Intern’s Corner – Week 16

Happy New Year all! While everyone was celebrating the end of 2021, I was also celebrating the beginning of my 23rd year! A lot of change happens for me this time of year both my birthday and New Years. This often leads to much self reflection. This last week during my internship I reflected on the time times I felt confident in myself and the time I did not. I wanted to discover what makes me feel confident in myself.

Reflecting on the times I felt confident in myself I found that I felt:

  • Comfortable
  • In Control
  • Natural
  • Calm
  • I don’t over think
  • Decision making is quicker and easier
  • Small mistakes don’t affect me

Additionally, when I reflected on the times I did not feel confident in myself found I felt:

  • Uncomfortable
  • Awkward
  • On Edge
  • I over think
  • I make slower decisions
  • Small mistakes get to me

I find myself often getting frustrated with myself that I can’t always feel confident in myself. I thought that the difference between the two was not having fear. However, upon contemplation, I realized that the difference between the two wasn’t having no fear, but having trust in myself.

What is Self Trust to Me?

Self trust to me is looking at a situation, knowing what to do, and actions on it with out questioning myself. Additionally, it self trust is the ability to going into sessions feeling comfortable that I know what I am doing and that I know the music.

This year I want to focus on trusting myself. I will be finishing my internship, taking the CBMT exam, and starting my job search. Self trust is necessary for these important events I have coming up this year. I need to have trust in my abilities and knowledge. In turn, I’ll feel much more confident and comfortable in myself. I want spend my 23rd year and 2022 trusting and feeling like my most confident self.

I hope your 2022 is full of joy, success, and trust in yourself.

Lillian

Intern’s Corner – Week 15

Hello all! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas! Now that Christmas is over, the attention is turned to New Years. 2021 has been another crazy year, but so many exciting things have happened too.

2021 GLR-AMTA Conference

The Great Lakes Region AMTA Conference was my first online conference! Attending conference from my college dorm room wasn’t quite the same as attending in person. However, I still got so much from attending! My research partner and I’s research project was chosen to be in the poster fair. This was incredibly exciting opportunity to get to share our research! Additionally, I was elected to be the Parliamentarian for the GLR AMTAS.

My Internship Search

 I began my internship search in Fall 2020, but a majority of my search happened in the spring of 2021. I applied for four internship sites and I made to the interview stage for three of those. During a discussion with my professor about what I wanted out of internship, my professor put me in touch with Katey at MTC. On March 10th 2021 I was offered an internship with MTC!

Finishing My Coursework

One of the biggest thing to come out of this year was the completion of my music therapy course work at Western Illinois University. I was incredibly proud to have completed my coursework with a 3.9 GPA. In addition to completing my course work, I performed in my final WIU Opera Workshop performance and sang in my final University Singer’s concert. I finished up my term as the president of the WIU Music Therapy Association. I was so glad I had the opportunity to walk in the WIU Graduation Ceremony.

Starting Internship

The second biggest thing to happen this year was starting my internship! Ever since I accepted my internship on March 20th, I eagerly awaited the start of my internship. It was incredibly nerve racking moving to a new place and to start internship. I am now halfway through my internship and have learned so many wonderful lessons. I have begun leading sessions and have begun to find my footing as a music therapy intern.

Overall, 2021 has been such a wonderful and exciting year! I am looking forward to many exciting events in 2022:

  • Finishing internship
  • Taking the CBMT Exam
  • Starting my job search

Thank you for reading, I hope you all have a happy New Year!!

Lillian

Intern’s Corner – Week 14


A lot was supposed to happen this last week.

  • I was going to lead a new intervention with the students at the Hope School.
  • My midterm project was due.
  • I was writing an adapted piano piece to do with a client.
  • I was supposed to lead a majority of the group time at SPARC.
  • And more.

There was a lot to do this week.

Monday night I had a tickle in my throat. By the next morning I was congested and had a sore throat. I had a cold. Two years ago I would have shrugged it off and gone to my classes. I maybe would have worn a mask if I felt like it was truly needed. However, it is not two years ago and I now work with many clients who are immunocompromised. It is better to be safe than sorry to protect our clients, so I took a sick day. Then one day became two, two days became three, and three days became four.

I don’t particularly like taking days off. I dislike missing days, as it makes me feel unproductive and behind. Additionally, I was sad not to get to see our client for so many days. I did not like taking four days off. However, I still had a productive week. This blog post will be a little peek into what sick week is like for a music therapy intern.  

My Week

So I had a sense of normalcy, I woke up every day around the same time I typically do. Along with that, I got ready and dressed like I typically would. When I felt well enough to, I worked on projects and documentation during the mornings. I found time to practice piano, voice, and guitar.

While I missed out on going to some of our contract sites, I did get to zoom into some of the lessons and sessions at MTC. I was so glad for this, as this meant I at least had the opportunity to observe the sessions and lessons.  Additionally, we did repertoire check and supervision via Zoom.

To my dismay, I found myself also needing to take breaks to rest and nap. I was itching to get back to MTC and work with our clients, but I needed to feel better before I could. I made sure I was drinking a lot of water, eating regularly, and resting when I needed it.

Over this week I learned that:

It’s okay to not alway be productive.

When I originally took Tuesday off my thought was “I am going to get so much done today”. While I did get a lot done, I did not get as much done as I thought I should have. I originally felt upset with myself because of this. However, I realized that I wasn’t feeling well and I needed to also focus on feeling better so I could get back to my clients quicker.

Thank you for reading! I hope you all stay healthy and have a happy holiday!
Lillian

Intern’s Corner – Week 13

One of my biggest musical inspirations and influences for a majority life has been Taylor Swift. This week is Taylor Swift’s birthday and my 13th blog post. I thought it would be fun to reflect on the influence Taylor Swift and her music have had on me as a person and a future music therapist. 

My Swiftie Origin Story

As a child I listened mainly to country music. Country music is very male-heavy, which, while I enjoyed it, didn’t resonate with me as a 9-year-old girl. I think this is why Taylor Swift’s music stood out to me. Her music was country, but held a similarity to the music in other media I was consuming, like Disney Channel. Taylor Swift’s debut album was one of the first CDs I owned and I was hooked from there.

Inspiration to Learn

As a child, seeing videos of Taylor Swift playing the guitar excited me. I wanted to play the guitar like Taylor Swift. I received a guitar for Christmas when I was in the 6th grade and I attempted to learn to play it for years to come. Taylor Swift’s songs were a helpful tool for me while I was learning how to play the guitar, ukulele and the piano. I used songs like “Mean” and “Stay Stay Stay” to learn and become comfortable with bar chords on the guitar. When I did my guitar and piano competencies in college, I used the songs “New Years Day” and “Stay Stay Stay.”

Soundtrack to My Life

Taylor Swift’s songs have a reputation for being about relationships and breakups. However, there are many songs that I was able to relate to as a child and then teenager listening to her music. Using Taylor Swift’s music, I learned how to emotionally relate and identify with songs. Additionally, I have many memories associated with the songs and albums of Taylor Swift.

  • “I’m Only Me When I’m With You” makes me think of my elementary school friendships. 
  • “Mean” got me through the ups and downs of middle school.
  • Her album, 1989, brings me back to driving around my hometown as a teenager with old friends.
  • Her album, Lover, brings me back to driving around Macomb, Il with my friends in college.
  • Her albums, Folklore and Evermore were bright spots to an otherwise dark year, 2020. 
  • “This is Me Trying” was a support for me during the stressful times in my senior year of college. 

A Uniting Factor

Taylor Swift’s songs have been a uniting factor in my life. I bonded with people in college who later became my friends because of Taylor Swift songs. Additionally, I have bonded over Taylor Swift songs with professors and supervisors. Since Taylor Swift is a very widely beloved singer, discussing and using Taylor Swift songs helped me build rapport with clients and patients who are Taylor Swift fans. 

Without a doubt, I wouldn’t be the person and musician I am today without Taylor Swift and her music. I am incredibly grateful for her music and am so excited about what she is going to do next.

Happy Taylor Swift Day!!!

Lillian 

Intern’s Corner – Week 12

Many music therapists make use of song rewrites of familiar songs with clients. In honor of the Holiday season and my 12th blog post, I decided to do a rewrite of the 12 Days of Christmas based on my internship experience. I give you: The 12 Days of Christmas at MTC!

On the first day of Christmas at MTC…

I Practiced One Piano Piece

I have been working on my piano skills lately, particularly practicing Silent Night.

I Read Two Singable Stories

We make use of singable stories during Listen and Learn sessions and our sessions at the Hope School.

I Talked with Three Supervisors

I work directly with three music therapists at MTC: Katey, Molly and Emma.

I Went to Four Contract Site

With the MTC music therapists, I go to four contract sites to conduct music therapy sessions: St. John’s Children’s Hospital, The Hope School, SPARC and Concordia Senior Services.

I Wrote Five Session Notes

After each session, we write sessions notes based on what happened during the session and the client’s goals and objectives.

I Strummed Six Guitar Strings

The guitar is the instrument that I use the most on a daily basis when working with clients.

I Sang Seven Listen and Learn Song

I have learned many Listen and Learn songs that I use during Listen and Learn sessions, at the Hope School and with patients at St, John’s Children’s Hospital.

I Played Eight Colorful Chimes

We use a set of eight chimes with one of the clients we see at MTC and many of the patients at St. John’s Children’s Hospital.

I Made Nine Garageband Songs

As an intern, I am required to do weekly assignments. For these weekly assignments I have written nine songs and made recordings of them on Garageband.

I Shook Ten Egg Shakers

I’ve found that giving clients instruments, particularly shakers are a great way to encourage participation!

I Lead Eleven Interventions

I’m not quite leading full sessions yet, but I lead many music therapy interventions a week with our clients during sessions.

I Wrote Twelve Blog Posts

Another one of my internship assignments is creating weekly blog posts. I have now written 12 Intern’s Corner blog posts!

I hope you enjoyed The 12 Days of Christmas at MTC!


Intern’s Corner – Week 11

Thanksgiving has sadly come and gone. The silver lining to Thanksgiving being over is that it’s now officially the Christmas/holiday season! I am so excited for all of the baking and Hallmark movies that the next month has in store. I have always had a love for Christmas music, so I’m going to ring in the season by sharing some of my favorite Christmas/Holiday songs!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

I have known this song since I was a young child. However, it didn’t become one of my favorites until I was in the 5th grade. I was a member of a traveling choir at my school, which O Come O Come Emmanuel was a part of our Christmas set that year. Ever since then this song has had a special place in my heart. 

My favorite lyric: “Rejoice, Rejoice Emmanuel.”

City of Silver Dreams and Gold and Green

When I was a child, my mom LOVED the band, Sugarland. One year she bought Sugarland’s Christmas album: Gold and Green. I spent many Christmases listening to this album and still give it a listen at least once during the Christmas season. Out of the songs on this album the songs City of Silver Dreams and Gold and Green are my favorites. They are both very pretty ballads that bring about a feeling of nostalgia for me.

My favorite lyric from City of Silver Dreams: “Snowy night, catch the light, shimmer bright, Angels sing.” My favorite lyric from Gold and Green: “And everything looks better in gold and green, The lights on the trees in the eyes of our children, Are the prettiest I’ve ever seen.”

The 12 Days of Christmas

The 12 Days of Christmas is a song that I have always found to be really fun! It’s a long song, but easy to sing along with and the imagery is so fun to me. The music therapy adaptations for this song are really fun too! The song is a good template for song rewrites and adaptations. Additionally it is a great song to reinforce academic skills, particularly counting up and back. Since it is a well known song it is also a great song to encourage participation by having clients sing along and fill in words.

My Favorite Lyric: “On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 12 Drummers Drumming.”

Christmas Tree Farm

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a BIG fan of Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift had released a short Christmas album in 2007 that I didn’t enjoy, I have held onto hope she would release new Christmas music at some point. Two years ago, Taylor Swift unexpectedly dropped a Christmas song, which was everything I could have wanted from a Taylor Swift song and a Christmas song. Christmas Tree Farm is an upbeat bop that feels so Christmassy to me!  Taylor Swift has recently released a jazzy version of Christmas Tree Farm, which I love so much too.

Favorite Lyric: “In my heart is a Christmas tree farm where the people would come to dance under sparkling lights.”

O Holy Night

During my freshman year of college, I was going to take part in a Christmas concert at a student center that I was actively involved in. On a whim I chose to sing O Holy Night as my solo for this concert. Not many people attended this concert, but I felt really good about the performance I gave. The beginning of my freshman year of college was a very stressful time for me, but singing this song really helped raise my self esteem. Ever since then, this song has held a special place in my heart

Favorite Lyric: “Fall on your knees and hear the angels voices.”

Happy beginning to the Christmas/Holiday season! I’m excited to get to sing and play our clients favorite Christmas/Holiday songs with them. Hope you all get the opportunity to sing and hear your favorite Christmas/Holiday songs this year!