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

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Jacquelyn Blankinship]

My immediate reaction to this question is that these two things are not mutually exclusive, and it’s actually rather challenging to define what makes them different!

To me, music for development focuses on broader goals. I think immediately of musical elements that work with the development of the child: anticipated surprises, dynamic ranges, pitch ranges, rhythmic complexity. Introducing more of these elements as we follow the progression of the child’s development. Supporting the growth we can see and coaxing additional growth. Also the interactions of the children with the music – interaction with their caretakers, peers, their own body (movements), etc.

Music for skill building makes me think of very specific goals that are addressed through other facets of the music: content of the songs (academic skills, counting, colors, etc.), following directions embedded within the music, using that functional language within songs as Beth and Meredith have spoken of. I think a great example of this is what Beth touched on as far as the use of books and using the presence/use of books within the music to work on building the skill of literacy.

But I think that one of the great things about this program is that it’s very clear that the music being used and the philosophy of the program works toward these two things almost simultaneously – which is why I think it was a little bit of struggle for me to differentiate the two within this framework!

[Jaycie Voorhees]

In all honesty I am struggling with finding a response to this question. As Jacquelyn stated, the two seem to go hand in hand. However from a clinical standpoint one could delineate music for development as more of the general community music therapy that is not focused on specific goals, while music for skill building could be more of the clinical aspect of music therapy where specific goals are outlined and defined for the child. But I don’t think that’s quite where we’re going with this question…

I’m interested to see others’ thoughts on this one.

[Kayla Lyles]

I also was struggling to find a response for this question. I talked with my colleague Megan who is also taking the training and we discussed your exact point Jaycie – how in looking at the clinical music therapy point of view, that could be more of the skill building, while general community groups go along with development. But I wasn’t sure where we were going with this question either so I’m looking forward to seeing others responses as I’ll admit I was a little confused.

[Amanda Braden]

Well, I too have struggled as the rest of you have said to see the distinction between these two concepts. I was also thinking the same as Jacquelyn – that music for skill building and music for development go hand-in-hand and that music for development might be focused on broader goals like using elements of music such as texture, harmony, pitch range, tempo, steady pulse, dynamics, surprises like starting and stopping, etc. would be used to support the child where they are developmentally. I too thought that music for skill building might be more specific – like using music and music experiences to help children develop skills like social skills, developing healthy bonds with parents, following simple instructions, turn-taking, body awareness and coordination, cognitive skills such as counting and color identification, and communication skills. I’m also looking forward to hearing from others on this since I too feel like I may not be understanding the question fully.

[Megan Dewing]

As Kayla shared, we talked about this together. I feel the same way as Jacquelyn; the two are not mutually exclusive, they work together. I think, for me, this is why I have some difficulty with this question. I do think that we are working towards more general development in Sprouting Melodies groups then the functional goals that we work on in our music therapy sessions. We are not looking for them to be able to reach a set group of goals; we are just looking to aid in their overall development. This is where I saw the difference…

I look forward to seeing what other have to say! As everyone else stated, I am a little confused as well.

[Anonymous]

Hi Everyone! You are all heading in the right direction with this question. As you have stated, in music therapy we look at specific skills to target and work towards developing, improving, and/or resolving from a developmental perspective. What Meredith and Beth are asking here, is differentiating between specifically targeting skills like numbers, counting, articulation that is addressed in music therapy from supporting overall development, growth, and health in a community music therapy environment like Sprouting Melodies. When families come to a Sprouting Melodies class we make a point of clarifying this to families and explaining how we are focused on supporting the overall development of their child and family dynamics and this may have an effect on speech, gross motor skills, etc., but we are not focused on addressing and developing any one specific skill in those larger domains. Does this make sense and help clarify the question? It sounds like you are all thinking this way from what I am hearing in your responses. I think this is a great topic to discuss further on our conference call tonight too. If you are able to join us tonight, feel free to bring more questions to the call!

[Michelle Russell]

Erika,
That was very helpful! I had similar thoughts to the others. I think it is extremely important for us to be able to clearly articulate this to parents. (not that I’m saying I can just yet) I think that for parents it is easier to grasp concepts like skill building. Overall development is a much less tangible concept. I look forward to learning how to share this with parents in a more effective way.

[Meredith Pizzi]

Hi Everyone, just wanted to chime in and let you know we talked about this question in particular a lot on tonight’s call. The mp3 will be posted soon. Make sure you listen to the recording so you don’t miss anything. We also talked about the question of working with babies who are premature and the idea of musical development of children who are not exposed to a lot of music in their home environment. It was a great conversation!
Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments on this page! It is great to hear your thought process as you think through the question!

[Christine Czuhajewski]

After reading the responses and the clarifications about the topic, I think a lot of this comes down to sharing the difference between music therapy services and community based music experiences. If parents inquire about this, I think it would be the perfect time to explain the different developmental levels in music. I would express that this kind of community based experience facilitates the natural development that would occur by providing structured activities that support movement through the musical developmental stages whereas music therapy with young children might target developmental growth in OTHER domain areas (communication, motor skills, academics, etc). While the process of moving through the musical developmental stages may have a positive impact on other areas, that is not the direct goal of these experiences.

[Mary Withington]

In a community based music group, the music experiences are designed to support the developmental stages of the child, and move them naturally from awareness to trust, from trust to independence, from independence to control, and from control to responsibility. These music activities are geared towards each developmental stage and provide for successful experiences shared with the caregiver within each stage of development. The domains of emotional, cognitive, social, physical, and musical functioning are addressed in each musical experience, in a general way, in each different Sprouting Melodies level. Individual goals and skill building, such as listening, following directions, Increasing attention span, language acquisition, turn taking, eye contact, identifying body parts, specific fine or gross motor movements, etc, are addressed through music therapy individual or group sessions, after an assessment is conducted and treatment plan developed to target specific goals in certain domains.

[Katie Whipple]

I think one way to help clarify the difference is to tell parents that we are there to support their child’s “natural development” where ever they may be. Our time spent together will provide children with the opportunity to experience music in ways that makes sense to them, while we gently escort them to the next level of musical development. Skill development is a by product, but our intention here is for wellness in whatever path that might be for the child.

[Meredith Pizzi]

Wow! I am glad that this question provided such food for thought! The more we try and articulate what we do, the more people will be able to understand and appreciate who we are as music therapists and what we do as music therapists. Understanding developmental focus vs skill building differences ourselves, then, becomes crucial.
To make things clear to parents, I often choose to use examples. If music is being used to develop skills, you might see experiences that focus exclusively on something like identifying body parts and patting or tapping that part to the music. The song might name the body part (Gather round everybody, clap your hands) and in a skill building focus, the response that the parent might expect is for their child to clap hands when the music says to do it. The parent (and perhaps the music facilitator) might correct the child if this specific skill is not demonstrated. This also happens in music skill building programs which might focus on a skill such as rhythmic pattern imitation. This is a very common use of music experiences, but not our way of thinking of music in Sprouting Melodies.
In using music for development (our focus) the experience might be exactly the same (Gather Round everybody, clap your hands) but the response that we are looking for is very different. The purpose of the music experience is to provide an opportunity for every child and grownup to experience and join in synchronous movement, which we know supports self-regulation, bonding and awareness of self and others. So it doesn’t matter if the child is clapping, patting, rocking or just intently watching as long as we can see their engagement in the group and in the music experience.
Yes, this distinction gets a bit fuzzy! It might be helpful if others can share some more examples that can be used to explain the difference to families. Thanks again for all your thoughts.

[Meredith Pizzi]

One more thought here about maintaining clear boundaries in our work between providing music therapy and providing community based music experiences using our skills as music therapists. In previous posts, many of you have explored this topic. One way I try and keep things clear in my mind is to think about my services to a child and family in terms of our mutual contract. In music therapy, there should be a clear contract on the purpose of participation whether group or individual. This often means specific and individualized goals and objectives as well as interventions targeted at specific (and agreed upon) needs. It is critical that the child, parent and the music therapist have given consent to the stated services. Expected outcomes should be discussed along with a system of accountability for progress.
In a community based music experience run by a music therapist, the therapist needs to be very transparent that they are using their skill and knowledge base to provide quality programs, but the purpose of participation is not therapy. In Sprouting Melodies, we use our skills to provide high quality, developmentally focused music experiences in which the child/grownup can participate in a way that is beneficial and meaningful to them. In the contract between the Sprouting Melodies Provider and the grownup, the music therapist agrees to provide these types of experiences, but it is the grownup who determines how to engage in the group in a way that will be most supportive for them and their child. The purpose (or goal) of the program is universal and not individualized. Any other thoughts??

[Katie Whipple]

Beth I really like how you describe the difference as being directly related to their response and what is seen as being “acceptable”. For me that makes the difference between development vs. skills very clear! I suppose another example may be level of participation… meaning how you’ve talked about the “silent singers”. That is a natural part of development, yet for other facilitators who are focused on musical skills, they may be putting emphasis on the child actually singing and actively participating… so the expectations of responses is very different in Sprouting Melodies. I feel that our music therapy training really helps us look for these developmentally appropriate responses rather than skills.

[Darcy Lipscomb]

As I start my early childhood sessions, I tell the parents that we are here to make music and explore together. If I say “go” and your child doesn’t go, that’s okay; if I say “stop” and someone doesn’t stop, that’s fine too. We are exploring together and there is no wrong way to do that. Conversely, in a music therapy session with a child who is working on following one-step directions, if I say “stop” and the child doesn’t stop, we will continue to work on that specific goal using multiple interventions until the child has mastered that skill.

[Kristina Rio]

Darcy, I like your example! It reminded me of an instance where I tell parents that it is OK if their child starts drumming when we stop playing. It’s developmentally appropriate that they feel the urge to start the music when it stops. I also point this out when babies are mouthing maracas or mallets during play, and then they take it out of their mouth to watch or shake/tap when the music stops. Some parents may feel their child is doing it wrong, but it’s not the skill of stopping we are working on, it’s the interaction, and engagement in the music that we are looking for! They are initiating the music and communicating that they want more, and that is developmentally appropriate!

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