music, therapy, and me

So, I was driving home on Friday afternoon, and I passed two dead armadillos by the side of the road - they were about five miles apart, and I just started singing about them. I'll post the song somewhere, but it is just an absurd little dirge that popped into my head. That's how music happens for me. Things that endure pop into my head and stick there. I sang the song to my sister, and it stuck in her head as well, but she isn't singing the right melody yet. I will have to sing the dirge to her several more times until it sticks. I doubt that I will ever use the song in music therapy, but it fulfilled something for me. The lyrics are simple - Flat armadillo, flat armadillo, flat armadillo, flat armadillo by the side of the road. I also played around with some lyrics, but I didn't develop it any more. There are times when things just don't need to be developed into a therapeutic music experience. They just are. I haven't been taking the time to sing lately. I wi...

One of the most popular Therapeutic Music Experiences (TMEs) at my facility is a children's game, "Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?" I am not sure why it is so popular, but it really is, so we end up playing it more often than any other game TME. It is requested by my long-term clients. The "I'm too cool for school" kids even play it and request it. It is an interesting phenomenon for me to see how this particular game makes the list of the top 10 TMEs at my facility - hands down! To play this game, we sit in a circle, and I get out one of my wrist bells. One person is selected as "Doggie." That person turns around and puts their hands near their eyes so they cannot see. One person is chosen as "Thief" and has to sneak up, take the bells, and then return to their seat. The bells get hidden behind the back of the "thief" and then everyone gets into the action. We put on our best guilty or innocent faces and start the chant ...

It is early on this Sunday morning, and I am sitting in the semi-darkness, wondering what to write about. I have a blog post title generator that I occasionally use to help me find a way, and this was the suggested title that caught my fancy - Will Music Therapy Ever Rule the World? Ooh, boy! Here is my completely unsolicited opinion that has nothing to do with what you might think but is my right to hold and espouse to anyone who listens. Feel free to agree with me or disagree with me. We can debate this until the cows come home, if you would like, but I am just as entitled to my opinion as any one else is - and I will fight for the right for you to offer up your opinion, even if I feel that your view is incorrect (again, in my opinion!). Are you ready? Here it is. No. Music Therapy will never rule the world. How can it? How can music therapy, a profession which is growing in awareness and acceptance, be something that is universal? There are several things that are keeping us from wo...

I am a deceiver of children. I freely admit it, and I get some enjoyment from this fact as well. I have created a myth around my facility that allows me to remind students of who is in charge and to remind them that it is not them, it is me. Are you ready for the secret? The music therapy handshake. My students fully believe that there is a secret music therapy handshake that allows all music therapists to recognize one another. It is a secret, handed down from music therapist to music therapist, and is a complex series of movements. That's the myth, and it has helped me navigate lots of issues in a way that is less confrontational and more matter of fact. "You want to decide what we do in music therapy group? Do you know the music therapy handshake? No? Oh. That means that it is my job to choose what we do in group. When you have gone to school to be a music therapist, then you'll know the handshake as well. Until then, it's my job." This conversation is oft...

So, this is the beginning of a challenge offered to me by my interns who liked something I said and thought that I should write about things - a cautionary story of sorts - that apply to internship experiences. I think it will be a fun way to share information, but we'll see. I hope to have my first installment this next week, but I have other things going on right now (check out the Online Conference for Music Therapy - starts in six days from this post), so this may not come to fruition until after next weekend. It may start during next weekend - things get pretty goofy during OCMT ! Here's the idea... Premise: A series of blog posts about a completely fictional music therapy internship program. Characters:  Bertha Bigglesworth - the music therapy mentor, scion of all things musical in the town of Anywhere. Felicity Fiddle - the music therapy intern, coming to learn at the feet of the master.  Penelope Pennyman - the administrator at the facility, Anywh...

I am going to update you about what I'm doing/feeling/thinking right now... (This happens when I've tried several blog posts that just haven't really worked. Here's a glimpse into what's happening in my part of the music therapy world right now.) Currently, I'm   wearing - my work t-shirt and matching pants watching - Death in Paradise wanting - to get breakfast started (let me go do that...) reading for music therapy - Music Therapy In Context: Music, Meaning and Relationship by Mercedes Pavlicevic reading for entertainment (not that music therapy reading isn't entertaining - but it's work-related and requires thought. This doesn't require much thought at all.) - Wicked Deeds by Heather Graham contemplating - how to get disparate clients engaged in the same therapeutic music experience, especially when several of them are determined to cause problems... hoping - that all the tax reform brouhaha settles into actual facts that will allow...

Yesterday, I woke up, took my time taking a nice, leisurely shower, and arrived at work at my usual time, 6:45 am (30 minutes before I'm supposed to be there). I did my notes, got some session elements arranged, and was sending out emails to my fellow staff members about the Holiday Sing, and then I looked down at the clock. I was late for an individual session. Crud! Being late is my first most frustrating situation, and missing a session is my second most frustrating situation. This made me feel both frustrations simultaneously. I set off for the classroom to apologize to the client for missing the session. As I was walking, I walked past the pop-up coffee shop that my clients and the vocational department run in the mornings and the afternoons. A client stopped me and said, "Mary Jane, do you feel nauseous?" That stopped me in my tracks. Honestly, I felt well-rested, happy, but a bit frustrated with myself for missing the session, but everything else that I w...

I recently posted a presentation on my website for folks who attended my AMTA 2017 talk about writing clinical goals, objectives, and benchmarks. I did my usual routine when posting videos - make a powerpoint presentation, record myself on video, and then transform the presentation to an mp4 and post on YouTube. I then post the link on the website which transforms into a thumbnail with a snapshot of the video. When I saw one of the thumbnails, I just had to laugh. You know, when I think about what I look like, I don't always think about the double chin, the occasional spots on my forehead, or the fact that my hair has a way of just going wherever it wants to go. This thumbnail reminded me of all of those things and more.  I posted it anyway. Hopefully, the folks who are getting the information will be led into watching the last part of the presentation in spite of the picture that I present on social media. If not, well... Really, YouTube? What about the picture that wa...

Thursday is always my most difficult day. This is somewhat determined by my schedule - I work a 15 hour day on Wednesdays between my full-time job and my first part-time job - but it also seems to be wear and tear on my aging body. Three days of work in a row seems to be enough, but most folks want you to work ALL the days that you are needed, so I shuffle my aching body back to work on day four ( extreme sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek comments here!). My dad didn't win the lottery last night, so off I go. I am tired when I wake up. I am tired when I start singing my first opening therapeutic music experience to my first group of students. I am tired when I leave the music therapy room, and I am tired when I get myself back to my home. These days, add in a wonky sprained knee, and I am moving more slowly than I was two weeks ago, I just plain old stagger around everywhere.  My tendency is to be somewhat negative on Thursdays, so I started making Thursdays a bit more thoughtful t...

This post is inspired by a request by the folks at Music Therapy Clinician who asked for letters that start, "Dear Music Therapy" for this Valentine's Day. So, here goes... Dear Music Therapy: Well, it's been almost 24 years since it was official - we were in it together. It took us a couple of years to really figure out how to work together. Remember the days of finding ANY possible job that would allow us to spend just a little bit of time together? Remember the thrill of that first, full-time, official music therapy job? Remember the opportunity to really learn what music therapy meant to the clients we served? Remember what I thought it meant to be in a relationship with you way back then? Wow, things have changed. When I was brand new to the relationship, you were in your 40's. Now that you are in your 60's, I've found that you have changed. You are more easily spoken of in these days. When I mention our relationship, most people h...

As I said yesterday, I am at my childhood home, doing some rest and relaxation stuff before slogging home to the world of cold and snow. I am steeped in my family, and I am loving every moment of it (except for the moments when I miss my cat - like now). Anyway, I am also keeping my idea book/bullet journal close to me so I can write down ideas as they arise. I find that my creative instinct is sharper here than anywhere else, so I take advantage of that and use it as much as possible. Looking around at the things I received this year, I have some new items to introduce into my clinical life. I have a box of safety sign cards - I already have some safety sign songs and singing games to do. I received some beautiful star-shaped bean bags. (They are almost too beautiful to use with clients.) I have a ceramic R2-D2 beer stein that has absolutely NO clinical value with my clients, but I like it anyway! I am starting to think about theme units and TMEs to use with all of the things that a...

Yesterday was a bit surreal at times. It started with a client who rarely initiates unique communication with me telling me to "get to work!" I can understand why he was saying it. I was sitting in the hallway doing my morning "hallway duty," reading a book about teaching games and relaxing in the sunshine. He usually ignores me or starts talking in one of his scripted speeches. This time, he came up with a completely unique interaction. His classroom paraeducators were surprised to hear his statement/command as well. The day continued as it often does, through group sessions and documentation. At the end of the day, I was running a session with some of the middle-schoolers. One of my clients was asking questions about instruments and wanted to purchase one from me (he does this quite often - seems to think that I'll sell him my stuff). We started a conversation about ancient Egypt and something that sounded like the movie Atlantis from Disney. I asked him to...

I spent a significant amount of time this morning writing an opinionated, snarky post about my music therapy pet peeves, but I think it is just too snarky for publication. So, instead, you get to see the Muppets singing Bohemian Rhapsody . You are welcome! Happy Wednesday!

One of my favorite authors, Sandra Boynton , states that today, November 20th, is Absurdity Day! This makes me very, very happy! My life is a festival of absurdity. It stems from my job and my personality, I think. What else would you call an existence that leads a person from deep discussions about the future of music therapy and then goes into a rousing chorus of On Top of Spaghetti complete with ukulele chorus? I love both of these lives. I love the ability to go from one role to another in the blink of an eye. It is the nature of the job. While I am singing On Top of Spaghetti and being silly with my clients, I am also spending time in the other side of the job - the analytical side. I am looking to see which of my clients is engaging in the song and which are not. I am adjusting my music to accommodate differences in client interaction. I am slowing down to encourage clients to coordinate their oral-motor mechanisms and to be able to sing. I am overemphasizing the absurdity ...

So, in my collection of strange props and materials, I have an arm. It usually hangs on the bulletin board in my office area. My dad mentions it often when we are Skyping. He finds it a bit disturbing, but I maintain that there are times when an extra hand comes in handy (puns intended!!). The arm is very well dressed in a white, long-sleeved dress shirt with a buttoned cuff. The shirt sleeve is good cotton and looks pretty sharp. Since Halloween is coming, it is time to use this hand and arm. How do I use it? I don't use it much with the clients that I have now. Many of them are unable to distinguish between fake or pretend and have difficulties with body parts as well. I do use this occasionally to demonstrate appropriate personal space expectations. We sing about how important it is to maintain our personal space and to respect the space of others. We practice how to shake hands. Someone give me another hand!! What else could you do with an extra hand? Have a goo...

My internship director, the wonderful Sheryl L. Kelly, RMT-BC, taught me many, many things and one of them was this song! I still use it today, mainly with little kids, but even the big ones seem to like it. We use a sing-song chant to sing the words - mainly minor thirds, you know how it goes. If anyone knows of the original author, please let me know! I'll update my files. Sheryl didn't know the original author either. Purpose : Sequencing; motor skill development; impulse control; silly song; verbal communication; social interaction Source : Learned from Sheryl L. Kelly, MT-BC at The Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies, Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona. Original author unknown. Materials : None Environment : Group members in location in room where they can see and hear the group leader Song/Chant/Words : X          X           X         ...