DeScarifying Songwriting
Songwriting alone is HARD, writing a song with another person is even harder, and writing a song that has structure, meaning, intention, and addresses a specific set of goals may be a scary, scary thought. If you have 2 minutes to spare this video will show you how the characters from The Office crack under the all-too-real pressure of group songwriting. In my experience, I’ve found that songwriting is one of the most intimidating techniques to incorporate into music therapy. There are so many different ways to approach songwriting which can make it a highly overwhelming concept to tackle as a music therapy intern. However, breaking this process down into steps makes it more approachable and can help the music therapist consider how they are going to structure a songwriting experiences in order to best suit the client’s needs and goals. It is also important to assess how much original content the client is able to contribute. Some clients may be able to compose their own lyrics independently, and others might require and extra level of structure and support.
In order to keep the client focused, I’ve found that using word maps and fill-in-the-blank lyric worksheets is extremely helpful. The client is still able to decide on the topic and what they want to say about it, but it makes the session more productive and ultimately makes the song more meaningful. Below is an example of a fill-in-the-blank songwriting intervention I’ve used with a client to write about the new year.
I’ve also enjoyed experimenting with piggyback songs because they’re a great way to keep the client engaged by using their preferred music. Most songs can be simplified or re-written to focus on the client’s goals. For example, if the goal is to increase functional movement in lower body extremities by participating in therapist facilitated exercises such as toe taps, lyrics to client preferred songs could be changed to encourage them to tap their toes. The following is a piggyback song I wrote to be used with the NMT technique Therapeutic Instrumental Music Performance in order to address a client’s sensorimotor goal.
The biggest thing I’ve learned from these experiences is that every part of the songwriting process should be purposeful and reflect the function of the song. Whether the song is tackling certain emotions, social scenarios, motor movements, or articulation the song’s purpose can be reflected through each songwriting step. The following link is a useful beginner’s guide to different chord progressions and how to incorporate them with various styles of music (https://www.uberchord.com/blog/5-popular-common-guitar-chord-progressions-song-writers/). Overall, these resources and experiences have helped peel back a layer of scary and remind me of the valuable benefits of using songwriting for music therapy.
Happy songwriting!
Maggie
Sources: Angela Neve Meier, M.M., MT-BC, NMT http://www.themusictherapycenter.com/?page_id=5624
