music, therapy, and me

I think I'm going to have one of those days today. It's never fun to wake up three hours before you are supposed to and then just start to think about the changes that are coming. Today is one of those days. My current obsession is trying to figure out how I'm going to get through this day of changes and new schedules. My current intern keeps asking me questions that I cannot answer. I'm not sure who will be in which group. I don't know how the new groups will work. I am frustrated and can't be as supportive of her concerns as I want to or need to be. All I can do is shrug my shoulders and say things like, "If I knew, I would tell you," and "When I ask these questions, I can't get a straight answer from the administrators." The frustration just keeps building and building. When I get involved in these frustration-type loops, I try to remember that all of the frustrations that I feel are superseded by the frustrations, uncertainties, a...

Today's foray into Rise Up Singing for an unfamiliar song turned up Java Jive , performed in 1940 by the Ink Spots. Now, I'm not a coffee fan, but I know MANY addicts who would love this song. It seems to be a great song for older folks who get to choose to drink coffee - many of my kids and teens would not really relate to this song the way adults would. That's okay. I found a copy of the sheet music here at musicnotes.com, and here is the link to the Ivy Spots singing the song. Here's the chart for the song. The song itself is not difficult. It follows specific patterns. My real failing is not knowing how to classify that tricky minor diminished chord based on the flat 3rd step of the scale. What is it called? I've tried to figure out that chord assignment forever and CANNOT FIND IT! Can anyone help me? I think my students would enjoy the structure of the song, even if they do not share in the appreciation of drinking coffee. The staff members I know wi...

Next Monday, my school will be put into turmoil once again as we move from our old schedule to our new pod-based schedule in our new building (almost all of us). If you've been reading my posts for the last 15 months, you know that my facility has been undergoing major renovations and things are starting to be finished. We moved in to the new building last Tuesday, and, after lots of confusion, kept the old treatment schedule. We are now moving into a new schedule. Forty-one kids will be changing classroom placements on Monday, so I am trying to prepare for being the person who gets to inform students that they are moving to a new classroom as well as trying to figure out which students will be attending "specials" (the cutesy name given to those of us who offer support and therapy services) on which day. Usually, we are a bit more prepared, but we received the new class list yesterday at 3:25pm with the expectation that we would implement all of the changes Monday mornin...

One question that I never seem to escape is, "What do you do for a living?" Now, that question is not really all that unusual. I ask others that question as well since it is a natural conversation starter among those of us who are of working ages. It's the next question that always makes me cringe. Most of the time, I answer that I am a music therapist, though I do have to acknowledge that I don't always do so. (There are some times when I really don't want to engage in conversation with the other person any longer, so I use a more easily understood answer of "I work in education." A bit of a cop-out? You betcha, but there are just times when I can't go down this road.) It's the next part of the conversation that I find to be the inevitable question. "What do you do for a living?" "I'm a music therapist." "Oh, that's interesting." Three seconds of silence. "So, what is music therapy anyway?...

Do you ever sit back, watch the people around you, and wonder, "Where has common sense gone?" My sister has a saying, "Common sense is not that common," and I can see it on a regular basis. It absolutely amazes me when people can't seem to see what is right in front of them. Example? Let's move a bunch of kids with developmental and psychiatric concerns not once, not twice, but three times in a two-week period. Um. Most people who understand some of the common challenges that these kids face on a daily basis would think that it might be better to make all the changes once rather than making them go through this again and again, but I guess that would be the easy way to go. Sorry, I'm ranting. It makes me seek sense - logical thinking, information, and decisions made based on the facts in front of me - and I cannot find it. This stems from a recent spate of decisions made in a 24-hour period that contradicted themselves over and over again. Decision...

Lately, I've been involved in several situations where folks have been caught up in conflict. These conflicts have been strange and things that shouldn't have really been a big deal but others have become confrontational and the situations have spiraled out of control. In one of my roles, I often act as mediator between parties who are very upset with one another. It is not my favorite part of the job, but it's essential (especially just recently). One of the things that I talk to interns about is being able to engage others in crucial conversations. I'll be talking to internship directors and supervising music therapists about this as well during the AMTA National Conference in Louisville. I think we don't really know how to communicate with each other nowadays. I feel this is evidenced through the conflict between therapists, interns, students, and other professionals that seems to happen on a daily basis around me... Communication is a skill that is crucial t...

I spend lots of time talking to kids about things that they like - identifying things that they might use for leisure time or to ameliorate stress during times when a therapist is not available. I thought that there was some disconnect between always focusing on the positive and acknowledging that there are things out there that we just don't like. Hence, this TME. (You can find it at this link .) I find it important for my clients to express things that they don't like as a way to establish their identities as separate from others. Some of my students have never learned that their opinions are valuable, appropriate, valid, and just as important as those of others. We engage in active discussion about the fact that MJ like to eat lima beans but QP doesn't, and that's okay! We don't have to agree to get along with one another. This concept seems to confuse some of my clients. They haven't had the ability to express their own opinions in a supportive environ...