Synthesis Sunday: Chapter Seven of Music, Therapy, and Early Childhood: A Developmental Approach

Today is the day that I dive back into my synthesis textbook - Music, Therapy, and Early Childhood: A Developmental Approach by Elizabeth Schwartz. I am up to chapter seven, Awareness, and I am looking forward to reading these 10 pages. We are starting with the development of awareness in early human development - something that is important when working with persons with developmental interruptions or challenges.

 A long time ago, my facility served persons with significant involvement due to developmental situations. These persons often required 24 hour care for all activities of daily life, and this group of students seemed to be one of the most challenging for my music therapy interns because they responded to things very differently from all the other students. This chapter is reminding me of those students.

 According to Schwartz, awareness is linked to the "reflex phase of musical development" from Briggs and Bruscia (p. 49). Children respond to the stimuli present in their environment - they start to shape their behavior to match what is happening around them. They notice something happening (either externally or internally) and then they respond to that something happening - in some way or another. That response goes out into the world and another stimulus occurs which triggers yet another response - it just keeps going and going, and the individual keeps processing information very quickly, starting to form patterns and neurological pathways.

 One of the distinctions that Schwartz makes at this stage is that the individual does not differentiate between a musical experience and changes in musical elements. Everything is tied together - a person who is in the awareness stage cannot identify different elements of music - it is all one big mess of stimulus. The musical elements used or produced at this time are part of the whole rather than easily discriminated - melody is not necessarily easily identified or extracted from the whole presentation. So, all responses are intended to be part of the whole musical piece. This may explain why some of my students are unable to identify melody lines when presented in isolation from all the other elements...hm.

 Schwartz states that the two musical elements that are often the focus of this stage are "pitch and timbre" (p. 51). Infants learn the difference between mom's voice and dad's voice and starts to respond differently to each person. "Rhythm for the child developing awareness is instinctual and generally internally generated" (p. 51). In this stage, people around the infant adapt and adjust to the rhythm of the child rather than expecting the child to entrain to an external rhythm. Brings to mind the advice, "sleep when the baby sleeps." Infants start to recognize pitch and can respond when there are changes in expected patterns. 

 For me, these chapters offer some valuable insights in the form of possible goals and objectives and also in the form of strategies and interventions. I know that my students with developmental diagnoses are occasionally in this stage even though they are no longer chronologically infants. The recommendations and ideas present in this text offers justification for the need to sing greetings, provide rocking experiences, introducing new sounds slowly, and echoing the sounds that the client brings to the musical experience. Throughout the last three pages of the chapter are the backbone of music therapy assessment and treatment planning for some of my students - those pages at least offer a framework for a developmental assessment. 

 One of these days, I will compile a chart or table or visual that encompasses the thoughts and ideas that many music therapy clinicians, researchers, and theoreticians have presented to us all over the years. I hope to figure out a grand unified theory of music therapy - something that winnows our ideas and perspectives into the foundational skills and concepts and theories that we all share. I feel that this text is a great place to start with that idea. I'll start that at some point, but I know that it is a huge undertaking, so maybe I'll get going on that tomorrow...

 Happy Sunday, all!

Schwartz, E. (2008). Music, therapy, and early childhood: A developmental approach. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Going on a Squeegee Hunt

One of the songs that I sang over and over and over again as a song leader in Girl Scouts was "Going on a Squeegee Hunt ." Now, you may be wondering what a "squeegee" is - good question! It is an imaginary creature that was probably invented by some obscure girl scout in Southern California many, MANY years ago! Anyway, similar to the traditional children's song of " Going on a Lion/Bear/Tiger Hunt ," the song takes you through a sequential process over, under, around, and through various obstacles towards a goal. Today, as I am sitting here writing, I am thinking about the poor squeegee being hunted. It is just in its cave, trying to do its squeegee things without interruption, when suddenly, BOOM! Some Girl Scout arrives to poke it! The poor squeegee does what it can - it jumps up and chases the Girl Scout all the way home!! This has not been a good work week. It is amazing how people will make mountains out of molehills. Here is the deal. I se...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Client Goals First and Foremost

Image
When I am writing music, I tend to do one of two things. I either start with a specific client in mind and write for that client's goals and objectives, or I start with an idea and let the idea grow regardless of the clients that I am serving at the time. I spend time with lots of hypothetical clients - thinking about the vast number of clients and their unique goals as I develop songs and therapeutic music experiences (TMEs). Today, though, I would like to start with the first focus - that of a specific client and his or her or their goals. Currently, I am sharing a wall with a class of students who are experiencing lots of life and school changes. Two students have transferred from residential care to home care and are now day students. One student is brand new to the classroom. Another student recently left the class. All of these changes have shifted the dynamics in the classroom group, and old behaviors of concern have reemerged as well as finding new behaviors to contribute. ...
Read more

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more