TME Tuesday: I Have an Apple (from sing about autumn)

I am already thinking about Autumn these days. The temperatures and humidity are rising here in my state, so I am yearning for the cooler temperatures of the next season. Summer is NOT my favorite time of year, so I often look forward to cooler temperatures (it's also a way to avoid working on my EXTREMELY messy front room right now!). This is not a therapeutic music experience (TME) that has to be only done in Autumn, but it fit that theme a bit better than some of my others. Enjoy!

Therapeutic Music Experience
I Have an Apple
Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC


Purpose: To encourage appropriate social interaction through passing and tossing an object; bilateral coordination meeting at mid-line; hand-eye coordination; entrainment to external beat; sustained attention
Source: Original chant and TME. © 2011 by Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC.
Materials: Large stuffed apple; OPTIONAL: external beat track on instrument or CD
Environment: Group members sitting in a circle where passing or tossing an object is easy to complete
Song/Chant/Words:
VERSE ONE
X             X        X           X          X            X                X          X
I have an apple, ripe and sweet, I pass it to Mary Jane, ever so neatly.
           X                X        X          X                X              X       X          X
Mary Jane has an apple, ripe and sweet, she passes it to Kelly ever so neatly.

VERSE TWO
X                   X        X              X              X            X      X        X
Kelly has an apple, sweet and round, she rolls it to Chet on the ground.
X                 X         X              X            X               X                          X    
Chet has an apple, sweet and round, he tosses it to Mary Jane, don’t let it touch
       X
the ground!
Procedure: R = Reinforcement opportunities; C = Redirection/Cue opportunities; A = Assessment
1.    C=show the group the stuffed apple. If desired, start steady beat (body percussion – patsch; or external beat track)
2.    C=start the chant at moderate tempo, entrained to the external beat
3.    A=assess whether group members are entraining to the beat, are chanting along, and/or are patsching
4.    R=reinforce all group members who are actively engaged in making music or entraining to the beat. Redirect group members who are not actively engaged through proximity or use of names
5.    C=pass or roll the apple to a member of the group, substituting the group member’s name in the lyric as indicated by the underlined words
6.    C=continue the chant, using first and third person tenses as appropriate for the activity of the group
7.    A=assess whether group members are able to name the targeted person, can roll, pass, or toss the apple as indicated, can catch the apple, and whether they continue to entrain to the external beat
8.    R=reinforce all group members who complete the task as presented by the therapist
9.    Repeat steps 2-8 until all group members have had a turn, until they start to show s/s of boredom, or until time is up

Therapeutic Function of Music: Rhythm functions as a timing function for both the verbal interaction and the physical coordination. The use of a steady beat, either in body percussion or through an external beat, provides a predictable pattern that encourages group members to move in a patterned manner.

Melody
Pitch
Rhythm
Dynamics
Harmony
None – this is a chant
Verbal pitch may be varied to engage client attention
Steady beat with limited alteration to accommodate client verbal processing
Variable – adapt dynamics to engage group member attention
None
Form
Tempo
Timbre
Style
Lyrics
Strophic
Variable – adapt tempo to engage group member attention and to assist clients in coordinating movements – oral and gross motor
Verbal
Chant
Predictable – use of client name increases attention
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:
·    Use different object – change words to make the chant appropriate for the new object
·         Use only one motion – roll, toss, or pass – throughout the TME

Extensions:
  • Use more than one object to increase complexity and to increase divided attention

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