music, therapy, and me

Well, is is our first snow day of 2025 - one day after kids went back into the regular school schedule on Friday. We had a big storm over the weekend, and my town is completely shut down so plows can get out and do what they need to do - thank goodness for those who like shoveling and plowing!! We got the inclement weather call yesterday around noon when it was obvious that travel would be difficult for us all. I am currently trying to figure out how to get my low profile vehicle through 11 inches of snow before the drifts without getting stuck. I used to go in and work during these days, back when my spine was young. I no longer even try. I take these days as they come now rather than banking days for use later on. I wish I could trust my body and my reflexes to drive on the ice, but I don't. I stay home now. The problem is that I am not motivated to do anything around here. I am still a bit cold-ish after my trip back to my family where I was exposed to plant mold and cats again....

When I sit down to compose something, I tend to write the music in C Major or a minor, but I rarely use those keys when I sing the songs I write. This simple thing is based on the idea that it is easier to write music when there are no accidentals, but C Major and a minor are not keys that are good for my voice. I do better with D, E, and A major and e minor as my singing keys, but transposition is especially important when I am working with my singing clients. When my clients are singing with me, I keep an eye out for muscle strain, head posturing out of optimal positioning, and I listen for client who are not able to sing at the pitches that I am using. If any of these things happens it is my job to transpose the music to a better key for my clients - ESPECIALLY when the goal is for my clients to sing or use their voices. I think that there are two different camps out there for transposition. In my experience, this seems to be split between those who play guitar before piano and thos...

Through a cruel twist of fate, my school is the only school where school is actually happening today in my district and in much of the state. I just realized as well that we will not get an inclement weather day on Monday when we will need it due to ice because everyone else will not be in school on Monday. So. Blech. Today is my regular Friday schedule, so I will see one group of young adults for leisure skill promotion rather than for music therapy. As far as I know, we do not have a new classroom open, so I should not have my other scheduled group, but I do have a reward session for one of our clients who spent STARS to get extra time in the music therapy room. We will be recording her lyrics to different songs. Two sessions. The rest of the day will be spent organizing and strategizing and preparing for next week and this month. We will be discussing Japanese music and introducing the concept of the musical map and playing games and doing music therapy things. I am grateful that my...