Persephone and Evelyn and the Start of Learning About Music Therapy

"You are the class of 2050, four thousand strong. Welcome to the study of music therapy."

The words echoed off the walls of the lecture hall. Persephone felt like cheering but resisted the urge because no one else cheered. Finally, the time had come to start learning more about what music therapists did and how they wrought their magic with people like Gram and with Evander. In fact, Persephone's first contact with music therapy was with Gram and Evander, and with Evelyn.

Evelyn arrived one day when Persephone was about five years old. Evander, Persephone's older brother, was going to start music therapy in addition to all the other therapies that he did during the days. Mama always told Persephone to go to her kindergarten feeds when it was time for Evander to do therapy, but Evelyn asked for Persephone to join in.

Evelyn sat down on the floor with Evander and invited Persephone to join them both. She took out a guitar and started to strum. The three of them sat quietly on the floor until Evander looked at Evelyn. It took a long time, but he lifted his head and looked at her.

"Hello, Evander, my name is Evelyn," Evelyn sang.

Evander looked at Evelyn and then turned his head to look at Persephone. He looked at her and then turned his head back to Evelyn.

"Hello, Persephone, my name is Evelyn."

"Nice to meet you." Persephone sang back to Evelyn. This was pretty fun. No one really ever sang at home, and this woman seemed to do it without thinking about it.

Evander nodded his head. It was a slight movement, but it seemed to be an acknowledgement of both of the other people in the room.

"It's time to greet one another, saying 'hello.' " Evelyn's music continued. Evander got his holotablet and turned it on.

Persephone leaned closer. She used the family computer when she was in her school, but Evander had his own computer that he got to take with him everywhere. He used it for school and for talking to her when he wanted something. She was not really sure why Evander used his computer to talk when she had to use sounds from her body, but that was just how Evander was.

The music continued. Evelyn seemed to be waiting for something. Persephone kept humming and singing to the guitar strum while Evander went through his routine of turning on his holotablet and getting to his word bank.

"Hello."

Evander's voice box suddenly spoke. Evelyn smiled at Evander and changed her music. She started singing questions to Evander, and he used his voice box to answer. They talked to each other for a bit, and then Evelyn sang a question to Persephone.

"What is your favorite color?"

Persephone sang her answer back to Evelyn.

"Pink."

Evelyn sang an invitation to Evander to ask questions about both of the other people in the room. He looked at his voice box and then,

"Phone, do you want your pickle?"

Persephone started giggling. Evander knew that she did NOT like pickles! He always ate the pickles that she took off her sandwiches and that came with her plates when they went out to eat. Sometimes he would wait until she begged him to take the pickles off her plate. There was nothing that she liked about them. She did not like the smell, the way they looked, or the way the juice soaked into the bread and then left bad tastes on her sandwiches.

Evelyn's music continued as Persephone giggled. She finally sang "No!!" Evander smiled and looked back at Evelyn. "She hates pickles," his voice box stated.

  

Evelyn sang back, "That sounds like the name of a song. Let's sing something about Persephone and pickles."

For the rest of the time, Evander and Evelyn worked on writing a song about Persephone and her aversion to pickles. Evander would make suggestions and then Evelyn would make suggestions, and by the time Evelyn had to leave, the Persephone and the Pickles song was finished.

All through the week, Evander would play the song on his holotablet every time he saw Persephone. His little sister giggled and sang with him each time. She would run to him after school and ask for the song, and they would sing it together. It was the first time they shared something between the two of them and that did not include their parents.

That song was the first time they had really been united as siblings, and they were able to build their relationship on a mutual interest in music from that day on. 

Dr. Licar stood in the center of the lecture platform.

"The profession of music therapy is one that is often misunderstood. The name is taken by every person who turns on a stereo or makes a playlist. Everyone feels that they can do music therapy because they recognize the effect that music has on their emotions, motivation, physical presence, and relaxation. We know that there is more power to music than what can be accessed via a playlist. We know that a subtle change in tempo can make the difference between someone speaking or singing and sitting in silence. We know that the ability to hit a drum with great strength for sustained amounts of time can lead the brain into processing traumatic experiences in a way that allows for emotional and physical catharsis. We know that children who cannot speak can sometimes sing, and we know how to make the music so that singing is elicited.

Today is the first day of your journey towards becoming a world certified music therapist.

It will not be easy. You will be challenged through coursework, clinical experientials, laboratory assignments, rigorous clinical musicianship auditions, and your year-long clinical internship during your last year as a student.

These requirements are global and ensure that all music therapists entering the field have some common skills, information, learning, and technique.

You have been assigned to a cohort of fellow students. Your identification number and location in this hall today indicates the people that you will be learning with for the remainder of your matriculation. Your coursework reflects your competence in various areas and will be somewhat individualized during your time here. As you get to know your fellow students, you will see that there are differences in your class assignments, your course objectives, and your assignments. These variations are due to your personal performance on the list of competencies for entry into this professional degree program.

This course is arranged as follows: the first hour per week is a lecture to be held in this hallway. You are required to sign in at your desk and complete the daily reviews at your desk. The second hour per week will be with your cohort and will include laboratory learning in your cohort location. The third hour per week will be a meeting with your third year mentor assigned to you based on your personal areas of focus and as a way to assist you in completing your professional goals. 

Today, we will discuss the course syllabus and start with our discussion about music and humanity and the intersection between the two through a historical perspective. Please access the file entitled "course syllabus," and we will begin."

Persephone opened the file on her desk and picked up her stylus. Her journey had begun.