music, therapy, and me

This is one of the easiest ways to switch up the musical interaction in your music therapy sessions - change the words! It often seems like a "duh" kinda thought, but changing lyrics to familiar melodies is a quick and easy way to increase novelty and direct attention towards the therapist or the music. When songs are familiar, they may not make much of an impact on a client who gets into a routine easily. It is easy to tune out and just go with the routine, so changing the words can shake up the routine. Think of the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star . It's a culturally familiar song. Here in the USA, this song is a ubiquitous element of early childhood development. There aren't many people in this culture that do not know this song. Yet, members of the culture automatically know what to sing when you start to play. They sing Twinkle Twinkle, or The ABC Song, or Baa, Baa, Black Sheep . It is an interesting exercise to start playing the song and watch clients...