This past Sunday, Music Therapy Connections hosted an open house, and it was a blast! We invited the Springfield community to step through our doors, meet our music therapists and teachers, and spend time making music together.
Seeing new faces and familiar faces connect with each other and explore our facility was such a thrill, especially with everyone being from all different walks of life.
One of my favorite moments during the open house was when we invited everyone into our big room for some group drumming. From little infants to teens, parents of young children to older adults, we shared the time exploring our creativity, playing together, and best of all, enjoying music.
I would love to share with you how we structured our drum circle to incorporate a wide range of ages, needs, and comfortability level.
Drum Circle Age considerations:
For our little ones, we used low floor drums and encouraged caregivers to sit on the floor so they would have a greater range of movement to support, hold, model, and do hand-over-hand movements with their young children.
For young children who didn’t need the motor guidance of a caregiver, we encouraged participation and empowered their independence by giving them choices (i.e., Big drum or small drum? Floor drum or hand drum? Mallets or no mallets?).
For our children, teens, and adults, we encouraged creativity by asking for options of how to play (i.e., Asking participants to come up with hand motions, asking participants whether they want to play fast or slow, etc.).
Comfortability Level Considerations:
This might be the first time a lot of participants have ever played an instrument, let alone a drum! Encouraging choices for all participants is big. You should structure songs to include a variety of different styles, motions, volumes. Once everyone has a better idea of different options, structure the song to include parts where people can explore their creative side without feeling insecure or exposed.
How can you do this? Have half the group tap a basic beat while the other half freely improvises and then have the two sides switch.
Include songs that are have chants, sequenced portions, or repetition so that participants have a predictable structure to follow. Once everyone is comfortable with the familiar section, gradually add new components.
I like to have a cycle of familiar/predictable sections, new sections, and then a return to familiar/predictable sections.
Don’t forget to validate! A simple “I hear you!” or “Wow, I like your energy!” can go a long way in encouraging new players throughout.
Drumming can be loud. Model as much as you can! Sometimes over explaining can overcomplicate things, and a lot of times, people can’t hear you over their own drumming. Try minimizing verbal explanation and instead, replace it with concise and direct language, or eliminate verbal directions all together and use your drum, exaggerated facial expressions, and exaggerated body language to motivate everyone to have greater focus and jump right in.
I hope you found these drum circle considerations helpful! If you’d like to share some drumming ideas with us, or ways you’ve adapted drumming experiences for individuals of all ages, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
And if you’d like to learn more ideas about how to incorporate drumming into your sessions, check out Kalani Music. For songs and chants that can be adapted for all ages, check out Ella Jenkins! These have been great resources and inspirations to me as I keep growing as a music therapist. Best of luck in your journey!
One of my client’s favorite things to do is choose a song to listen to or sing together. Recently, my client chose the song “Seven Years” by Lukas Graham. I had heard the song on the radio before, but never really took the time to listen to the lyrics. The song talks about memories the singer had at age 7, 11, and 20 years old, as well as his thoughts about turning 30, and later, 60 years old.
“Seven Years” was a very poignant song that helped me realize that at every moment, we can look back and see ways in which we’ve changed. In the present, we can reflect on the things we’re feeling and learning, while also looking ahead to who we might be in the future.
I love this song because it has certain ages already put in place where the client can share about the times when he or she was (or will be) 7, 11, 20, 30, and 60…or any age, for that matter.
As a music therapist, my mind immediately started forming ways in which I could turn this song (or similar songs that have to do with growing up) into a songwriting activity.
How I go about starting a songwriting activity:
With any songwriting activity, I like to begin with asking a mix of open-ended and closed questions. For “Seven Years,” some sample questions I may ask a client include:
Can you remember the earliest memory you’ve ever had?
What do you remember about being that age?
How does that memory make you feel?
What are some things about yourself that you think have changed?
What are some things about yourself that that you think have stayed the same?
What are some things about yourself that you think might change or stay the same in the next 5 years? 10 years?
As my client answers these questions, I write down the responses with the exact words that he or she uses. I then do my best to fit their responses within the song structure, and if I need to adapt their response, I always give them choices of how they prefer to rephrase their lyrics to fit the song.
My favorite moment during the songwriting experience is after new lyrics are written. This is when I get to sing through the song and see the look on my client’s face when their thoughts, feelings, and creativity become validated. Sometimes the moment we share together is so meaningful that I try to extend these songwriting experiences from session to session, or make recordings so that clients have something tangible to take away from our time together.
The best thing about songs like “Seven Years” is that they encompass the entire life span of the individual. Whether you are working with a young child, adolescent, young or older adult, songs similar to “Seven Years” can be an outlet for the client to share and process thoughts and experiences from their past, during the present, and as they look towards the future.
As I close out this post, I’ve included two more songs that would work well with songwriting throughout one’s life journey. Feel free to try out this songwriting intervention with your clients, and let me know in the comments your experience in using them in your sessions!
Psst…Do you have a loved one, child, or friend who enjoys music? Are you a teacher, administrator or other professional interested in additional community resources?
Come join us on Sunday, May 6th for an open house at Music Therapy Connections! We love sharing with you on the blog every week, but we’d love to connect in person even more.
That sounds awesome, but I have a packed schedule and I’m not sure if I can make it.
We completely understand that your weekend might be busy. No worries! Stop by anytime between 10am – 4pm. At 1 pm, we hope you can participate in an all-ages drumming experience for the chance to win our big giveaway!
What should I expect when I come?
There will be opportunities to enjoy refreshments, make your own instrument, explore our facility, and talk face to face with our music therapists to learn how we can best serve your needs — whether you are a parent, community member, teacher, or administrator. We can’t wait to meet you!
What can Music Therapy Connections do for me?
We are a team of music therapists and music educators who have a heart to serve all ages in our community. We love working together with schools, day cares, senior care facilities, and local families to design music programs that fit the needs of whoever may benefit from music therapy, music lessons, or adaptive music lessons.
Know someone in your life who might be interested? Bring your family, a friend, or colleague. Spread the word! All are welcome, and we’d love for you to join us!
Did you know that this week, April 15-21, is Week of the Young Child? At MTC, we would like to take the opportunity to celebrate the growth of our early learners, their teachers, and their families.
The period from birth to age 5 can go by in a blink of an eye, but when we take a step back to see just how many developmental milestones occur, how each child’s personality develops, and how many new experiences a child receives, we can’t help but feel lucky that we get to see our little ones grow and develop through music week to week!
So how can MTC serve your young child?
Listen & Learn for Little Ones is an early childhood music class for children ages 0-3 and their caregivers. The curriculum is comprised of both original and familiar songs that you can start singing along with at the very first class. Activities are designed based on specific goals and objectives. Skills that are addressed include (but are not limited to) fine and gross motor movement, rhythmic foundations, intonation, peer interaction, turn-taking, and academic concepts.
Listen & Learn A Little More is a next-step music class for children ages 3-5 without their parent or caregiver present. Activities are designed based on specific goals and objectives. Goals that are addressed include (but are not limited to) fine and gross motor movement, rhythmic foundations, intonation, peer interaction, turn-taking, and academic concepts. This class is intended to build on the skills introduced in our early childhood class.
Music Therapy is offered in individual and small group settings. Prior to beginning music therapy treatment, we talk with parents or caregivers to get a better understanding of the goals we will be addressing with the client. At this time, the caregiver (and client) can share music preferences and favorite activities so that our time together is as effective and enjoyable as possible. Each therapy session is tailored to the client’s (or group’s) specific needs and unique abilities.
Does my child need to have musical talent or music skills to benefit from music therapy?
Not at all! Everyone can benefit from music regardless of whether or not they have music skills prior to treatment. Some considerations that music therapists take into account when working with young children include:
Does a child physically and emotionally respond more to musical stimuli than other stimuli?
What individual developmental or sensory attention does this child need to positively engage with musical experiences?
How can music play a role in supplementing the pre-academic skills of each child?
How can music play a role in supplementing the developmental needs of each child?
However you may celebrate the Week of the Young Child, we hope that you will take some time to give a little extra love to parents and teachers of young children. From all of us at MTC, we appreciate you and your important role in raising up the next generation!
Helping professions come in many different forms. And while music therapy is an effective therapy modality for individuals of all ages and needs on its own, it can also be a part of a bigger team of allied health professionals.
In this post, I want to showcase other health professions that serve to accomplish many of the same goals as music therapy, as well as show how the expertise of each distinct profession can be used to collaborate with music therapists to maximally serve the needs of each client.
SPEECH THERAPY is implemented by a speech language pathologist (SLP), who works to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d.)
What might it look like for a speech therapist and music therapist to co-treat together?
For a child who has a speech impairment, a speech therapist may help identify certain physical and neurological components with which the child is having difficulty. The speech therapist and music therapist may design interventions to address the specific impairment, which might look like composing a song that incorporates certain syllables within the song lyrics, certain rhythms that address various motor coordination, and certain note durations to improve breath support.
PHYSICAL THERAPY includes treatment by a physical therapist that creates individual treatment plans to match each person’s goals, helping people improve their fitness and function, avoid surgery, reduce the use of opioids and other drugs, and partner in their own care (American Physical Therapy Association, 2018, n.d.).
What might it look like for a physical therapist and music therapist to co-treat together?
For individuals who have suffered a stroke, it may be hard for the patient to walk at a regular pace for long durations of time. A physical therapist may assist the patient in the physical components of exercising while at the same time, the music therapist may match the exercise with a regular rhythmic beat. By matching the body’s movement with an auditory cue, duration of exercise increases, perception of fatigue decreases, and movement becomes more organized.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY helps people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes (American Occupational Therapy Association, n.d.).
What might it look like for an occupational therapist and music therapist to co-treat together?
A child with Autism Spectrum Disorder may have difficulty with the daily routine of dressing and undressing. An occupational therapist may work with the child to incorporate certain adaptations, such as adding velcro or elastic to clothing to make changing easier. A music therapist may then compose a song with lyrics that include step-by-step directions for how to open and close the velcro on the child’s jacket.
There are so many ways that individuals of all ages and needs can receive support to have the best quality of life. Isn’t it amazing that all of these therapeutic modalities have their own expertise, yet can come together to form a powerhouse interdisciplinary team?
To find out more about how music therapy can be a part of your loved one’s care, click here.
