Last week I talked about rhythm – the most basic element of music – and how we are born to live rhythmically. We are born with a basic beat, a heartbeat, and live our lives at regular intervals, minute to minute, hour by hour, day and night, month to month, year to year. Rhythm sets… Read more »
Rhythm: The Element of Movement
After taking a coarse from Christine Stevens entitled “Music Medicine”, one of the concepts brought up in her coarse specifically, I had begun to look at , ignited reflection on the work I do, the concept of rhythm. Rhythm- the measurement of pulse, a regular scheduled timing of continuous sound and silence, movement and rest…. Read more »
The Importance of the “Rest”
Recently, I have been concerned with my client “Frankie.” Concerned because I haven’t been seeing outward growth behavior demonstrated. “Frankie” is so intensely connected to the music that after sixty minutes, when I put the guitar away, he runs screeching because it is being put down. I see progress, then often no outward demonstrating behaviors,… Read more »
The Benefits of Drumming
The wonderful thing about a drum is that there are no wrong notes. This makes playing successful to anyone who tries it. Who would ever think that giving some drums to a small group of chaotic, unfocused, hyper children could actually pull their attention together and help increase their social skills. Knowing that children automatically… Read more »
Music and Visuals, A Key to Success with Speech Difficulties
Think about it. What happens if I sing “A, B, C, D, E, F… ?’ What do you do in your head if I play seven notes of a scale ” Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti… ,” and I leave out the last note? Do you not fill it in in your head?… Read more »
Why I Love Music Therapy
Many things happened on this quiet snowy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. My husband left for work, and my oldest son for college. My younger son was still sleeping, not yet starting his schedule of activities, and my daughter at an overnight. I had the choice today to start out and go to my first… Read more »
Guest Post: How Music Can Be Therapeutic To Kids With Special Needs
Music Therapy Advocacy month has arrived! As part of this community this weeks post is written by guest blogger Naomi Esterely. Naomi Esterly is a stay-at-home mom to two rambunctious, yet adorable, little boys and a newborn baby girl. In her spare time she balances writing freelance for 1800Wheelchair.Com and coaching her community’s little league…. Read more »
Music Therapy Advocacy Month, Changing A Life
Introduction: Advocacy –> Recognition –> Access Since 2005, the American Music Therapy Association and the Certification Board for Music Therapists have collaborated on a State Recognition Operational Plan. The primary purpose of this plan is to get music therapy and our MT-BC credential recognized by individual states so that citizens can more easily access our… Read more »
Speech Series – Part 5 Word Retrieval and Auditory Processing Difficulties
In this last part of the speech series, I decided to write about using Music Therapy in word retrieval problems, something I am finding myself running across frequently lately. This is for the children who already have some controlled speech. Some of the children can speak in one to three word sentences, but not at… Read more »