music, therapy, and me

It's Tuesday again. Time to share a therapeutic music experience (TME) or two. For some reason, I feel like sharing some of the TMEs that are based on where I am centered - around Kansas City. I love linking our music therapy experiences to things that my clients can experience with just a bit of planning. The first is a song that I wrote a long time ago for my clients who struggle with geographical concepts. It can be adapted to reflect each and every locale - just change the words. The second is a TME written to go with the song, Kansas City , by Leiber and Stoller. This blues song just makes me feel happy when I get to play it. I should play it a bit more often. Enjoy, and happy Tuesday, all! My State Therapeutic Music Experience Kansas City Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC   Purpose : To discuss concepts of travel; to encourage social interaction through discussion; to encourage verbal interaction; entrainment to external beat; increase awareness of musical ...

I'm in a funk.  I found out that an acquaintance passed away two days ago and it sent me into a downward spiral. I know that some of this is due to my current hormone levels, some of it is due to all of the other things going on in the lives of my loved ones, and some if it is because this is the third person who has passed away just recently. Some of it also may be because of the full moon. I spent all day yesterday in bed, alternating between sleeping and crying. This type of funk is something that happens every once in a while, and more often to me in the summer months than in the winter months. I tend to have more of these types of incidents during the summer session than during the rest of the school year. These incidents lead me to hibernate more during the hot summer months than at other times. I also tend to isolate myself more. It is time to change some of these patterns into things that are a bit more healthy.  I have never liked the summertime. When I was li...

I have spent most of the last hour trying to come up with something to write about. Nothing has really struck a chord with me, so this may be a day where the post is short. I'm kind of in a funk this week. I'm not exactly sure why, but I have my suspicions. Anyway, I am half-way through my work week and have two days left before a three-day weekend. That is a bit of something to look forward to during these gray-type days (even though the sun is shining down). I think that I will go to the local lake for some water-adjacent relaxation this weekend. Some sunscreen, water to drink, sound of small waves, and a place to relax is what I think I need at this point. That may help my funk find a way out and away from me. I'll take myself back into my funk and find my way out for the rest of this week. Hopefully I'll have a more palatable topic for tomorrow...

You know how you can get a feel for a day pretty quickly after it starts? Today is going to be one of those days. I started the day off by knocking a full, large, industrial size bottle of ketchup off the top of the refrigerator and the lid broke off splashing gobbets of ketchup all over the kitchen. I've sponged up some of the droplets, but I can't see them all. See the next paragraph. My home all of a sudden doesn't work right, so I have to take yet another day off to get things arranged and fixed. It's time to get going on this task. The issue is that the lights in the kitchen aren't working. The outlets in the kitchen are working fine, but none of the lights are turning on. There is an outlet on the other side of the kitchen that is also not working. The breakers are all on, and I've cycled through them to check. It's not the breaker. My Dad (source of all things home-improvement) told me that it had to be taken care of sooner rather than later, so her...

I am a big fan of cooperation, especially when it comes to my students. Many of them do not have good frustration tolerance, so competition tends to make them unnecessarily cranky and to lose sight of the purpose of playing a game. Almost all of the games that I use in my music therapy clinic are cooperative between clients. They have to work together in order to "win." This therapeutic music experience (TME) focuses on motor planning, impulse control, interpersonal skill development, motor entrainment to external beat, and vestibular and proprioceptive sense integration. I like to mix up the seating options including my T-stools, rocker boards, and bean bag chairs to increase the sensory stimulation. I also mix up the instruments so my clients can play the piano, the electric guitar, an Orff instrument or two, and various hand-held rhythm instruments. They progress in a round robin pattern so everyone gets to play everything at least once. This works really well for m...

I went to Walmart really early this morning to troll the leftover Valentine's Day candy and THERE WAS NONE! Let me repeat that. THERE WAS NO LEFTOVER VALENTINE'S DAY CANDY! The candy aisle was already converted into Easter candy - nothing Valentine's Day was left in the entire store! I couldn't believe it! What a disappointment. On the other hand, I did buy laundry detergent, fabric softener, cough drops for my choir members, cat food, and a new book! Hooray! I am still disappointed with the lack of cheap chocolate available at my local store, though. It seems to be a conspiracy against me and my intrinsic need for chocolate at less than retail prices. There has to be a song in there somewhere - it will be a blues song, of course! Went to my Walmart, (buh duh duh dum) Walked around the store. (buh duh duh dum) Had a hankerin' for choc'late (buh duh duh dum) Couldn't find it any more... I strolled around and around the place, Lookin...