How 'Bout Composition and Creativity??

Dearie, me. It is already Friday, and I have blogged about three or four of the last seven days here. I am getting closer to figuring out what I want to start writing about as themes (which is something I find I need in order to keep going with music therapy related topics on this blog - otherwise I end up just babbling on and on and on...).

I am wondering if writing about composition from a clinical perspective would be something that would help me figure some things out. I used to write monthly therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) for sing about songs, but I stopped doing that on a regular basis a while ago. It would be nice to get back into writing music as a part of my regular routine. So, how about Songwriting Sundays? (I like alliteration, so something with an "S" at the beginning HAS to be on either Saturday or Sunday - it's corny, but it makes my heart happy, so...)

I enjoy writing songs. I enjoy making things up as I go along as well. So, having a songwriting topic might be good for my creative process as I continue my professional development. Too bad that English does not have a day of the week label that starts with a "V" - I could do Visual Aid Vondays... Oh, boy. This is going off the rails pretty quickly right at the moment.

The problem with times like this is that I tend to run around in circles rather than buckling down and making things happen. Since my future is not really clear to me at the moment, I feel like I cannot commit to anything rather than committing to the things I know will stay the same. Anyone else have this type of situation?

So - my end goal is to have four themes per week to help me figure out different aspects of my music therapy presence and habits. I still like writing about supervision stuff, so that will be one of my themes (but it doesn't really fit with my quest to have total alliteration!! - Alas!). Songwriting Sundays gives me a topic to write about on Sundays when I have a bit more time between waking and leaving for work. So, all I have to do is find two more topics that interest me at the moment to start a new season of this music therapy blog.

What do I like about music therapy? I like clients. I like the music. I like meeting my clients within the musical experience. I like watching clients take the music that I start and make it their own. I like helping music therapy students transition into their internships and then into the role of new professionals. I like making things for music therapists to use with their clients. I like sharing information and resources with other music therapists. I like making schedules and figuring out how different systems work together to make a coherent whole. I like making forms. I love competency-based clinical training models, and I enjoy thinking through how to teach the competencies to music therapy interns. I love other things besides music therapy as well, and I enjoy talking about them here - bullet journaling, making books and journals from scratch, crafts of various sorts, and all that stuff that makes being human enjoyable. 

Thinking this particular thing through, I might want to focus a bit on competency-based clinical training as a recurring topic, a creativity topic where I can write about things other than composition, and a systems in music therapy topic - I've done that one before, and I really enjoyed thinking through how I do particular things in my role as clinician. I already have my Songwriting Sunday theme ready to go, so that is four. I want to make some new visuals to go with the themes, and then get started!

Songwriting, anyone? See you on Sunday for that particular topic. 

I am going to work through Betsey King's Songwriting for Music Therapists while working on another project (she used to be Betsey King Brunk, so you can find the text under the last name Brunk, if you are interested in getting your own copy of the book!). Most of what is included in the book is old hat for me, but it will be a good exercise to go back and refresh my knowledge of songwriting techniques.

See you Sunday?? Hope so!