Singing
I have been a singer most of my life. I started taking voice lessons in the sixth grade and continued throughout college. Singing has been such a common occurrence of my life. I sing every day, not always well, but there is singing:)
Being a music therapist requires singing, we make many connections with our clients through music, but more specifically singing. Throughout my internship I have learned a lot about how the brain processes music. For example, I find it very interesting that an autistic child may not be able to process spoken directions but sung directions are processed easier in the brain. This shows one aspect of how singing is important within a therapeutic relationship.
Neurologic music therapy has a technique that I find applicable here as well, known as therapeutic singing. Michael Thaut explains what this is in his book, “Rhythm, Music, and the Brain” therapeutic singing is where singing is used to facilitate initiation, development, and articulation in speech and language. This is all accomplished with singing. You can see how important singing can be if so many different reactions are possible and beneficial.
So in conclusion, don’t forget to sing every now and then you never know who is listening.
Beth
