Share how you can explain to parents the difference between music for development and music for skill building.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Barb Blackburn]

I always tell people (especially parents) that musical skills are not a requirement for music therapy, or for sprouting melodies. We are not teaching your children to play instruments and sing, rather we are teaching them functional, developmental skills through music! Most kids, especially in therapy, don’t realize that they are working when they are doing music. I also mention that remembering a rhythm or a melodic tune is easier than remembering a list of things. Singing songs about body awareness, academic concepts, following directions etc. are better learned through singing, it’s easier to recall, and more fun. Through music, children are enhancing motor skills such as coordinating movements (clapping and stomping together, or using a two handed instrument). The children are also working on their cognitive skills by making choices. Which instrument would you like to play? Do you want to play fast or slow? Loud or quiet? Jump or skip? Children are also learning communication skills. By including sign language within a Sprouting Melodies session the younger children can learn to express their needs earlier in life. They are also learning appropriate social skills, such as learning to take turns, share, and respond to requests appropriately. All of these skills are very important for a child to learn at a young age, and what’s a more fun way to learn these important developmental skills than by making music!

[Lauren Roberts]

This difference (between music for development and music for skill building) is usually how I explain to people what music therapy even is: “rather than teach children music, I use music to teach other skills.” In the case of Sprouting Melodies, these “other skills” are developmental milestones. Moving to music and playing instruments aids in developing motor skills. Listening to music, singing music, and signing to music aids in developing communication skills. And so on. The difference to me is that we aren’t actually TEACHING these skills. Yes, we design and plan sessions with this end goal in mind; however, the skills naturally develop and occur purely through participation in the music activities. Some children will develop more quickly than others, and in Sprouting Melodies that is okay, because it isn’t all about learning the skills, but the overall development process.

[Lauren Caso]

I would say examples of music for development would be: use of fine and gross motor songs to facilitate appropriate movement such as clapping, jumping, swimming, etc. Using motor-based songs can also help increase ability to identify body parts, mirror movements, and practice self control with scarfs, body or when playing instruments. Such musical interventions can aid in development through music.

Examples of music for skill building would consist of: increasing communication through use of Hello and Goodbye songs, increasing socialization and communication by passing the drum or greeting peers appropriately (with hand shakes, verbalizing hello, signing, etc), and using language or body to make choices when prompted, practicing self-control while turn taking in music, following directions in music, building cognitive and literacy skills by use of books, encouraging self-expression and creativity through dance and singing, and perhaps demonstrating leadership, sharing or more advanced skills through prompts within the music.

I feel it is always important to explain to parents how sometimes we are looking at the process within certain activities, as well as the goals we are presenting within each activity. Sometimes I like to say we are using music as ‘medicine’ almost, or rather that the goal is often nonmusical, but disguised within the music. 😉

[Meredith Pizzi]

I like the short line Lauren R. used. – Rather than teach children music, I use music to teach other skills.” Well said! And yes, we are not teaching the skills in a formal curriculum format. Instead, we are providing developmentally appropriate music experiences that give opportunities to master developmental skills. And just wait until you see the skills the kids in your group develop! You will be amazed! I am all the time!

[Ann Dardis]

I agree that Lauren’s statement does a great job in clarifying the difference between music for development and music for skill building. We use music in so many different ways – to create family bonding, to teach turn-taking and sharing, to allow for emotional expression, to encourage vocalization & speech, etc. etc. etc. And all of this is done without the child even realizing it. It’s fun and games for them with music.

[Amy Dunlap]

This makes me think of one of the first “one liners” I learned as a music therapy student. We were taught that music therapy emphasizes the process while music education emphasizes the product. Back then, this even helped us as students to keep track of what we were to be learning. I think the same is true here. Explaining to parents that when the child engages in our music, the nature of the experiences is to support his/her developmental process. We can provide an example of this by showing how multifaceted the outcomes of one experience might be (i.e. functional language, socialization AND sensory integration). As we lead SM groups, the more that we emphasize the whole-person experience the children are receiving, the clearer this developmental focus will be. If we need to further explain our point, we can explain that we are not concerned with a certain response (i.e. playing, singing, attending) like we would be if we were teaching a specific skill.

[Kristen Crouch]

Since SM is a music therapy based program provided by a music therapist, the approach is different than other music classes that are teaching music skills. Our focus her is on the whole child and his development. All of our music activities focus on helping him develop and move through his developmental levels. The child will learn some music skills along the way, but it is not our focus. He is learning other skills like motor, social, communication, etc as well as music skills, so there is skill building involved. However, the focus is on his whole development.

[Caitlin Kauffman]

The ways Lauren and Amy both describe music therapy in general are similar to things I have used to explain what it is that music therapists “do” over the years. I like both of their one-liners! I would encourage parents that outcomes for their child (or children) will be better because the focus is on the WHOLE child and using age-appropriate materials and music to support healthy growth and development. Will there be growth of musical skills? Quite likely. Could this identify an aptitude for music? Of course. But is the focus of Sprouting Melodies on the development of musical skills? Not at all.
All of the SM activities use music that is created and chosen specifically to meet the children where they are, and as they grow, the music changes and adapts to their increasing abilities and skills. The music and lyrics are written and used intentionally to build skills in all domains! We can utilize particular examples of song selection to show how it targets certain behaviors/skills, and that the musical outcome is secondary to that.

[Brandy Jenkins]

**Late Entry as I am Catching Up on Posting**

Wow. Lauren R hit the nail on the head. I really couldn’t say it any better.

[Bernadette Skodack]

I LOVE the way Lauren put it! We are using the music to focus on the skills. As children (and our clients) master these skills, this is when the development happens- it’s all about the process in mastering the skills.

[Sarah Gagnon]

Music is a human experience that has been used for thousands of years to gather, celebrate and teach. Today we’re going to use music to combine relationships and awareness, from which we will focus on learning new skills.
Ex: Clapping together helps focus attention, listening and looking. We are also building social skills and physical motor skills.

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