music, therapy, and me

Well, here we are on the brink of Day Five of my current break and another day at the World Congress of Music Therapy. Today is Friday - I have to repeat this to myself because I never really know what day it is during conferences. So, today is Friday, and all of my travel companions and I go home tomorrow to our various places in the world. They are going to stick close to the hotel today while I do more today than I have at the conference so far - one more session during today, if I last that long. I have been promised poutine when I get home - the one thing that I wanted to try while we were here in Canada - so that is the anticipated highlight of my day. I woke up this morning with a runny nose and a horrible sinus headache. I took some meds to help and am hoping that I will be able to be something other than a horribly sniffly mess during today's discussions and papers. It's been four hours so far, and no change, so I'm not really hoping for much. I had ice cream for d...

Oh, boy. It's another one of those days where my social media page is covered with indignant comments about yet another person out there who is doing something with clients that involves music. The criticism starts - "Is this person a music therapist?" "Should this person even be allowed to use music in a  nursing home?" "I had a job and someone like this came in and took it from me!" Sigh. I find all of these discussions pretty exhausting, and I don't really like that it happens so much. My opinions (that's what this is entirely - OPINION - which means that I get to think and write about whatever I want, and I get to share it with other people as such - OPINION, not FACT) are pretty set by now, and I feel that we music therapists are the ones that are failing. Okay. I know that some of you just stopped reading at the end of that paragraph right there. If you are still with me, let me start explaining. Here are my opinions: Music d...

The cat is typing this morning as she walks back and forth, trying to get my attention. She is not usually eloquent, but she is insistent. I was going to title this post something pithy like "Finding a Song," but she has a different idea. Apparently this will be titled, "iuuuuuuuuuuukfgvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv." Letting the cat type probably isn't the best idea for this Friday morning, but it has been a challenging week, so my brain isn't working the way it should be.  I went to work yesterday after two days at home with a horrible dizzy spell associated (I'm hoping) with an infection. I'm on anti-nausea medicine for the dizziness, but it is still affecting me. When I went to work yesterday, I met a new student who came to music therapy with our Behavior Specialist in tow. Now, our Behavior Specialist is a nice guy, but he really just doesn't get music therapy or the interaction behaviors that often emerge in therapeutic e...

I love it when a post on social media makes me think about things a bit differently than I have previously. I saw one this week that made me go into dream mode - what would I do? The question was about staff retreats and what to do during them. Oooh! This is one of my "If I Won the Lottery" dreams. I would LOVE to have a conference center where music therapists would be able to attend continuing education courses and retreats and meetings and conferences. There was the perfect place too, a closed convent with beautiful buildings that used to be a ladies academy as well as a convent. It was a mere 6 million dollars - why should price make a difference in how I accomplish my dreams (EXTREME SARCASM HERE!). So, I started thinking about the retreats I have been on over the years to figure out what I would do if... there are any number of "ifs" here - if I had a staff to retreat with, if I was invited to lead someone else's staff in a retreat experience, and ...

Yesterday was the first full day of the AMTA National Conference. I was able to go to sessions, spend some time talking to new acquaintances, and see some friends. Today is my presentation and other sessions are calling my name. Apparently, the folks at West music have been wondering who bought the pink steel drum. One of my former interns, who is currently working the booth, posted, "OMG. You're the one who bought the pink drum! Lol!" I did. The color was a consideration, but I've always wanted one for myself (no thoughts about clients here - they may not ever see this instrument), and it was on sale! I also promised myself that I would buy whatever I wanted this year after years of frugality. So, I got the pink steel drum. (I found another drum in the exhibit hall for significantly more money, and it was purple, so the pink one seemed to be better for me. Why do I feel that I have to justify this??? I bought a pink drum!) I also purchased a new book, a singing b...

Today is the last day I am going to work with a particular co-worker. This man has been at the facility for most of the time I was there. He has been in almost every role there is when working with children (except for my roles), and he is leaving for a new job. Today is his last day. He's not alone in leaving, on this last day of the contract year, but he is the one I'm going to miss.  The end of the contract year is always the last work day of June. When we return from the break next week, there will be six new co-workers to get to know and to introduce to our particular culture. At least one, and possibly two, of the new folks are returns. That will be helpful, but there are always ripples when folks leave and then return again. It will be interesting to find out how these folks work within our specific culture, and there will be a need for consistency from those of us who are staying. I try to be someone who accepts and supports change. Sometimes, that is difficult, but...

I had to apologize to several teachers this week. I am going to take about 55% of the responsibility for these apologies, and I am going to blame the full moon for the 45%. (I love when I can blame SOMETHING on moon phases!) My session contour was really poor this week. I tried to find an arc to my sessions, but my students went up and up and up and did not come down again, no matter what I tried with them! I first heard the concept of "session contour" from one of my music therapy professors. If I wanted to do so, I could probably figure out who first used the term, but I don't really want to delve into layers and layers of research at 5:14 in the morning, so I am just going to stop with the person who first told me about the concept. "Session contour" refers to how a therapist organizes the musical elements of his/her therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) to move clients from one emotional/behavioral/energy/arousal level to others during the session time.  ...

I've been watching lots of superhero television lately. You know, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Flash, Arrow are all part of my watching regimen. I've always been attracted to this type of entertainment, both movies and television, but I've never really spent the time with the comic books - the lexicon and the center of all of these mythologies. I feel myself more and more drawn to these stories as more and more of them arrive, but I want to know the backstories and how to understand what is going on with the characters a bit more. My fascination with superhero stories (especially the ones about "normal" people doing extraordinary things) may stem from my tendency to help others. I am not a superhero by any means, but I think that any person who chooses to focus on the benefit of others is a hero to many. You, music therapist, are a superhero. You spend your day thinking about others. You spend free time and money getting things and making things for others. Y...

I am away from my usual place and all of my instruments, so I am going to be lazy today and post a YouTube link to a playlist made by a music therapy friend of mine - Kyle J. Fleming, MT-BC!! Kyle's playlist demonstrates one of the therapeutic elements of music that I like to play with - harmony, and more specifically, mode! So, what Kyle did was to switch familiar Christmas songs from their original modes to opposite modes. A major mode turned into a minor mode and vice versa. He sings the songs as well as plays excellent piano accompaniments. The effect is quite interesting and illustrates the importance of mode and harmony on our perception of familiar songs. Thanks, Kyle, for such a great example of how a simple change in one of the elements of music can affect everything else! If you leave a comment, tell Kyle I say "Hello!"