center for early childhood music therapy, children's music therapy, music programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, music classes for young children, music therapists
This brand new e-book with over 30 blogs on music and early childhood is FREE with your Early Bird registration for the March 2014 Sprouting Melodies Training Course. Everything from using minor keys and modes to the ‘do’s and don’ts’ in early childhood settings are covered in this inspirational yet practical book.
Chances are, since you are reading this, you kept going because you were caught off guard by the mixed up words. You might not have paid attention otherwise, except that something jumped out as odd. Catching this tiny, weird change speaks to the reliance we put on our prediction about how we generally use words and what those words should mean.
I admit that in my early childhood work, words always have a musical quality and my music generally includes words. The line that separates the two is very slippery. I often used ‘motherese’ when talking with infants and toddlers. As the children get older, I put lots of rhythm and rhyme into every interaction. I easily move from singing to speaking to singing. The children I work with love it (although my own children roll their eyes when I speak that way with them)! So while I am a huge proponent of music based practice, I respect the spoken word and work to strike a balance between talk and song. I am finding a number of times when my new ‘songs’ are really ‘chants’. I thought it might be useful to outline some ideas about chant in early childhood work. Hope this helps you to both define, as well as blur, the line between the language of words and the language of music.
I know in my work that the musical elements that seem to scare non-musicians the most are the use of pitch and melody. So one thing I’ve tried to do is to take out the fixed pitch and melody and use the more non-specific inflections of chants. This often helps parents and early childhood educators to feel more confident to make music. Everybody can use their own vocal patterns. The musical interest comes with the use of rhyme, rhythm patterns, structure and repetition.
Just as with songs, the motivation always has to be driven by the children and their needs, so I identify that first. I then think of words to describe or comment on that need which the children might be able to use outside of the music setting. I find little phrases or snippets of sentences that they can use to communicate, to request, or to comment. I say the words again and again and again until they begin to fall into a rhythm or pattern. Once I hear the language or word pattern, I create a complimentary rhythmic pattern that can be repeated. I next look for a rhyme or rhymes and then begin to put all the rhyming words together in a way that makes cognitive sense and has meaning. Next I form it into a structure so that there’s overall predictability. Then I always add a little bit of surprise (rhythm, words, or sounds) usually in the third stanza or sometimes even the fourth stanza to catch the children’s attention just as I caught yours in this title.
To hear for yourself how some of these ideas sound, you can find two brand new chants that I just wrote at: http://sproutingmelodies.com/2015/01/18/hows-weather-today/
Enjoy, and keep chanting!
Beth
My family doesn’t get why I am so wrapped up in my music therapy work. At the end of a long day of sessions and team meetings and log notes, they just don’t understand why I don’t just let it all go and live like normal people do in the evening. After all, they have jobs where their work decisions really are a matter of life of death. And they come home to sitcom re-runs and exercise machines at the gym while I am still ruminating over the best music to reach Jake or Jamie or Justin.
So why do I feel so stressed? Why do many music therapists feel so stressed? Three reasons jump out for me. One is that we care so, so much. Our clients and their families are fully present to us in all their heartbreaking or beautiful or messy dimensions. We care because we are caring people. Second, we have a hard time turning our ‘therapy’ selves off. My mentor, Dr. Clive Robbins, used to say that music therapy is not what you do – it is who you are. So true! And third, we are always in a state of anticipation for the questions that inevitably come about our profession. Music therapy – what is that? Is that really a job? Do people really pay for that? Phew!
If music therapy stress is hard for me, I can imagine how hard it must be for young music therapists or interns. Since I have been doing this work for longer than many of them have been alive, I thought this might be a good time to offer some suggestions for how to change a few common practices that add to the level of anxiety and pressure at work. Although written for the music therapist working with children, some of the ideas just might work for all music therapists. Check them out.
Most music therapists in early childhood or school based work have family or staff members in the session with them. When I visit programs, I so often see the other adults sitting in the back of the room or behind the children. What good do they do there for you and especially for the children? Not much. Ask your family members or staff to sit in the circle or with the child. Ask them to sing and play. Bringing everyone into the music creates a rich, motivating auditory environment. The grownups become models for the children. Sharing the music experience with everyone will make your job easier and provide for greater carry-over for the children.
I see so many young professionals and students who drive themselves crazy with the idea that they must bring in new songs each session. When I ask them why, the answer rarely has anything to do with what is best for the children. It usually reflects the fear that the adults in the room will be bored or dismissive with repeated material. In my experience, most non-musical adults are no different from the children. They need lots of time to learn and master and integrate music.
As music therapists, we all play music. But playing WITH the music gives you a chance, within the needed repetition, to create engaging and exciting moments of therapeutic opportunity that can reach each individual child. Play with pitch, or key. Play with tempo or meter or structure. Play with dynamics or timbre. Stretch your musical self and share the freedom of musical expression.
We all do it. The session starts to get lost. Chaos is about to break out. We get tense or scared. What is the default response? Talking. In these moments of panic, we forget to use the most valuable intervention of all – music! If you are not used to using the music as the first response, it might be a bit unnerving. Rhythm is particularly powerful in organizing and gathering people. Try it…you will be amazed at how well music really works!
How do you explain what you are doing at any given moment in a session? Why do particular music interventions work? What are your expectations of the children? What are your expectations of the adults? Take the time to write yourself out a cheat sheet answering the most common questions you get. Re-write it so that you can quickly get the message out without interrupting the flow of the session. Here at Raising Harmony, we give our providers pages and pages of Sprouting Melodies Sayings – simple sentences that quickly and concisely explain the work.
Have you ever blown out your voice and then tried to go to work? Twisted your back out and then try and carry your equipment? The best way to lessen the stress of health issues that impact your work is to prevent them in the first place. Learn and practice proper posture for singing and playing. Wash your hands. Think before you lift equipment or a child. Spending time on prevention is way better than having to spend time recuperating.
Give yourself permission to step out of your role as music therapist. Enjoy all your other roles – spouse, parent, friend, or child. Immerse yourself in something that has nothing to do with your job. It’s really okay.
So will I follow all my advice in the coming week? Well, I will let you know. Meanwhile, I welcome other stress-busting ideas that will help our entire community of music therapists become less stressed and more satisfied.
Enjoy the music!
Beth
Sprouting Melodies® Training is Coming to You!
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Maybe it is because I grew up as the second child. Maybe is it because I chose to devote my life to a profession, music therapy, that requires constant explanation and promotion. Maybe I am really just obnoxious. But I love it when respected scientists report findings that support the things that I have known for years. So I am particularly crowing this summer with new research out of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. The study finds significant correlation between synchronous musical movement and social skill development in young infants. In other words, when we bounce to music with our babies, we are opening a world of connections that go way beyond keeping the baby entertained.
In my early childhood groups and in the Sprouting Melodies program we have seen this connection develop week by week. The children that move and sing and play along with their grownups to developmentally responsive music show huge growth in their interest in others and their engagement in being part of the social group. They watch their peers more closely and choose to play with them or near them. The relationship with their grownup becomes one of joy and togetherness rather than stress and conflict.
Why is this important? Because we are primarily social creatures who live and work and play and learn in groups. Those early social connections are the foundation for later success in our families, our schools and our communities. We know this and now hard science is giving us a strong backup.
As early childhood music therapists, we often feel the need to justify our value. But with science like this behind us, we can confidently articulate to parents, educators, administrators and funding sources why good quality, developmentally focused early childhood music programs are essential.
To help you out, the article citation and abstract is below. Thanks to the researchers and McMaster University, there is also a video explanation of the findings that you can share. As an added bonus, I have also included a link to a Sprouting Melodies Sing at Home video with a brand new song using music and synchronous movement that I wrote for little ones just about the same age as the babies in the research. Sing it, move with it and share it with your families and your colleagues.
And maybe, just for now, it okay for all of us in early childhood music therapy to put on a bit of attitude and say loud and clear – “I told you so!”
Enjoy!
Beth
Cirelli, L. K., Einarson, K. M. and Trainor, L. J. (2014), Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants. Developmental Science. doi: 10.1111/desc.12193
Abstract:
Adults who move together to a shared musical beat synchronously as opposed to asynchronously are subsequently more likely to display prosocial behaviors toward each other. The development of musical behaviors during infancy has been described previously, but the social implications of such behaviors in infancy have been little studied. In Experiment 1, each of 48 14-month-old infants was held by an assistant and gently bounced to music while facing the experimenter, who bounced either in-synchrony or out-of-synchrony with the way the infant was bounced. The infants were then placed in a situation in which they had the opportunity to help the experimenter by handing objects to her that she had ‘accidently’ dropped. We found that 14-month-old infants were more likely to engage in altruistic behavior and help the experimenter after having been bounced to music in synchrony with her, compared to infants who were bounced to music asynchronously with her. The results of Experiment 2, using anti-phase bouncing, suggest that this is due to the contingency of the synchronous movements as opposed to movement symmetry. These findings support the hypothesis that interpersonal motor synchrony might be one key component of musical engagement that encourages social bonds among group members, and suggest that this motor synchrony to music may promote the very early development of altruistic behavior.
A video abstract of this article can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaqWehfDm7c&feature=youtu.be
Girls like pink. Boy like blue. Dads always roughhouse. Moms always cuddle. Childhood is happy. Adulthood is serious. These stereotypes still seem to stick despite the truth that none of these qualities apply to all people all the time. It struck me this week that this same way of trying to make generalizations about the very complex human condition is what makes many people still believe the myth of major and minor. Major is always happy. Minor is always sad. Kids are happy so they must only like major music. Minor music is not happy, so kids won’t like it.
Well the reality is much, much more complex. In our everyday life, there are hundreds (or maybe thousands) of shades of emotions. It is no different for young children. Yes, there is happy. But there is also content, or pleased, or excited or exuberant. There is sad, or somber, or thoughtful, or quiet. There is mad, or angry, or frustrated, or confused. In the old days, I would have said that the emotions in early childhood are like boxes of crayons. (Do children still use crayons?) If we limit the number of crayons that we give children, we will only ever see the colors that are in the box. We then might make the assumption that those are the only colors a child likes or will use. But if we give a child a large choice of colors (Crayola 64 was my favorite) than we can begin to see all the subtle variations that splash across the paper as the child draws us a bit of themselves.
Back to the myth of major and minor. Major music and minor music absolutely is connected to human emotion. But there are many shades of major and many shades of minor. By respecting and playing that shading we can choose to support an expansive view of how children feel by giving them a full range of musical experiences including major and minor. This is often jarring for music therapy students or professionals who come to visit my sessions or listen to me present. They have a hard time letting go of the myth of major in early childhood work. The parents I work with are sometimes taken aback when I begin to sing in minor or in another mode. I have heard them say “Kids won’t like that” or “That doesn’t sound like kid’s music”. But after a lifetime of sharing all kinds of music with all kinds of kids, I know that young children will respond to major and minor and modes. And once they are caught up in the music experience, they seem grateful to have a place where they are free to choose and express all the shades of themselves. Try it!
Take a listen to this new song I wrote for very little ones and their grownup that explores the movement between major and minor. Sing it with your own little one or the little ones you work with. Teach it to Mom or Dad or Grandpa or Grandma. And then let me know if you too think that there is a mood of major and minor myth.
Enjoy singing!
Beth
How do we teach young children to think? to be creative? to ask questions? to be curious? Come watch this Sprouting Melodies Sing at Home video for some thoughts and of course another brand new song for you to sing with your child.
There’s Something New About Me E.K. Schwartz 2014
There’s something new about me. Just look and you will see. There’s something new about me. I’m learning to be me!
My hands are clapping; My feet are tapping; And I can tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
My hands are clapping; My feet are tapping; And I am ready to go!
There’s something new about me. It happens every day.There’s something new about me. And I have lots to say.
My hands are clapping; My feet are tapping; And I can tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
My hands are clapping; My feet are tapping; And I am ready to go!
There’s something new about me. Just look from head to toe. There’s something new about me. Come watch me as I grow.
My hands are clapping; My feet are tapping; And I can tell you ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
My hands are clapping; My feet are tapping; And I am ready to go!
There’s something new about me. Just look and you will see. There’s something new about me. I’m learning to be me!
This month Raising Harmony turns 2! It was a crisp, sunny February day in Boston when Meredith and I shook hands and signed the documents that began the journey of creating a place to support, share and celebrate early childhood music therapy.
Like any two-year-old, Raising Harmony is growing and moving fast.
It is through your backing and encouragement that we have been able to train almost 100 board-certified music therapists in understanding and serving the children and families of their communities. The seeds that these trainings have planted are coming into bloom with a growing number of Sprouting Melodies Providers all around the country. Read about your colleagues who have already launched a program on Sprouting Melodies Find a Class Page.
This has been one of my most popular song interventions. Some of you may have heard me present it at conferences. It is one of the songs from “You and Me Makes…We: A Growing Together Songbook”. I am so happy to be able to share it with you a birthday present and I hope that you will pass it along to your children and their families.
And make sure you visit www.RaisingHarmony.com and click the link on the right to get five free song downloads. Each song comes with full notation and some ideas on how to get the most meaningful interactions as you sing them with young children and families/
Here’s to another great year of transformation and growth!
Once again, I watched the Times Square festivities from a comfortable, warm couch. The television showed thousands of people dancing the minutes away until midnight. The music was pumping loud and rhythmic. The crowds looked energized and focused toward the deadline separating old from new. As excited as everyone seemed, though, the music at the stroke of midnight turned nostalgic and almost wistful. While I drifted off to sleep (the first activity to bring in the new year for me), I started thinking about the mixed emotions that surround wanting to move forward and wanting things to stay the same. [Read more…]
As a parent, I had to make a lot of choices about what experiences I would give my kids as they grew up. Maybe it wasn’t really as much of a choice as I thought, since I had grown up in a family where three things counted: Family; hard work; and music. So those were the things that I most wanted to pass down to my kids. [Read more…]
