Music Therapy Maker - Time to Make Something for My Music Therapy Practice!

I am bored.

This happens during breaks. There is just too much to do here at home, so I am overwhelmed and a bit depressed that I haven't accomplished much, and some denial about what I will actually get finished during the remaining time off from work, and disinterest in going back to work the way it is right now, so this all adds up to boredom in my mind.

I am bored.

I want to do so much, but I am not doing any of those things. In fact, I am just sitting here writing my THIRD blog post of the day - the other two were not really all that thrilling so were deleted. I am watching The Mandalorian because, why not? I have a package that I need to send out into the world later today, but the post office doesn't open until 8:30. That's 2 hours off still, so you know, can't do much about all that. I need to make the bed with clean sheets, start clearing out the closet and transferring winter clothing and summer clothing, and continue my ongoing quest for decluttering, all while missing any sort of motivation whatsoever! 

I am bored.

To give myself some motivation, I am going to make something for my music therapy sessions. I do not know what it is, yet, but I will take any sort of excuse NOT to do the things that I SHOULD be doing, so off to the resources I go!

I know that I want to make a digital visual aid kit of some sort, so I am going to look at what I already have around me for inspiration. One of the things that I want to teach to my clients this summer is musical notation on the treble clef staff. To do that, I want to have some visuals, so I am going to make those visuals today.

Notation is not something that I have had much success teaching my clients over the past 25 years. I can teach rhythm pretty well, but notes on the staff just are not easy to convey to an ultra-literal audience like my clients. I keep trying, though.

So, I am going to use the idea of a neighborhood and a map to see if that concept will help my clients understand how to read music.

How do I do this? Here you go - a glimpse into my life as a music therapy maker.

  1. Think of a concept - I am using the neighborhood concept, so I am going to use the concept of houses (visual).
  2. Find visuals - I have a subscription to a wonderful clip art service that gives me access to all sorts of pictures to use. There are nine pictures of houses that I can use - I only need seven right now (we are not going to worry about novel houses for accidentals at the moment), so that works.
  3. Place visuals into the file.
  4. Print off everything. 
  5. Compose the music to go along with the visuals - I believe that every visual needs a TME to go along with it. I offer free sheet music in my visual aid kits to anyone who buys the file. Why not? TME formats are available in my sing about mini editions.
  6. Practice using the visuals with the concepts that I want to teach to my clients. I do this before I make the final project because I don't want to spend time and energy trying to make all these fancy pictures if my teaching process isn't solid.
  7. Finish up the process to make file into a Teachers Pay Teachers file for sale in my shop.
  8. Make final copies for use in my clinic!
  9. Use.

I am currently firmly in step two with this idea, but I should be able to progress into step four or even five by the end of the day. Should...we will see.

If you are interested in any of my other music therapy files on Teachers Pay Teachers, here is the link to my shop. Also, here is list of what you can find in my shop, if you are interested. There are some freebies there as well as product files that are all under $10.00 USD. If you would like me to make them into folders for you (saving you a step), contact me for pricing and shipping/handling. I would love to make you something to use with your clients!

Campfire Song Choice Board

All I Got For Christmas/Hanukkah

Froggy Went – Creative Songwriting/Silly Song

Music Note Game Boards

Music Therapy Schedule Board Template

My Day at School

Summer Music Tic-Tac-Toe

Spring Music Tic-Tac-Toe

I Want to Eat Eat Eat

Bella Cat is Cold/Bella’s Quilt

Dinosaur Rhythms

Music Note Tic-Tac-Toe

Music Direction Board Game Template

Lucky, Lucky Leprechaun Chant – Leprechaun Rhythm Cards

If I Had a Zoo of My Own

My Cat Has New Shoes

Ground Hog Day Lyric Sheet Templates and Blank Choice Boards/Groundhog Day Caroling

Music Notation Cards

Gonna Carve a Pumpkin that Matches My Mood

Music Therapy Research-Informed Clinician Format

Rhythm Wheel Composition – Color and Black and White

Note Matching

Leprechaun Puzzles

Music Analysis Chart for Music Therapists

Marching Into March Madness – Improvisation Visual Aid

Jukebox Music Money Skill Therapeutic Music Experience

Going Trick or Treating

Aquarium Build-a-Measure Composition Folder

Note Drawing

Music Therapy

Intern Supervision Format Sheet

Some Composition

National Roster Internship Session Evaluation Form

Music Therapy National Roster Internship Checklist

Setting Up the Telehealth Music Therapy Environment

Music Therapy Session Strategy Sheet

A Pig in a Mud Puddle (free)

Drop Everything and Read! (free)


I am off to make something new for my clients! See you tomorrow. Remember that Sunday is "What I'm Reading Day." I am really enjoying my current book by John Pellitteri. I will let you know why on Sunday!

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