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...

One of my quests for this year is to get back into listening to music again. It has been a long time since I have spent time listening just to listen. Since music has been my job, I go through periods of time when I just cannot listen to anything outside of music therapy sessions. I am missing music at the moment, so I am making an effort to bring music back into my daily way of engaging in life. I am ripping my CD library onto my computer, and I am rediscovering music that I have loved in the past. I loved the era of burning CDs, and I have lots of "favorites" CDs that I have found in my music library. I pulled out a CD case with "all-time favorites," made in 2007-ish. Curious to see what I loved back then, I popped it into my CD player in my car and have been listening during my commutes. One of the things that I can say with certainty is that I love much of the music of Garth Brooks. There you go. The music that I have included of his always makes me smile. so re...

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...