music, therapy, and me

It is the day after Halloween, and other than a screaming fit from my first group of students where I had to yell in order to be heard, the day went pretty well. I am in immense levels of pain from my repaired knee - don't know if it was sitting on the floor so much, CPR recertification, or the weather that has had the most effect on this level of pain, but it is pretty bad. So, here I am, facing physical behavior management training this afternoon with a bum leg and a close to bum back. Can't wait! Anyway, let's talk about fun things on this Friday. This week, I have been introducing my 21st century musicians to 20th century music technology. I have managed to break two cassette players, a record player from the 1960's, an RCA cord, and my RCA input in my karaoke machine. I did something really hard for me - I threw out the broken cassette players after trying to open them up and fix them. I hate throwing things out that might be able to be fixed, but I also cannot jus...

I have a difficult relationship with technology. iThings and I do not speak the same language, so I avoid them like the plague. I have an iPod because Apple took over the mp3 market and it was easier to just give into the Apple thing than it was to try to navigate the world of Zune and other mp3 technology. As long as I don't antagonize it, the iPod does what I need it to do - keeps me entertained. I do not have many smart speakers around me - just the one in my Kindle Fire - and I am fine with not knowing things immediately. I am resisting the world of instant gratification and the need to always get information instantaneously. I have a terrible success rate with Bluetooth things. My Dad got me a BB-8 robot many years ago that has never connected with my Bluetooth stuff. I FINALLY figured out how to work my speakers with my laptop, and I also can get my phone hooked up into my car system. I tell you this because I have a new toy to share with some of my clients next week - a Drop...

I have had a Promethean Board (ProBo for short in my head) for a week now. I have run my first two applications using the ProBo this week, and I find it to be interesting but not necessary to my existence as a music therapist. I am hoping that I will always feel this way about it - that it is nice to have but not essential for me to do my job. It is interesting that this is my perspective. I don't think I am all that unsavvy when it comes to technology, but I am VERY picky about what I let into my life and my habits. It took me a long time to consent to having a cell phone. In fact, it took an accident on a snowy day to make me realize that cell phones are essential tools in life today. It took me about as long to upgrade from my flip phone to a smart phone. I keep my phones until the battery can no longer hold charges rather than turning them in each time I am eligible. I just don't see why a reliance on technology is a good thing. My motto for this part of my life is "te...

Yesterday, I was asked if I wanted a smart-type system for my music therapy room, and it plunged me into a long standing debate that I have with myself on a regular basis. Do I want a screen in my room? Do I want a room that is screen free? Now, this is the first time in about 15 years that I have been asked this question by my administrators, and the last year has shown that having a screen can be important when forced into quarantine situations, so I am actually contemplating it as something that will be good to have available...I think. I am torn and have always been torn on the use of technology in my music therapy clinic. Video games and apps are very reinforcing and easy to use in interaction with people who struggle with interaction with anything, but they are also somewhat consuming - in my experience, a device takes over attention and sometimes hinders opportunities for interaction with other humans. So, I have negotiated other things for my clinic area than smart boards. I go...

After the iPod was killed during the last week of school, I've been floundering with ways to get client-preferred music to my music therapy clinic. Before the great demise, I had my entire music library with me at all times. Now, I am dependent upon something that I thought I wouldn't really have to rely on again - CDs! The last time my computer needed to be replaced, I had very limited choices because I wanted a CD-burner. All the computers that were readily available to me did not come with that feature. I found exactly two options for this particular tool. TWO! I snapped up the one that I liked the best, and I am very thankful that I did! Flash forward to 2019, and I find that I need this "outdated" technology to keep the music playing in my clinic. Now, we are figuring out how to stream music via Spotify, but that's had all sorts of complications as well, including folks who don't respond to the consistent emails for assistance and a need to get fund...

I got a new version of an old gadget yesterday, and I am getting it set up and ready to go. I enjoy a bit of technology, but I am not extremely experimental when it comes to tech in my life. I do not go out and purchase every single thing that I can get my hands on - I am extremely picky about technological things, so I find something I like and then stick with it. The only reason I have a new example of this old gadget is that my old one is several years old and is starting to act like it. In addition, I got a REALLY good trade-in offer and my new device cost about the same as the old device, but with significantly expanded storage!! I am now getting the old device ready to go back to the company so I can cash in my trade-in offer and get started with the new thing sitting on my desk. This is something that I get from my father - the interest in things technological - but he is one of the people who has to get the brand-new smart phone two weeks after it is released (I am definitely...

I have had one of my strange encounters with technology this week. Does anyone else have days where everything electrical that you touch freaks out? No? Just me? Hmmm. This was one of those weeks. I had several streetlights explode their bulbs as I passed under the them - different times, different cities. That's usually my first indication that something is happening. Computers stop working for me, and last night, I broke YouTube! Seriously. The video I was trying to put up would not process if I was sitting at the computer. I had to leave it completely alone, move into the other room, and go to sleep before YouTube would process my little 45 second video! Then, this morning, when I went to check and see if it was ready, YouTube wouldn't let me publish the video. I tried all my electronic tricks, and nothing worked! I recorded a completely new video and, voila! No more problems. I enjoy technology, and I use it on a pretty regular basis, but I have learned that there are t...

Today was a day of technological issues from the beginning to the end. When I got up this morning, my computer wouldn't run Firefox (my browser of choice). When I got to work this morning, my computer updated and then refused to start. I sat and watched a welcome screen for an hour before having to get going with the rest of my day. I am now working on Chrome (which I do NOT like) in order to get caught up with my various work stuffs... I am someone who prides herself on understanding how the electronics and technology options around her work. I like using technology, but I am NOT interested in turning my entire life into a technology bubble. I am not ready to turn in my songbooks for OnSong. I am not interested in apps for my clients. My music therapy clinic is an app-free zone. I am not going to try to use Spotify or Amazon Music for my sessions. Now, some of this reluctance comes from... Oh, wait. This is Tuesday, isn't it? Sorry - I get very confused when it...

My mother has FINALLY decided that she would like to have some of her cassette tapes converted to CDs so she could listen to them without having to hunt up a cassette player. Sigh. Alright, then. Mom handed me about 13 tapes yesterday and wants CD copies. I told her not only was it possible, but I could probably get some of them finished before I leave home in the next three days. So, now I get to go on an iTunes hunt. My mother has a love/hate relationship with technology and always has had that sort of response to "newfangled" things. My Dad is always chasing after the newest stuff, and Mom just shakes her head. Dad got an Amazon Echo and several Dots for the holiday, but Mom can't seem to understand the idea of music on demand and that she can just ask for her cassette music from Alexa. Nope. My mother is firmly stuck in the 1990's for her music listening, and that is just fine with her! I am trying to find music by Roger Whittaker. Do you know what the most co...