New Project - Genre Selection Booklets! #MusicTherapyMaker

I've had a brainstorm! I got a package of these books at my Target Dollar Spot for $3. I grab these whenever I find them because I really like blank journals, and I have all sorts of book ideas based on therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) that I want to manifest in my (HA!) spare time! So, I have this collection of eight, black-covered, blank books with 16 pages to use and play with.

My brain started working, and I looked back over the brainstorming parts of my various journals and post-it notes and saw that I was trying to figure out a way to assess musical knowledge and preferences of a constantly changing client population. The problems? Too many to list here. The way to do this? A-ha!!

I love A-ha moments! I love it when a plan comes together (directly stolen from the A-team), and when I can figure out a way to offer many options to clients with little to no need for an advanced degree in music therapy to implement. This is something that is desperately needed in one classroom right now as there are an ever changing population of clients that I need to do assessments on, but they are all in the music therapy room at the same time and have significant differences in levels of support required from me as their therapist and on and on and on.

I wanted a way to see what types of music clients wanted to listen to during sessions. I quickly realized that PEC type icons would be a bit more difficult to keep going because many of my students don't know the faces of the performers that they like. Also, it would mean that I would be always making PECS for this collection. So, I wanted something different.

The books offer me 16 blank pages. I have some old CD sleeves that have been sitting in my office for a while. I'm starting to reuse all of my CDs now that we are transferring to streaming (and I don't want kids to have access to the streaming, but I do want them to be able to select music), so I had the idea of making playlists, burning them to a CD, and then storing the CD and the playlist on these pages. 

I started with a list of genres - Disney (of course - classic, new, and pop), Hip-Hop/Rap, Classic Rock, Popular Music, Relaxation, Country. Eight genres (to start - I have more books, but I think that this will be an ambitious project, so I'm going to start with only eight books. I'm putting a topic and a symbol on the front of each book. On the inside of the front cover, there will be some explanation of how to use the book - this is more for my co-workers than for me. Then, the fun stuff starts.

The left part of the book will include the playlists for each CD included. I think I will scan the CD covers that I already have in my collection rather than trying to find other pictures. I started with the Classic Disney book because that one is really easy to conceptualize. I already have the CD compilations ready to go - they came that way - so, I can try different things and make my attempts into reality without having to create playlists or compilations.

This project, like most of my projects, require consideration on two planes. The first is the practical - How am I going to make this? How can I make this as sturdy as possible? How much time will this take? How can I store these? What will my clients need to complete this TME? The second is clinical - How do I want my clients to use this? How will I collect the relevant data? What will my clients be doing during this particular TME that will work towards their individual therapeutic goals and objectives? My brain is flitting from one category to another as I am trying things out.

Here are some of the things that I've had to think about...

My students are often rough on visual aids. I've had three binders destroyed by a particular client just recently, so longevity of all visuals is something that I consider on a regular basis. I don't want to keep this book in its current paper state because it will last a whole 30 seconds with some of my clients. I'd like it to last a bit more, so that means laminating the entire thing!

This is a bit bigger than the typical Scotch laminator size, so I have to use my Menu laminating sheets to finish this project. (By the way, I don't get any sort of financial benefit from anything or any service that I speak about - no affiliate links here! If I recommend something, it is because I use it and find it to be great!) I buy mine from Lamination Depot - they are the 12X18 inch size, and they are WONDERFUL!! I may need to get some more pretty soon - I've opened my last box. I also want to laminate the inside of the CD sleeves to increase their sturdiness, so I'm going to be trying something that I've seen on bullet journal YouTube videos (all that watching is really making a difference in how I do things!! - Justification for watching, I LOVE it!!). This will make things a bit more sturdy as well (I'm hoping!). 

The playlists will be a combination of track lists (words) and performer/movie pictures. The book pages measure 8X8 inches, so I have a bit of space. I may end up using Velcro to attach playlists to some of the books - Popular music changes quite often. If I do, I can change out the playlists. If I skip the Velcro and use washi tape instead, I can decrease the bulk of the book to help with storage. That will also allow me to change playlists if I decide it is time...hmm.

Do you see how it morphs and changes based on implementation and idea generation?

My vision for this particular visual aid/therapeutic material is that a new student will select a book that interests them - based on the title - and will browse the pages, selecting CDs that includes their preferred music. They will then use my little CD player to play the music through headphones to be shared with others. If there are more than just one client, the headphones connect to a shared output, so everyone can hear the selection. I want my co-workers to list what songs each client selects so I can have an idea of general music preferences as I work to deepen the therapeutic relationship. I want this to be something that clients can do while I am doing something else with other peers. That's the current vision, we will see what actually occurs once my clients access the materials. They always change things in ways that surprise me greatly! 

 

I have the first part of this book assembled - the CD sleeves are in place, the title and the symbol are on the cover. I know which CDs I am going to include, but I haven't made those CDs yet and I haven't made the playlist pages yet either. Eventually, I would like to have these in full digital mode on my computer so I can print them out and paste them in, but I'm not there yet.

This will probably be my major clinical project during my upcoming break from work. I think I can get eight books done in 13 days...maybe... I think I will power through the process of making the inside of the sleeves laminated today while I am making classic Disney CDs and playlists for my pages. I think this will be fun! I'll show them to you when they are finished - and give you more details about how I use them once I start to use them!