Friday Five: Getting the early country sound

As music therapists, we know that patient preferred music yields the biggest results over time. Our work is based on what we know our clients enjoy. It engages them, encourages participation, and helps to cultivate a healthy therapeutic relationship.

When we prepare music for a client, we put so much time into learning the chords and learning the lyrics. Usually we'll go as far as to memorize a song, even for use in a one-time session. If we are working this hard to please our patients, shouldn't we take it one step further by making our voices sound just as authentic as our music?

When a music therapist has a great handle on sounding like an artist in both music and voice, it is most undeniably apparent in early country music. It is hard to imagine a performance of "Your Cheatin' Heart" or "Coal Miner's Daughter" without an exaggerated country twang. Below, I am listing five techniques for getting that true country sound. These were all things I learned in a guitar repertoire class.

1) Mouth and throat are relaxed.
2) The melody has lots of embellishments and slides between the notes.
3) Voice has a bright, nasally sound ("twang").
4) Guitar plays an alternating bass strum and dotted rhythms.
5) Guitar plays a "boom-chick" or down-down-up-down-up-down strum.

To practice, listen carefully to early country recordings. Record yourself to see how closely you can authenticate artists like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Patsy Cline.

Hospice v. palliative care

Music therapy is a valuable tool in hospice care and palliative care. These types of care focus on improving a person's quality of life by reducing pain and increasing comfort. However, it wasn't until my practicum that I realized that there was a difference between the two, let alone what that difference was. If you don't already know this information yourself, read below. You'll impress your practicum/internship supervisor when you can talk smart about these two methods of care.

Hospice
1) Hospice patients are deemed terminally ill with an estimate of less than six months to live.
2) Generally, patients in hospice care have made the decision to end curative (life-prolonging) treatment.

Palliative
1) Palliative care can be provided to a patient at any time during their illness.
2) Patients may continue to receive life-prolonging medicines and treatment while in palliative care.

Both hospice and palliative care can occur in hospice centers, patients' homes, nursing homes, and hospitals.

If You Have An Instrument

Because many young children struggle with impulse control, music therapists often work to increase this skill. Any activity that requires a child to wait for cues or take turns playing will be valuable in addressing this area.

This activity is designed for all the little ones you might work with. Kids are asked to start and stop on a dime, but it becomes a game to them. It is a song I adapted from a friend, Amanda. And as I was writing it, I also had in mind a song that I learned in practicum at the hospital. I cannot take full credit for this.

A music-writing program is not readily available to me, so I will try to share this song with you as best as I can. I will post the song lyrics and chords, then include an mp3 recording of the song. I hope that it will be helpful in learning the melody. I would also suggest that you feel free to change the melody in whatever way you wish. If you think there is a better way that I can share future songs, please let me know by commenting on this post.

Song lyrics & chords



Materials:
Guitar
Various small percussion instruments

Task Analysis:
1. Teach clients that "rest position" means instruments are down and hands are in their lap.
2. Pass out the small percussion instruments to each child, reminding them to keep it in rest position.
3. Sing the song written above with guitar accompaniment, prompting children to start and stop as you say.
4. Take turns picking a child to lead the group. Sing the song again with guitar accompaniment, but let that child say "start" and "stop." Allow the child to lead a couple rounds of this.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed. If your group is small enough, everyone may get a chance to lead.

Extensions & Adaptations
You may need to cue the student to say “start” or “stop” when it is their turn to lead. If a student is not quite giving clear directions, therapist can help reinforce the child for any approximating behavior. (For example, if the child starts playing without saying "start," shout it yourself and play with them.)

Draw me a song

If you're stuck on ideas for a good activity for a large group, you may be closer than you think to the perfect session plan. It will require some creative thinking on your part, but consider adapting board games or party games to involve music. An example that I have used in my own practicum sessions is Music Pictionary.

Materials:
Whiteboard or chalkboard
Dry erase markers or chalk
Strips of paper with songs written on them
iPod with all songs

Task Analysis:
1. Split group into two teams. Have each team come up with a name (you may choose to give them a category for their name, e.g. desserts).
2. Choose a team to go first, then ask that team for a player to draw first.
3. Have the player choose a song by picking a strip of paper at random. Make sure all the songs you write down are appropriate to the group.
4. The player will go to the board and begin drawing as the team guesses the song (no talking allowed from the person drawing!). If you choose, time the round at about 60 seconds.
5. If the player's team guesses the song within the time allotted, that team receives a point. If the player's team cannot guess correctly within that time, the opposing team will be allowed one guess at the song. If they guess correctly at this point, that teams wins the point.
6. Play the song by iPod as you continue the game.
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6, alternating between teams.


Extensions & adaptations:
a) The team that guesses the song can also receive a point for guessing the artist. You may also choose to give points if your clients will tell you one interesting fact about that song (for example, "Stairway to Heaven" was the theme of their high school prom).

b) If it is not appropriate to your group, do not worry about creating teams and keeping points.

c) Other games that may be adapted similarly include Charades, Cranium, and Catch Phrase. All of these have different rules and materials that you will have to look into if you want to incorporate them into your session.

Free sheet music @ Kididdles

For me, a perfect music therapy world would be one where all sheet music were available online for absolutely free. I would never again have to sort through so many versions of songs on Ultimate-Guitar.com for all the right chord progressions. I would no longer have to search Google Images for a fraction of a melody line beneath an enormous watermark. Playing melodies on instruments with clients would be a breeze if only I did not have to sit at the keyboard and plunk out all the melodies by ear.

Kiddiddles understands this. For absolutely free(!), users can create a username and password to gain access to dozens of children's songs in the form of song sheets (lyrics but no melodies) and music sheets (lyrics, melodies, and chords).

While I have yet to see a perfect-music-therapy-world-where-all-sheet-music-is-free, this is a step towards it. Yes, the melodies of children's songs may be easily learned by ear. But time saved preparing for a session? I'll take it!

"New Soul" on handbells

Because you can never have too many activities (especially for that adolescent/'tween/teen age), I am posting an activity to get your group playing music together! For this activity, you should download a recording of Yael Naim's song (don't ask me to pronounce that), "New Soul." Also, you will need this document for use in your session.

Just a little info on the document I linked to above: page 1 shows all the colors that come in the handbell set made by Kidsplay and sold at West Music. Inside each colored circle is all the numbers that color should play. Pages 2 and 3 are the lyrics to "New Soul," with numbers written above (as guitar chords are often written).

Materials:
Handbells (diatonic set of 8 in the key of C)
"Music" for clients (print document available above)
iPod/CD with "New Soul" mp3 (or other item able to play song of choice)
Equipment to play the iPod/CD
Shakers or other small instruments (optional)

Task Analysis:
1. Give bells to clients, assign them a number(s) that corresponds to their handbell's color (see document, page 1).
2. Provide clients with "music" (see document, pages 2 and 3). Instruct them to play when they see their number(s). Some clients will be playing when they see two or three different numbers. For example, the red bell rings when they see the number 1, 2, or 3 in the music.
3. Begin music, prompt clients to play by holding up fingers when it is their turn.
4. Encourage clients to sing along with the music.

Extensions & Adaptations
a) If you ever needed a song in the key of C, this is the one. It is easily transferred to other instruments.

b) If your group is too small to cover all handbell parts, give some clients two handbells to play. If your group is too large, bring shakers for the other clients. Remember to take turns playing the handbells.

Friday Five: Songs about life's journey

I have often found myself desperately searching every corner of the internet for songs for lyric analysis. By the time you decide on a topic for discussion and read a dozen song lyrics for appropriateness, you may turn to YouTube only to hear that the song of choice is in a style straight out of the '70s disco era. And as much as you respect that genre and all, it is most likely that you will not be able to convince your clients aged twenty- and thirty-something that "Funkytown" is where it's at.

Honestly, starting from scratch with a lyric analysis is difficult for me. When I begin my internship, my supervisor will no doubt have plenty of songs tried-and-true for discussing coping skills and feelings of loneliness. But at the moment, I am stuck at the computer or in the car jotting down lyrics of songs I hear on the radio.

The songs in this list are perfect for discussing the paths you take in life, the fork in the road, and the bumps in your way. These lyrics are all about life's journey. If a client should say "You really like songs about roads" (which they have said to me), it makes all the more opportunity for sharing your reasons for sticking so loyally to this theme.

1. "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles (rock, 1970). The long and winding road that leads to your door will never disappear.
2. "Lodi" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (classic rock, 1969). Looks like my plans fell through; oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again.
3. "Lost Highway" by Bon Jovi (country rock, 2007). In my rear-view mirror my life is getting clearer; the sunset sighs and slowly disappears.
4. "Life Is A Highway" by Tom Cochrane (rock, 1991), covered by Rascal Flatts (new country, 2006). Well, life's like a road that you travel on, there's one day here and the next day gone.
5. "Everyday Is a Winding Road" by Sheryl Crow (pop rock, 1997). Everyday is a faded sign, I get a little bit closer to feeling fine.

Hi! My Name Is.

In the past couple years gaining field experience through FSU, I have found that one of the biggest headaches comes from trying to invent an intervention appropriate for children ages 9 to 17. The middle school and high school age is a time when kids are overly concerned with what their peers are doing. And if their friends don't like it, chances are they don't (or pretend they don't) either. So you had better hope that your activity is "cool," with good music to boot.

This is a drumming activity that I picked up from a classmate, Shannon Kiley, in a MT drumming class. It utilizes a song by rapper Eminem from 1999, "My Name Is." This activity is a great socialization song, especially for introducing new groups.

Materials:
Large drums for each child (tubanos, djembes, etc.)

1. Before group comes into room, have chairs set up in a circle with drums in front of each seat.
2. As kids come in, have them sit quietly at a drum while you give instructions.
3. In a simple 4/4 pattern, model hitting the drum on 1, hands off on 2, hit on 3, hands off on 4 at a moderate tempo. Encourage the kids to join.
4. When kids have the rhythm steady, chant: "Hi! My name is. What! My name is. Who! My name is."
5. When both rhythm and chant is steady, repeat chant using your own name: "Hi! My name is. What! My name is. Who! My name is ________________________." This chant fits into two total measures. (Listen to the actual song to hear its rhythm.)
6. Continue around the circle until everyone has introduced themselves.

This activity can be extended a couple ways.
a) In the actual song, Eminem scratches his name (a DJ technique). Each child will simulate this by playing with his or her name. For example, I "scratched" my own name to sound like Mi-chelly-chelle. Another example for someone named Jessie might be "Jigga-jigga-Jessie." Repeat the activity using the scratch names.

b) Have the first person start by just saying his or her scratch name repeatedly (without the chant this time). Build this by having each person chant their scratch name one by one. You can even opt to fade the drums altogether, so that everyone is simply chanting their name at once.

Psych: Current Trends in MT

Twenty-one percent of music therapy professionals belonging to the AMTA report working with patients in a psychiatric setting (Silverman, 2007). In three weeks, I will be an intern working among these numbers. And because more music therapists work specifically with psychiatric patients than any other single population, it is quite possible that you MT students who are reading this may eventually find yourself in this setting as well.

Recently, the results of a survey of professional AMTA members working with this population was published in the Journal of Music Therapy. This survey covered topics such as most common goals and objectives, most frequently used interventions, and other information regarding MT sessions.

Most commonly reported objectives for clients in the psychiatric population included socialization, communication, self-esteem, coping skills, stress reduction/management, group cohesiveness, relaxation, and decision-making. These objectives were ones that over sixty percent of the professionals surveyed had reported using in the past week.

(A long list of possible objectives surveyed in this study further include impulse control, leisure skills, emotional expression, depression, problem solving, self image, insight, reality orientation, anger management, aggressive behavior, relationships, substance abuse, music listening, symptom management, music skills, mental health knowledge, physical exercise, family issues, spirituality, life changes, community reintegration, community resources, daily living skills, music knowledge, medication management, and other.)

Interventions used by music therapists to address these included improvisation, song-writing, drum circles, singalongs, music games, lyric analysis, music and movement, music and art, music and dance, and music assisted relaxation.

This survey indicated that, if you work in this setting, you will most likely work in a long-term facility that is run by the state or a private practice. You will probably work with groups that are 5 to 8 in number, for an average of 31-45 minutes once per week. The reason? Group sessions are apparently more cost-effective than one on one sessions.

In the future, I will be posting intervention ideas for this population. There is much more to be said regarding the psychiatric setting, but I will tackle that information when possible.


Silverman, M. Evaluating Current Trends in Psychiatric Music Therapy: A Descriptive Analysis. Journal of Music Therapy, 44 (4). 2007; 388-414.

Introducing... Me

It is my guess that not many people will search my archives far back enough to read this first blog post. But for those of you that are reading this, I want to start with a very introductory post that explains who I am and why I am blogging. Here is the short version.

I am currently a music therapy student at Florida State University. I finished my last undergraduate class just forty-eight hours ago. (!) For the next three weeks, I will be enjoying my summer days between my parents' home and my own apartment in Tallahassee. Then, beginning May 17th, my summer vacation will abruptly end and I will become an intern at the Behavioral Health Center of Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

I am beginning this blog now as a resource for fellow music therapy students. As part of my senior project required as an undergraduate, I want to create a place where students (and professionals) can go for intervention ideas, songs, music therapy news, advice, and anything else music therapy-related. I intend for this blog to have something for everyone. Where I can transfer ideas to cover multiple populations, I will. It is my goal to get a lot of information in one place, something I always searched for in the days of my undergrad.

That said, help me by sharing ideas, opinions, and suggestions for future posts. I hope that this will become a valuable tool for my fellow therapy students, and something that will extend beyond a senior project.