Music therapists take a supporting role

Tallahassee MT’s went to the movies tonight! After anticipating its release to theaters and reading several movie reviews on other MT blogs (MT Maven & MTI in the ATL), we finally saw the film, The Music Never Stopped.

It has been said before that the movie is not about music therapy. I had to remind myself of this as I watched. It is about a father’s attempt to rebuild a relationship with his son following the son’s loss of his short-term memory. Yes, music therapy plays an enormous role in this process, but the music therapist is nothing more than a supporting character.

As I watched, I realized how closely this reflects our profession in reality. We may play the lead role in our own lives, but when we interact with others, we are never anything more than the supporting character. Just as in the movie, music therapy is a practice through which great things are achieved. We are simply in a client’s life to facilitate the plot - improving his or her quality of life.

In short, it is never about us. Music therapy is about the wonderful people we work with. We are only there to connect the dots and help a person make things happen…

We come into a person’s life to enhance it, never to star in it.

May the fifth be with you!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In hindsight, it probably would be best to post holiday-themed activities BEFORE the holiday. But luckily (1) this post will be around next year and (2) I can start planning for next time.

Of course, if you have a Cinco de Mayo-themed session (or any holiday-themed session for that matter), do your research to know what it is you are celebrating. In this country, this holiday is a bigger deal than in Mexico, largely due to advertising from alcohol companies and Mexican restaurants. It is day of celebration of the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1892 in which the Mexican army overcame the French. The meaning of the holiday is to celebrate freedom and the people that fought for it. (Read more about Cinco de Mayo here.)

Some ideas for music therapy interventions:
1) Teach a dance! The macarena (which I think we all know by heart) and the mexican hat dance.
2) Limbo (at your own risk).
3) Have a pinata (again, at your own risk). There are many different things you might do with this. To keep things under control, you might just choose to write songs on slips of paper, then have people reach into the pinata to find a song for the group. This would also work the same as a sombrero!
4) Pass the sombrero. Play a game where the clients sit in a circle and pass the sombrero from one head to the next (it must be placed on the head!) until the music stops. If you end up with the hat when the music stops, you are out (or maybe just move outside the circle to accompany the game with instruments).
5) Make maracas. Who says you can't craft in a music therapy session? Create your own musical instrument to play. There are many different ways to do so, whether with paper plates, yogurt cups, or drink cups. Or buy plain wooden maracas (12 for $14) and have the kids decorate them (use markers if paint is too much to handle... I'm also having visions of sequins, glitter, and puffy paint).

This was a very brief list that is meant to inspire ideas. If these don't work for your sessions or clients, then you can certainly adapt them however you like!

URL: Easy Ear Training

I want to share a link with you of a site that is definitely worth the read! Easy Ear Training is a UK-based software development company that specializes is music education and music training. Not only do the offer apps for musical development, but they offer a lot of really interesting posts on a range of topics. They keep track of the latest in music technology, perception/cognition, and related news as well as teach techniques for guitar and other instruments. My favorite posts are the Music and Life series that directly relates to us as music therapists. You will also find links on their resource page to a other awesome sites.

http://www.easyeartraining.com/

Please read! I found articles on recent Ted talks, research studies, music technology for people with disabilities, and child development. A big thank you to the site as well for adding Beyond the Music to their list of resources!

Friday Five: Appropriate rap/hip-hop songs

It's been awhile since I've made a Friday Five post. In the past, I've written about MadLibs, art therapy, techniques for singing country songs, and songs for positive thinking. You can find all the other posts by clicking on the "Friday five" keyword on the right sidebar of this page.

Today I bring you five songs that will win over most middle and high schoolers. They are all appropriate rap/hip-hop songs. These days, that is difficult to find.

1) Kick, Push (2006), Lupe Fiasco.
2) Kiss Kiss (2007), Chris brown.
3) You Make Me Better (2007), Fabolous.
4) Whip My Hair (2010), Willow Smith. Sung by Will Smith's daughter!
5) Good Morning (2009), Chamillionaire. I love this one especially because it samples the famous "Free Fallin" melody from Tom Petty.

For more, check out this link at Yahoo Answers.

New Activity! I Can Transform Ya

How do you entertain adolescents who have a preference for gangsta rap and selling weed?

Lately I've been volunteering at a secondary school here in Tallahassee. The students there all have IEPs with behavioral and emotional goals. Many of the students go to this school after being expelled from public school. Curse words fly, and students are often being marked with "disrespects." Some of the students have problems not only with school, but also at home and with the law.

More than anything, this population is one that needs extra attention. Of course, music therapy is a great way to teach proper self-expression and appropriate social interactions. But what do I do when I am clearly out of place in the classroom?

This activity worked very well with the students. Many of you may recognize the activity, the concept is not mine. However, the activity sheets I am providing a link to are ones that I created and you are welcome to use!

Both of these links will take you to Scribd.com, where you will find the
I Can Transform Ya task analysis &
I Can Transform Ya activity sheets

The video below is the song that I used for the group I mentioned above. Of course, it could be done with a wide range of populations. See the task analysis for more about that.



I want any activities I blog about to be useful and accessible to all MTs. If you have ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL regarding how to implement the activity, how to create music sheets of your own, problems using the sheets I provided, etc., please ask! I will be more than happy to help at any time, even if you send me an email or comment months after this post.

What does it take to undo the therapeutic process? Rebecca Black

We all have probably heard by now all the hype surrounding Rebecca Black. And it isn't all good. After watching this clip on Good Morning America, I felt so angry by all the cyber bullying that is going on.



I immediately thought about the applications to music therapy. Creating a song and a music video is a great intervention for self-expression (take note of that!). In fact, it is exactly what music producers Ark Music Factory did for Rebecca and other teenagers.

Of course, confidentiality is EXTREMELY important in the therapeutic world. Most settings are not appropriate for video recording. What dangers are out there if confidentiality is breached? If a client is exposed to such extreme criticism like Black has received (skip to 1:55 in the clip, it will make you angry!), it could undo everything you have worked toward. All the therapeutic progress can be unraveled in an instant. There aren't many that could handle the harsh words that come from thousands of people.

But amazingly, Rebecca claims to stay strong. I am so impressed by her, not because of her music video but because of the way she copes with her peers. I never had a problem with Rebecca's video, in fact. I am happy to see her making music... how fun it must have been to work with music producers! I can also appreciate the friendlier parodies that are out there that do not cruelly attack Rebecca (see here and here and see Conan O'Brien here).

But there is a lesson to be learned: I cannot stress how important I think it is for us to represent music therapy in EVERYTHING we do. That said, be supportive of others and be positive! Whether you like Rebecca Black or not, definitely do NOT participate in the hateful comments, online or otherwise.

Taking "The Test"

I'm so excited to announce that last week I passed the board certification exam! Many of you are looking forward to taking it yourselves in the near future. If you are at all like me, you will be a nervous wreck. I want to make this blog post helpful to those of you taking it for the first time. There is a lot of information to relay, so I will try to make it as organized as possible.

To read more about why I was freaking out about the test and why you should not, READ MORE...

Up a whole step

We use music therapy to "fix" a problem. And as versatile as music therapy is, we can remedy most problems. Which means that as music therapists we have to be very critical thinkers. We must be experts at applying music in creative ways.

This video is an example of a musically creative way to get more people to take the stairs over the escalator. What are some therapeutic benefits of this? Well, I thought 1) we know taking the stairs is better for us because we move more and this is good for our health, and 2) people commuting past these stairs may be in a happier mood for the rest of the day because walking on a piano is unusual and, well... fun.



Can you think of more therapeutic benefits?

Making advocacy even easier

As advocacy month comes to a close, I wanted to share another important post. I wrote recently about contacting your state representatives. As intimidating as this can be, I want to make it as straightforward and simple as possible.

I am grateful to Olivia Swedberg, chair of the Florida Music Therapy Government Relations Task Force. She has already taken steps to make conversation with your representatives easy. If you are considering writing to your representatives, use these resources that Olivia has put together.


The first is some guidelines to consider when writing your legislators. It includes tips for addressing the representative, formatting the letter, representing yourself, and speaking out on behalf of music therapy.

The second resource is a letter to your representative that is already written for you. All you have to do is FILL IN THE BLANKS! Olivia has made contacting your representatives that easy.

To wrap things up, I want to make a note on follow-up with your representatives. Olivia emphasizes allowing officials an opportunity to see music therapy in action. To make the biggest impact, she suggests that you follow-up the letter by calling a week later to schedule a meeting. However, students likely do not have an established practice that a representative might observe. There are alternatives to this. For example, just sending a letter describing your student status may be effective. You may be brave enough to meet with your representative to discuss what you hope for in the future as a professional. Or, with a professional's permission, perhaps you may invite the representative to that professional's session.

The point I want to make clear is that ANYone can be an advocate for music therapy. Do what you can with what you have. Students should not feel like they do not have a voice.

Discuss: What are some other suggestions and alternatives are out there for students, professionals, or other advocates who feel intimidated by the thought of meeting/contacting their representative?

BTM gets a facelift!

It was time for a change.