music, therapy, and me

Lately, I've been playing around with a chord progression. I haven't turned it into anything other than the progression yet, and I might never add words, but I am enjoying what happens musically, and I use it to center myself. Here is the progression (I use the key of D most often). All of the chord symbols last for the number of indicated beats: I///IV///I///IV///vi///V7///vi///V7///Repeat For some reason, this progression is something that helps me focus. I love the juxtaposition of the vi chord in with the others. I've been playing this for a long time now - for at least 6 months - without being able to do more with it. I've decided that the progression doesn't need a melody at this point. One day it may include a melody and lyrics. Maybe not. I don't always attend that closely to the harmonic element of music. It is something that I often take for granted, but there are some progressions that stick with me. I thrill to most of the harmony written...

I am very interested in how music therapists get ideas for what to do with their clients. How do you figure out what to do with your clients? Do you use ideas from other people all the time? Do you develop your own songs and experiences? Do you enter a session with a scripted plan, or do you improvise everything? I tend to do a combination of the questions above. I often have a sketch of a session plan in my head, along with all of my previous experiences, improvisation formats, and my equipment. I go where my clients take me, wherever that may be. My ideas for Therapeutic Music Experiences (or TMEs as I will refer to them from now on) often come to me in a flash of creativity. The flash comes and goes, and I have learned, the hard way, that if I don't capture that flash immediately, it is just plain old gone. The flash is an elusive thing. Sometimes I wake up in the morning singing a fully formed song - everything falls into place without effort. Other times, I get stuck i...

So, with the experience of the Boomwhacker party resonating in my head all night, I awoke to several new ideas. Most of these are not Boomwhacker ideas, but what the hey - I thought I'd share... My clients have developmental and psychiatric diagnoses, so many of the things that I saw last night were not things my clients can access easily. The chants, the songs, and the organization skills were valuable, so I will use them (with LOTS of adaptations) with my students. Now, on to my ideas. With the upcoming Halloween event arriving, I suggest using the Boomwhackers in minor keys. A and C, E and B, D and F are all minor tonalities that can be used as the format for "spooky" songs using the Diatonic set. I often use the exact same songs that I use during the rest of the year on Halloween, but I change all of my major tonalities to minor tonalities. The change of mode increases the eeriness of the music and really makes me think about my melodies and pitches as well. I...