TME Tuesday: Strange Things by Randy Newman
Therapeutic Music Experience
Strange Things
Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC
Purpose: To provide venue for discussing changes in life; to
encourage discussion; to encourage identification of emotions associated with
life-changes; impulse control; social interaction; expressive language;
receptive language
Source: Words and music by Randy Newman. © 1995 by Walt
Disney. TME and adaptation © 2012 by Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC
Materials: None required; OPTIONAL:
guitar/keyboard; white board and markers; lyric sheets and writing utensils for
group members
Environment: Group members arranged so
they can see therapist and/or writing surface
Song/Chant/Words:
Song: Strange Things
Album: Toy Story
Procedure: R = Reinforcement opportunities; C = Redirection/Cue opportunities; A
= Assessment
1.
Arrange materials for use during the TME – guitar/keyboard, white
board/markers, lyric sheets – make sure that materials are within easy reach to
ensure that TME is not interrupted by searching for materials
2.
C=start singing song
3.
A=assess whether group members are paying attention, singing along, or
other responses to the song
4.
R=reinforce desired responses through verbal and nonverbal reinforcers
5.
C=if desired, engage in lyric analysis protocol with group members (only if
group members have ability to process abstract concepts). Focus on following
questions:
a.
What are the strange things happening to the singer in the song?
b.
What happens in the movie Toy Story
when this song is played?
c.
How did Woody feel about the changes that happened when Buzz arrived in
his life?
d.
Has anything changed in your life?
e.
What has changed in your life recently?
f.
How do you feel when things change in your life?
g.
Have you ever had a friend that stopped being your friend? How did you
feel when your friend stopped being around you? Did you know why?
h.
What was the biggest change that you have ever been through?
i.
Other questions as appropriate to the group members present
6.
C=using prepared lyric sheets or white board, ask group members to
complete new verses focusing on personal experiences
7.
R=reinforce appropriate responses by adding comments to the board/lyric
sheet
8.
Repeat steps 6-7 until song is complete
9.
C=sing new version of the song, using new lyrics developed by group
members
10.
R=reinforce singing, entrainment behaviors, and participation through
verbal and nonverbal reinforcers
11.
Repeat steps 6-10 until group members start to show s/s of boredom or
time runs out
Therapeutic Function of Music:
The
music provides a familiar structure to start or continue to process potentially
emotionally threatening topics – abandonment, changes, not being able to make choices. The use of a
song from a child’s movie, Toy Story,
offers a point of interest that encourages engagement and attention to task.
The lyrics, in their original form, address situations that are often familiar
to clients in residential treatment facilities – friends leaving, lack of
control of major life decisions, being forgotten by people, and having an
emotional reaction to all of the changes that occur. Several elements of the
music are easily adaptable, offering the therapist with options for changing
the music to increase client engagement.
|
Melody
|
Pitch
|
Rhythm
|
Dynamics
|
Harmony
|
|
By Randy Newman
|
Variable to accommodate
client-preferred ranges to encourage client singing
|
4/4 meter
|
Variable to engage client
engagement and entrainment
|
I, Im7, I7, I6, I#, IV, V7,
vi, V/ii, V7/V
|
|
Form
|
Tempo
|
Timbre
|
Style
|
Lyrics
|
|
Verse, chorus
|
Variable to engage client
engagement and entrainment
|
Variable to engage client
engagement and entrainment
|
Jazz/Rock
|
Variable to engage client
engagement and entrainment. Informative, narrative
|
Chart adapted from Hanson-Abromeit, D. (2010). A Closer Look at the Therapeutic Function of
Music. Presentation at 2010 American Music Therapy Association National
Conference: Cleveland, OH.
Adaptations:
·
Ask group members
to identify emotions in original song – use PECS, icons, pictures, words
·
Sing original
lyrics without adaptation
Extensions:
- Ask group members to write own song either to share or to keep to selves
- Act out situations and appropriate responses
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