Songwriting Sunday: Client Goals First and Foremost

When I am writing music, I tend to do one of two things. I either start with a specific client in mind and write for that client's goals and objectives, or I start with an idea and let the idea grow regardless of the clients that I am serving at the time. I spend time with lots of hypothetical clients - thinking about the vast number of clients and their unique goals as I develop songs and therapeutic music experiences (TMEs).

Today, though, I would like to start with the first focus - that of a specific client and his or her or their goals.

Currently, I am sharing a wall with a class of students who are experiencing lots of life and school changes. Two students have transferred from residential care to home care and are now day students. One student is brand new to the classroom. Another student recently left the class. All of these changes have shifted the dynamics in the classroom group, and old behaviors of concern have reemerged as well as finding new behaviors to contribute. Things are pretty loud next door these days, and I find myself improvising lots of songs based on what I can hear through the wall.

Right now, I am working on a series of songs based on anger management and coping skill techniques for the group next door. I'll record them on the YouTube site and encourage their teacher to use them occasionally. I will also use them in music therapy (where most of the students do not display the behaviors of concern that I hear through the wall).

I enjoy writing songs for specific clients.

There's J's song (initial changed to protect everything about J) - about things that we like in our lives. There's M's song about wiggling and stopping. There's a song for A who needed to learn the steps to brush teeth. There are all the songs that I have written for T - that client wanted songs about police officers and fire fighters. I was able to accommodate that while still supporting T's social emotional and communication goals.

So, how is it done?

The first thing that I like to do is to review the client's goals. I usually write them down (for me, the act of writing helps me remember much more than when I type something or just look at something) on a post-it note. I also note any client preferences - music style or topics or movies or whatever - that will help my client engage with what we are working on. So, if my client loves the movie Wish and is working on completing multi-step directives and allowing for mistakes without escalation, then I might compose a song that incorporates mistakes and multi-step directives using the characters from the movie. (That's an idea for the ideas book, by the way!)

Once I know the client's preferences and goals, then it is time to let the music happen. This is a very vague description because it is a very vague process. It starts with the musical preferences that I know about my client. For example, if my client really enjoys heavy metal, then the style is modeled after heavy metal characteristics and elements. Once I start within a style, I just play around until something comes from the playing around.

Repetitive figures emerge. A theme happens when I allow myself to play with the music. I jot down things that work well and move on from things that do not. I keep going until I have music that reflects what I need for my client. I write it, record it, and make it something that I can replicate often. After all of that, I take the song into the session with the client and then allow them to make it theirs.

A TME is not finished until the clients have made it their own.

By focusing on my client, I can often come up with something that they request in subsequent treatment sessions. Often, these are the songs that clients from long ago remember when they see me in non-school situations. It is always fun to introduce new clients to songs that were composed for clients from long ago and see how the new ones adapt and change the music into their own TMEs. (All of those changes go into my TME file under either adaptations, extensions, or an entirely new entry.)

Time to get going into this day. It is warming up here, so the snow will be melting. I am looking forward to not needing as many layers when I head outside. No snow in the forecast for this week. I might need to get my capri pants out again...

Happy composing!