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I’ve always enjoyed the piano and revere it as one of the most beautiful instruments. Nonetheless, it is one that I am nowhere near mastering. However, this past week I was able to attend a workshop for the music therapy team at MTCCA for the piano taught by Jay Jay Lim, specifically on how to expand our repertoire for simple left hand accompaniment patterns (see photo below). We were taught several different patterns in multiple styles that could easily be modified to teach a client in an adapted lesson, or utilized by a music therapist in a variety of ways (e.g. played during a drum circle or for improvisation). Jay Jay did an incredible job at conveying how straightforward, yet effective, a few different accompaniment patterns in anyone’s toolkit can be. *

I was reminded of how something as small as having a variety of rhythms and melodies to play can enhance a client’s experience through giving them more choices and continuing to hold their interest and attention so that sessions can always progress.

IMG_1882After all, it is all about the client. As music therapists, it is our job to support our clients and help them to grow. We can offer that support and growth in musical form by providing an interesting piano accompaniment backing a song they have been working on singing to improve articulation or respiratory strength, and building confidence through that experience and process. Through this workshop my aspirations were re-ignited to continue to grow and cultivate my skills with piano so that I can be a well-rounded therapist who is able to effectively use the piano to help facilitate growth with my clients.

-Noriah Uribe

*I’d encourage you to check out the wonderfully talented Jay Jay and the work he does at Greene Music Education Center. 

L.H. Piano accompaniment

Hello!

Spring is just around the corner!

I’ve been working on quite a few speech goals with my clients, and I wrote a song to facilitate a fun “Feed The Bunny” activity I found on Pinterest. Here’s a video of the song as well as a link to the visuals!

Easter egg: Aksel see’s something outside he doesn’t like about halfway through!


Enjoy!

Link to Visuals: TeachersPayTeachers

Purple and Pink Valentine's Day Card.jpg

Hello!

I just wanted to share a quick song fill-in-the-blank I made for a couple of my clients that could be used for Valentine’s Day (or any day!)

One Love Rewrite

I’ve left in a couple category prompts (eating, going to), but get creative with your categories! Utilize this as a mad lib, or write as you go. Here are a few ideas for more categories:

  • seasons
  • holidays
  • family members & pets
  • super heroes
  • television shows/movies
  • animals
  • band/singer
  • instrument
  • hobbies
  • weather

Enjoy!

You know when you hear someone say, “If I had a nickel for every time I’d heard that…”
Well, at the risk of sounding cliché, if I had a nickel for every time I heard something like, “Music therapy? What is that?” I’d have… more nickels.
The funny part is, even though I’ve run across countless music therapy questions during my school and intern careers, I haven’t always felt satisfied with my quick explanations. If you think about it, you only have a small window of time to capture your inquirer’s attention and leave them with a good first impression of music therapy. That’s a lot of pressure!
Fear not, music therapy friends. I have compiled some of my favorite tips, imparted upon me by some wise music therapists, for being an effective liaison to the world of music therapy. By following the presented steps, you should walk away from each of your introductions to music therapy feeling confident that you made a positive impression on your audience, established yourself as an informed authority, and that you contributed to the health of the music therapy discipline in general. Nice job.
Side note, if you feel so inclined to share or reuse the infographic, please refer credit back to The Music Therapy Center of California.
Happy music-making!
~Esther
Introducing MT Infographic

Musical Attention Control Training: MACT

What is MACT?

Musical Attention Control Training, or MACT, is the use of music experiences and/or musical elements to practice a specific type of attention.

To really understand MACT, we’re going to take a closer look at the “A” in that acronym, for attention.

 Attention is the selective awareness of or selective responsiveness to the sensory environment around you. The ability to choose where you focus your attention is the first step in the learning process, and we all differ in our abilities to control our attention. The good news: we can develop attention control skills like building blocks through structured practice! We can conceptualize the types of attention as a pyramid, starting with focused attention as the base:

 

 

What does MACT look like in a music therapy session?

Music therapists tailor MACT exercises to suit their clients’ interests and clinical needs. As a result, MACT can look very different from session to session or client to client. MACT exercises may entail the use of many different music-based therapeutic music experiences.

For example, music therapists may facilitate sustained instrument-playing incorporating preferred and (the ever tricky) non-preferred instruments. Alternatively, a sustained attention exercise may call for the client and therapist to play instruments while the client adjusts their playing style (e.g. fast vs. slow, loud vs. soft, high vs. low, etc.) in response to musical cues (ideally without verbal prompts) from the therapist. A music therapist may target selective attention by introducing extraneous sound “distractors” to a music experience and challenge the client not to respond to (e.g. turn head to look at) the distractors.

Alternating attention exercises may require a client to shift their attention between two tasks, like tracking visual notation (e.g. sheet music) and playing an instrument simultaneously. At the end of the day, MACT could refer to a wide range of active or receptive music experiences, as long as they are designed to practice one or more types of attention, and utilize music as a delivery medium.

How music makes it work:

Active and receptive music experiences share powerful patterns of brain activation in the bilateral frontal lobes, brainstem, and attention systems in the cerebral cortex. This overlap ensures that the attention skills practiced with music will translate to other contexts, like school or vocational skills. Furthermore, music experiences like instrument-playing, singing, or improvising are often intrinsically motivating, allowing music therapists to get our “foot in the door” to engage with clients and bolster attention skills. Finally, music, as an organized auditory stimulus, brings timing, grouping, and temporal organization so that attention can be sustained and strengthened over time.

 

Thanks for reading!

~Esther

For my first journal entry for internship on May 28th, I wrote about my expectations and philosophy of internship.

“My internship philosophy is generally focused around growth, change, and learning. I hope to grow as a clinician, musician, professional, and person during my time in internship. I know that some of what I believed to be true prior to starting internship will change and shift during the six months, whether that be about internship itself, music therapy, or myself. I know that I will change during this time, and though at times it may be hard, it will all be shaping me into a quality music therapist. I hope to learn all that I can during this time in whatever ways I can, from whoever I can. I have already learned so much in three weeks, so I cannot even imagine the wealth of knowledge and skill set I will leave internship with. My expectations of this internship are mostly that I will have little free time, I will be giving my all into planning and implementing session material, and I will gain lots of insight and knowledge about the ins and outs of music therapy in a private practice setting.”

As I am reflecting at the end of my internship, I am surprised at how accurate my expectations were. I’ve had little free time, I’ve stretched and challenged myself, and I have grown significantly in many ways. I am grateful for the experiences and opportunities I’ve had, and ending it is definitely bittersweet. I’ve created an infographic about my top internship learnings:

Top internship learnings (1).jpg

 

As I enter this next season of life and my professional career, I feel prepared to tackle whatever may come my way.

Darby

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending an AERO (Arts Education Resource Organization) workshop on arts integration in the classroom. The La Jolla Playhouse’s Arts Academy showcased their model for co-teaching with teaching artists and classroom teachers, and the benefits of having the arts integrated in the classroom. Their model is an equal collaboration between a teaching artist and classroom teacher, integrating the arts into the educational material.

“I do, we do, you do.”

Throughout the workshop, presenters Julia and Lydia stressed the importance of equal partnership between the teaching artist and the classroom teacher. An “I do, we do, you do” model from both perspectives. A great collaboration happens when both parties are willing to learn and share ideas, and help each other with the execution of them. I spoke with one of the teaching artists on one of our breaks, and she was talking about how the classroom teacher that she is paired with grades papers and sits in the back on her phone when she is doing the arts programming. She was frustrated because the classroom teacher took her coming in as an excuse to relax, instead of co-teaching and getting the most of the collaboration. After listening to her, I too was feeling frustrated. I was upset that the teacher seemed to be too lazy and uninterested to learn about the arts portion and used it as an excuse to check out. However, right after I had this conversation and was feeling second-hand frustration, Jessica Baron, founder and director of Guitars in the Classroom got up to speak, bringing an entirely new perspective and understanding to the conversation. She brought up the point that classroom teachers are extremely vulnerable in front of their students. Kids can be quite the tough crowd, and teachers work hard to build rapport and respect with their class. They are comfortable teaching what they know. However, when they are faced with a new concept (theater, music, dance, etc.) that they are not confident in or familiar with, it can be a scary thing. The teacher may not want to risk failing in front of her class. Understanding that side of the conversation was important, and crucial for the teaching artists to understand a deeper level of the classroom teacher’s uncertainty with arts collaboration. The relationship between the teaching artist and must be one of respect, understanding, and a willingness to be open and try new things.

The presenters also brought up Bloom’s Taxonomy Pyramid levels of learning, and how the arts can be integrated in each step. The steps are create, evaluate, analyze, apply, understand, and remember. The co-teaching/collaboration must be occurring throughout all of these steps as well.

Blooms-Taxonomy-650x366.jpg

Though the program was demonstrated for theater, the transfers to music or really any other art form were easy to make. Music can bring in a new and innovative way to learn material, such as writing a song to remember the order of the presidents, putting a short story to music, and countless other ways.

To learn more about integrating arts into the classroom, or how you can be a part of these organizations, check out these sites:

https://aerosd.sdcoe.net/About-AERO

https://lajollaplayhouse.org/education/in-school-programs/  

“The mission of AERO is to build bridges between schools and the arts community, ensuring an arts-inclusive education for all San Diego County students.”

Darby

The out-of-sync visual sense in children can lead to countless behaviors and issues if left unaddressed. It often goes undiagnosed, accompanies another diagnosis, or is misdiagnosed as something else. Knowing the signs of visual sensory processing disorder as well as some general facts about vision can help you be aware of these things in your children or clients. The infographic below depicts sensory processing disorder of the visual sense as written by Carol Stock Kranowitz in her book, The Out of Sync Child. 

out of sync visual.jpg

You can purchase The Out of Sync Child on amazon here.

Darby

Sensory processing is defined by Carol Stock Kranowitz in The Out of Sync Child as, “neurological procedure of organizing the information we take in from our bodies and the world around us for use in daily life.”

Parts of sensory processing:

  • Reception and detection: sensations received in the PNS and CNS notices them
  • Integration: sensory systems connect in the brain
  • Modulation: brain’s regulation of sensory input
  • Discrimination: tell the difference between sensory stimuli, allows us to perceive quality, similarities, and differences among sensations
  • Postural responses and praxis: get into and stay in a stable position, conceptualize a sequenced movement, organize body, and execute the task

The infographic below depicts these parts of the process and the cyclical manner in which they occur.

Blue Violet Lifecycle Cycle Diagram (1).jpg

When any of these parts of the process is disrupted, sensory processing disorder occurs. Kranowitz defines sensory processing disorder as, “the inability to use information received through the senses in order to function smoothly in daily life.” Subtypes and symptoms of the disorder include:

  • Sensory modulation problems: (over responsive) avoids touching or being touched, avoids moving or being moved, insecure about balance, rigid and uncoordinated, over excited with too much to look at, covers ears, objects to normal odors, objects to textures and temperatures of foods. (under responsive) unaware of physical feelings, protects self poorly, ignores visual stim, responds slowly to approaching objects, ignores ordinary sounds, unaware of odors, eat food without reaction. (sensory craving) bumps into people, craves spinning and movement, craves squeezes, seeks visual stim, attracted to shiny things, welcomes loud noises, seeks strong odors.  
  • Sensory discrimination problems: poor body awareness, cannot feel self falling, clumsy, difficulty telling differences in pictures or expressions, differentiating between sounds, cannot distinguish smells
  • Sensory-based motor problems: loose/floppy muscle tone, loses balance easily, difficulty using both sides of body at once, no hand preference
  • Dyspraxia: difficulty understanding and doing complex/sequenced movements, poor coordination, difficulty with manual tasks and using both eyes together, may drool excessively and trouble articulating speech

Treatment/therapies for sensory processing disorder have proven to be effective in improving sensory processing in children. If you recognize these symptoms in your child or client, a formal diagnosis can be made by a healthcare professional, and several free treatment options may be available through state and community based programs.

You can purchase The Out of Sync Child on Amazon here. 

Darby

Over the past few months, I’ve gotten really into podcasts. I have a lot of drive time with my current schedule, and sometimes I don’t really feel like listening to music during/after a busy day full of music therapy. But driving in silence doesn’t seem all that fun either. That’s when podcasts came into my life and rocked my drive time. I get to chill out, decompress, but still feel like I’m maximizing my time because I’m LEARNING!

There are several music therapy specific podcasts, each with their own topics and specialties. Here is a quick guide to some current music therapy podcasts to help you find one that best meets your listening interests.

Instru(mental)

    • Where to Listen: Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, the website: https://www.instrumentalpodcast.com/author/breaymail-com/.
    • Who’s speaking?: Brea Murakami
    • Some Topics covered: “Music, Rewards, and Dopamine,” “Personality and Music Preference” “Music and Shopping Preference”
    • About: “Instru(mental) is a podcast that explores how music impacts our behavior, thoughts, and feelings. We review music psychology research in an approachable and digestible way from a music therapist’s perspective. And, every episode offers practical takeaways to apply what you learn into daily life!”

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AMTA-PRO Podcast Series

  • Where to Listen: on the website: http://amtapro.musictherapy.org/, or subscribe to listen on iTunes through the website
  • Who’s speaking?: various music therapists
  • Some topics covered: “Addressing Cognitive Skills in Children with ASD,” “Guide to Clinical MT Research,” “ Preventative MT in Limited-Resource Communities,” “What is Mindfulness Anyway?”
  • About: “AMTA-Pro is filled to the brim with a wealth of podcasts featuring your colleagues sharing reflections, strategies, insider tips, and details about every aspect of music therapy.”

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Music Therapy Research Blog

  • Where to Listen: on their website http://www.musictherapyresearchblog.com/tag/podcast/
  • Who’s speaking?: Andrew Knight, Ph.D, MT-BC and Blythe LaGasse, Ph.D, MT-BC interview various music therapy researchers
  • Some topics covered: effects of music therapy on pain, the efficacy of music therapy concerning neurologic music therapy, and Guided Imagery & Music with medical patients
  • About: “The purpose of this blog is to provide a resource for the music therapy clinician – where you can find unsolicited information on current research, ways to generalize findings into practice, and tips about maintaining an evidence-based practice. The intent is not to “prove” or “disprove” any one methodology in music therapy – it is to simply present what is found.”

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The Travelling Music Therapist

  • Where to Listen: iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, or their website (PlayerFM) https://player.fm/series/the-travelling-music-therapist
  • Who’s speaking: various music therapists
  • Some topics covered: “Being A New MT Grad in Germany,” “The Experiences of a Registered Music Therapist in central Japan,” “Pioneering Music Therapy”
  • About: This podcast includes interviews from music therapists all over the world, giving listeners a global perspective of music therapy.

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Guitars and Granola Bars

  • Where to Listen: Apple Podcasts, the website: https://listenlearnmusic.com/ggb61.
  • Who is speaking?: Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC
  • Some topics covered: “Prioritizing Self Care,” “Making Music for Ourselves,” “Wearing Multiple Hats in Music Class”
  • About: “A podcast and blog for music therapists and anyone else balancing a passion-fueled career with being a parent.”

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Darby