music, therapy, and me

Sunday comes around about every seven days, and here it is again. I didn't write last Sunday - I don't remember why - so I am here for this week's version of Just a Song Sunday , and I think I have a good topic today... For as long as I have had the means to do so, I have made playlists. Now, when I started, it was taping the radio onto a cassette tape, but now I can curate playlists from various sources to match every mood that I bring and that represents every client that comes to music therapy. It is an ongoing project, to be sure, but it is wonderful to have all sorts of songs at my literal fingertips. The power contained in playlists is not something that should be underestimated. In fact, one of my music therapy heroes (total fangirl here!), Jennifer Buchanan, has a book all about the power of playlists. It's called Wellness, Well Played: The Power of a Playlist  and discusses how playlists enhance our lives. I love Jennifer - she is a dynamic music therapist from...

It is early on Sunday morning, and it is the second day of Creativity Camp. As with camping outside my home, I am feeling tired and excited about what is yet to come, but also my head is spinning with possibilities and my to-do list. As a result, I am going to send you to a previous post today - it will show the entire process that takes place in my head as I go through my TME development system. Thanks for understanding that there are times when repeats are a good thing. Here's the post that I am talking about - Have a great week! I'm back to camp!! 

  As I go through my stuff here at home, I am reminded of the things that I have done with various instruments, materials, music. I remember specific clients who loved certain songs or certain instruments. I have the opportunity to find old things that have gone out of style with current clients, and I get to figure out new ways to use familiar objects. It is an interesting thing to revisit what has been important in your therapy life, and this is a season where I am doing just that. I started being interested in the ways we adapt music and musical elements during my graduate studies. In discussions with my fellow students, we determined that we did not often think about how we were changing the music to match our clients - we just did it. It seemed that we were missing out on opportunities by not really thinking about how we were using our primary therapeutic tool - the music. The fellow student that I talked to about this topic focused on the research to demonstrate how the eleme...

It is Sunday again, and I am sitting here at my computer, trying my best to be interested in anything that I have to do today. I have slipped into a strange emotion of not wanting to do anything but feeling like I have to do something. I have not left my house for most of the week, but the heat and humidity that hurts my lungs and body is abating, so I will go out today and tomorrow to do some things outside.  Anyway... It is Sunday which means it is time to find a song for analysis and therapeutic music experience (TME) development. I have not been listening to music much this week, so I really don't have a song at the ready. When this happens, I go to my music library and find something to look at. Today, I went to my iTunes account, scrolled to the count of sixteen (why sixteen? No clue, just felt right), and then clicked on the album icon. Disney's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 . Twenty songs. So, I then asked a random number generator to tell me which song to focus on, and I was t...

So, I am in a season of change and metamorphosis. There is just no real way to define how I am feeling at this moment because it changes from moment to moment. As a result of the emotional rollercoaster that I am currently on, I am feeling the need for structure and boundaries and routines. So, I am going to be structuring my blogging a bit more than I have recently. Sundays will be for music sharing, thoughts, and therapeutic music experience development using songs that others have composed as well as shared with the world. The problem with this type of blog post is that I am often unsure what songs to use in posts like this. I try to select something that would work with a variety of populations, and I will strive to continue to highlight how you could use these pieces of music with everyone that you do music therapy with during your week of sessions. If you read this blog regularly (and I know that some of you do), then you know that I like having structure and templates are my thi...

Part of my identity as a vintage music therapist is my CD and cassette collection. Now, I have purged many of my cassettes, but I cannot seem to get rid of the CDs that I purchased over many years. I use them in my car during commutes because wi-fi and data usage and all that is confusing to me (that's where the vintage label becomes VERY evident), so I prefer my music in tangible form rather than in streaming. So, I have book after book of CDs in my living room. The reason I bring this up is that the songs that I have been listening to lately are from yet another soundtrack - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.  This is from a sweet movie that discusses grief and creativity and love, and the music is wonderful. It is currently the only CD in my car, so I am listening to it often. I cannot identify a favorite track in the soundtrack. It all blends together nicely. There is only one vocal track, and that one is not my favorite. I enjoy the leitmotivs and the way the music flows. I r...

One of my friends recently posted one of those "tell me which song reminds you of me" requests on social media. It was interesting to see what songs people associated with her, including some that I taught her and others that I hadn't thought of for quite a while. Why haven't I sung Mister Sun for years and years?? I find it fascinating which songs come and go in my music therapy mind. For years I sang a specific song for a specific client. It was the first song that he sang in front of his classmates. He would look at me with a twinkle in his eye and start to sing the verses he loved the best (angry and sick). He passed away two years ago, and I haven't been able to sing that song to anyone else. I have a reason for not singing that song, but there are many others that I used to sing that I no longer use during therapy. There are many reasons why songs come and go in our music therapy lives. Some are associated with a particular client, others with a specifi...

I think it is time to switch these Sunday posts again. I do this every once in a while because I get to a point where I just don't generate ideas about what to write about. I'm afraid that I've come to that point for these Sunday posts now, so it's time to change things up a bit. Now, it is time to figure out what I want to write about during these Sunday mornings. Hmmm. I really like alliteration, so whatever I choose should have some /S/ sounds as part of the title. Sound, Song, Singing, Session, Strategy, Simple, Sliding, Study, Supposition, Scholarship, Sibilance...  Nope. Nothing comes to mind. Something will grab me, I am sure. Student Sundays? Nah. That's a bit strange. Slip Sliding Away. Sound of Silence. Sing. Nope, nothing.  Maybe I'll go back to Synthesis Sunday. A while ago, I spent time reading my music therapy textbooks and then would attempt to pull the information together into my music therapy life on Sundays. I do have quite a few...

I have always been interested in the use of music for incidental learning. This is the concept that really pulled me into music therapy and is what has been behind my journey through product development and my thought processes for my adult life. I think that music has a powerful effect on learning and memory. In fact, I know that it does for me, and I know that it has for others as well. So, what is incidental learning?  For the easiest explanation, I always go to Wikipedia to start my search. (For all of the academicians out there, here's the Wikipedia disclosure!!) Wikipedia, however, should NEVER be part of your research references. For me, it is the first place that I go to get my additional research search strings. Once I get my search strings, I go over to Google Scholar to find my resources. I also refer to my university textbooks. Incidental learning is also called implicit learning or informal learning - nice to know as I am looking around for more information. ...

A couple of weeks ago, one of my clients challenged me during a session. The challenge was not a behavioral one but was a musical one. The client said, "Why do you always sing the same songs? Why don't you make up some new ones?" So I did. The fact of the matter is that I make up songs all the time. I often improvise music shaped around my clients. I asked the client who challenged me to improvise if he recognized when the song was completely new. He couldn't. I have a basic rule when it comes to improvising - make the music match what is going on around you. Seems simple enough, but it took me a long time to be comfortable with the idea. Nowadays, I improvise music as a matter of course. My students and staff members are often not aware that I am making music in the moment when I am doing it. I think that's a good thing. They must find the music itself engaging and appropriate for the moment itself. For someone who struggled with horrible anxiety every time...

This past week, I've left my iPod at work rather than taking it home with me. As a result, I don't have my usual commuting accompaniment to go with my 52 mile drive. I have had to rely on the one thing that is always somewhere in my car - my CD case. I always have CDs in my car. I like making CDs in the tradition of the mix tape. I put my favorites on a CD and then enjoy those musical preferences when I need them. Some folks criticize my playlists. There are times when the music changes abruptly and listeners are startled by the change in music elements. It is not uncommon to go from Fanfare for the Common Man to The Locomotion to something from the Muppets in one of my playlists. I choose music based on how I feel about it rather than on whether it makes musical sense to have this song follow that one. I am a bit more intentional when it comes to making playlists for my clients, by the way. I do spend more time arranging the music for specific purposes with an eye towa...

I hate it when the world gets enveloped in hatred and fear. I despair when people take something that means one thing to me and twists it into something that supports hurting others. I am disturbed when acts that are designed to hurt others and instill fear in more people are not labeled what they clearly are (in my opinion), terrorism, no matter who perpetrates the action.  I like to think that I would have been one of the people in the clergy line, promoting peace and nonviolent demonstration, but I suspect that I would not have stepped up to participate if invited to do so. That makes me sad. Full disclosure here. I am a white, Christian, highly educated single woman. I am about as privileged as you can be when it comes to expectations and socioeconomic status (I could always be higher on the SEStatus continuum, but I have enough money to support myself and my eccentric habits, so I really can't complain). When things happen in the world, like the demonstrations and ...

One of the constant questions that music therapists are challenged to answer usually goes along the lines of this type of conversation: Well, what do you do? I'm a music therapist. (Several seconds of silence) So, what does a musical therapist do? (Internal sigh about the several different tracks that the conversation can take - should I start with the whole "musical" thing? How much does this person REALLY want to know, etc.) Well, basically, I use music to help my clients move towards their own personal goals. Oh. So, like singing songs to them? Sometimes. Sometimes I help them use music to motivate themselves to complete tasks. Sometimes I use music to help them calm down. Sometimes I encourage them to make their own music to express their emotions. I use music in many different ways to help my clients get to their own goals. Oh, I do that. I listen to my "workout" playlist during my time at the gym. I have a playlist for studying and for cleaning t...

It's been a long time since I've felt like bursting into song at any moment. I've missed that need to express myself in music, but it's starting to come back. You have no idea what that means to me. I am a music therapist. To me, that statement means that I am immersed in music. It is something that follows me everywhere I go. It is something that I do. When it is absent, I miss it. I spent most of the past several years with music being a job instead of something that just happened. I spent most of my days doing music with my clients, but my own musical voice was pretty silent. I wrote songs for therapeutic music experiences (TMEs), but the songs were tasks rather than spontaneous expressions. I hated it because an important piece of my life was gone. I am relieved that I am starting to interact with my world through music again.  The cat? Not so happy that I am bursting into song at any and all possible moments. Fortunately, she hasn't got to the point w...

Did you know, that as music therapists, we have inner knowledge of an amazing therapeutic medium that can be shaped and adapted to any and all clients with a modicum of effort? Of course you did. You are a fellow music therapist who has studied music theory, psychology, neurology, and the theory of music therapy. Can you explain what you are doing with the music during a therapeutic music experience to support your client in his or her goal attainment? Do you think about it or do you just do it? I go between just going on instinct and really analyzing the music I am engaged with during sessions, but I can often identify the ways that I shift the music to either lead clients or follow clients. I know when I am matching the tempo of the music to a behavioral indication. I know when I am changing the tempo and the volume of the music presentation to assist a client in calming. I know when my music just isn't working with the group of clients that are before me. I (eventually) ...

Well, Gaston and Sears is finished, so now I am thinking about what to do with this weekly post. It's time to focus back on the song aspect of Just a Song Sunday. I was never one to have a favorite performer over all other performers. I knew folks in high school who were obsessed with Duran Duran, others who loved Michael Jackson - you get the idea. Me? I always felt drawn to the song rather than the performer. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I did have ONE poster of a performer, but I got it as a book club reward when I was in the first grade. Andy Gibb. I had no idea who he was, and then he died. All of a sudden, I was somewhat cool because I had a poster. I did not listen to his music because Mom didn't really let us listen to popular music. That's a whole different story, though. I grew up listening to Disney records, Sesame Street songs, music from the 60's folk scene, and the soundtracks to Jesus Christ Superstar and The Graduate . My mother protes...

The time has come. I can feel it. Today is the day I finish this chapter of my foundational readings and leave it for some time. Today is the day! Here's what I have left: Music provides opportunities for acceptance of responsibility to self and others Music enhances verbal and nonverbal social interaction and communication Music provides for experiencing cooperation and competition in socially acceptable forms Music provides entertainment and recreation necessary to the general therapeutic environment Music provides for learning realistic social skills and personal behavior patterns acceptable in institutional and community peer groups. That's it. That is all that is left. Here we go. Music provides opportunities for acceptance of responsibility to self and others.   Have you ever noticed the self-esteem boost that someone gets when he or she has earned a special part in the recital or musical? I think this is some of what Sears was thinking when he wrote thes...

There are only three pages left in this chapter, folks, and then I will have to find something new to focus on during these Sunday mornings. Thank you for going through this process of thinking through what was written so long ago with me. While some of the language (and thoughts) are a bit simplistic for me, I do consider this to be a foundation of all that I think about music therapy, so revisiting it occasionally is important. Last week I went through the three paragraphs that start off the final piece of Sears' outline - the description of the section titled, "experience in relating to others." Today, I will start reading through and discussing the sub-levels contained under that initial heading.  One of the things that I noted last week was the historical context of this book. In the late 1960's, the deinstitutionalization movement was just starting. Persons with exceptionalities were just starting to be included in the idea of civil and personal rights, so...

It's that time again - time to go back into the writings of William W. Sears and the second chapter of Music In Therapy , edited by E. Thayer Gaston and published in 1968. Last Sunday, I went through the first part of the category of Music provides experience in self-organization (p. 39-41). Today, I am going to talk a bit more specifically about bits and pieces of these two pages in order to better understand what Sears means. The first subheading of the outline states "music provides for self-expression" (p. 39). I admit that I have lived with these concepts for so long that my first reaction is, well, "duh," but when I think back to those first exposures to these thoughts, this concept was a pretty big one. Music offers an opportunity for humans to convey emotions, thoughts, and patterns through observable behaviors (gotta remember that Sears was a behavioralist, so everything is couched in behavior terms). As I am reading through this text, I am force...