music, therapy, and me

This has never happened before, but today's selected post is a Sentimental Sunday post. Post #3360 was written on October 1, 2023 , and it was all about a post I wrote back in 2011 (there is a link in post #3360 to the original post). Rough weeks happen, and they tend to happen quite often at my job. They seem to be happening more often these days, so it is nice to be reminde d that things really haven't changed much - I might just be more attentive to the continuing issues of the people that I work for and with right now than I have been in the past. All of these posts are concerned with figuring out what I need to do to engage my clients in their music therapy treatment process. I still struggle with this with some of my clients, but those clients are the ones that do not engage in any sort of education with any sort of enthusiasm, so I know that music therapy is not the only thing that they hate about school, but it still bores into my brain. I want people to love music and ...

After many years as a music therapist, I have started to think about what I wish I had known about being a music therapist when I was starting out. Here is that list - the top 7 things that I wish someone had told me about music therapy: Sometimes you have to choose - job or location. You often can't get both. If you want a music therapy job rather than anything else, you will probably have to relocate. If you want to live in a specific place, you may not be able to find a music therapy job. If you can go anywhere, you can find a music therapy job. Music theory is important. I once asked a bunch of interns for the advice they would give to almost interns. Almost unanimously, they said, "Don't sell your theory book back!" I laughed at that truth. The one thing that I use on a daily basis is music theory. There is a reason we take those courses - primarily, our clients are our reason. To become effective music therapists, we often have to use music th...

So, I've been thinking about what it means to be a music therapist lately, and I decided to bring out an old post. It is as true now as it was almost 3 years ago, and I hope that you agree. What else needs to be on the list? Let me know in the comments...   July 10, 2014   After many years as a music therapist, I have started to think about what I wish I had known about being a music therapist when I was starting out. Here is that list - the top 7 things that I wish someone had told me about music therapy: Sometimes you have to choose - job or location. You often can't get both. If you want a music therapy job rather than anything else, you will probably have to relocate. If you want to live in a specific place, you may not be able to find a music therapy job. If you can go anywhere, you can find a music therapy job. Music theory is important. I once asked a bunch of interns for the advice they would give to almost interns. Almost u...