective "we" by the way - me included) sometimes cannot articulate how we are using our music to move our clients towards their therapeutic goals. We are not always aware of the options that are available to us within the music itself. When administrators or hiring directors ask us questions like, "Why should we hire a music therapist instead of [fill-in-the-blank with whatever the alternative is this week]?" We need to be able to answer in terms of what we can do with music to bring more meaning and more effective treatment than other things, materials, volunteers, etc.
I know that I am often immersed in the experience of making music during therapy sessions. It is often difficult to remove myself from the process of active music-making to think about what I am doing with the various elements of music to support my clients, but I have found that thinking this way has increased my awareness of what is happening in the music and what is happening with my clients. My increased awareness of how I am manipulating the music has provided me with opportunities to demonstrate to others the benefits of music and the advantages of having a music therapist to maximize those benefits for clients.
I think the quest that has led me to this topic for an intern seminar has also been the impetus behind my recent series of Sing A Song Sunday posts. I've spent some time analyzing music to see what I can manipulate within the music in order to engage my clients in their therapy procedures. The other half of the equation - the clients - brings even more variables to the session. I can see all the possibilities within the music, but I don't know which possibilities I will need until I am within the music with the client.
So, what do I want to tell interns?
Our job is to use music in a purposeful manner. In order to do that, we need to know what we are doing and how we are doing it so we can replicate the effect or produce the effect in the first place. In order to truly use music as a tool, we have to be able to understand it as such - in a way that makes sense within the therapeutic environment.
Most of the time, during our coursework, we do get information on the elements of music, but we don't often link those things to what happens in the therapy setting. We discuss pitch and frequency, but we don't often talk about what clients do, say, respond to in regards to pitch selection. We learn about tempo, but we don't often talk about how to engage our clients through the use of tempo. We know about meter, but we don't always know that meter awareness is a developmental indicator. Some people work better within a 3 beat meter, and others work better in a 2 beat meter.
The information and theoretical knowledge is there, but the synthesis is not present in our education. We seem to leave that to each therapist as he or she enters the workforce, and we hope that each therapist will be able to integrate this knowledge with the clinical experience. We don't really know if that ever happens, except for those few who stay in the profession for a long time.
Awareness of this is the first step to encouraging that synthesis, so I'm going to try to start the process for the interns who are attending my current and future seminars.
Time to finish my outline. Thanks for reading and allowing me to think "out loud" about this conundrum.
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