Share some of your experiences with children of this age and level.

[Meredith Pizzi]

[Tracy Schoenberg]

My experience with this age level is only of my own kids and music at this age really was great for transitions, such as crying and screaming while driving in the car (always when there was a long red light and the motion of the car stopped)- cd and radio never worked- it had to be me singing and it had to be the same song over and over until he calmed down enough. I used lullabyes to nurse my kids to sleep and lots of baby shakers while listening to music on Cds or radio. I also used a lot of rhymes and songs from storytime at the library like Humpty Dumpty, or Teddy Bear Teddy Bear..etc. Waiting for food also required me to sing everything to prevent another screaming fit. Lots of songs were great for diaper changes- I only sang very common children’s songs because when you’re tired, songs don’t come out as naturally as you’d want.

[Marchele Gilman]

Like Tracy, my experience with this age level is also with my own children. I honestly don’t remember a lot, as I had 4 children in the space of 6 years and I was a hot mess. However, I remember singing a diaper changing song and other traditional songs during transitions. I played in an orchestra that provided baby-sitting so both my husband and I could play, and at times I held my child in my lap while simultaneously playing my clarinet. Needless to say, they were exposed to a lot of music as babies.

[Alice Sorensen]

I experienced children at this age and level when I was completing my music therapy fieldwork with Beth at Alternatives in Summer of 2012. I remember seeing the growth effected in the children we worked with through music interventions, and being so in awe of the process – music is enough, and it was marvelous to me how specific songs were so helpful and so meaningful to children at different developmental ages.

[Anonymous]

Tracy and Marchele thank you for sharing about your experience with your own children. What you have found successful will be so helpful for your families to hear! Being a parent, especially a new parent, you are overwhelmed by so much and so much information. As an expert in music you will have so much to bring to them. Those without children, you also have this same knowledge as a music therapist and expert in music to share. Listen to your parents and listen to what they talk about with each other. You will find you have so much to help them with the every day difficulties they experience with their children. Alice how wonderful you had the opportunity to do with Beth and this age. I’m sure it was a wonderful experience!

[Cassandra Reyna]

Unlike many of my classmates, I do not have any children quite yet! However, I have extensive experience with children this age through both personal channels, such as babysitting, and clinical opportunities such as my internship in a children’s hospital. I appreciate this well-rounded experience because I had the opportunity to work with typical infants in their home setting (and learn how difficult a job parenting is!), as well as to experience the developmental challenges of chronic illness. I feel comfortable with this population because of this exposure but also because I have always loved babies and children.
Our male intern did not have experience with infants and expressed that reading a book about child development is a completely different experience than witnessing these milestones firsthand, which I think is crucial to express to our parents who have little to no experience with infants. It’s okay to feel confused and overwhelmed because no two babies are alike, and the books do not take into account your home structure or your child’s personality.

[Rachel Lighty]

I mostly work with older kids, but during my internship at a children’s hospital we worked with infants and babies on the NICU. Much of what I did was exploratory and encouraging that exploration through the music. The sessions also encouraged bonding with the infants and parents by utilizing songs that were used at home by the family, entraining to the swaying motion/tempo of the parent in a rocking chair or rocking back and forth while holding the child.

[Jessica Triana]

I work with many little ones in this age group, although the majority of my time with them is spent individually at bedside, rather than in a group setting. The music is continuous and fluid, using infant-directed speech and vocalizations between songs and adapting musical elements to the patient’s changing needs. I often wish that I could spend more time with the parents at bedside as it frequently just the child and me in a session. I love when staff purposely come into my sessions just to watch the child as s/he experiences the music. The musical experiences that occur during this age group are so fascinating to witness! I strongly believe that witnessing and experiencing music therapy first-hand provides an understanding of the work that far exceeds what one could manifest from solely reading about music therapy. As a music therapist without children of my own, I may be the expert on the music and child development but the parents are the experts on being parents (especially that particular child’s parent). The medical team and child life staff spend more time with the patients than I get to and so for me, these three sources become integral when learning about a child at this age.

[Flora Whitmore]

I actually have not had a great deal of experience with this age group, as a music therapist. My work has mostly been within ages 4-19. I have been around a lot of babies, and of course sang and played instrument, (I have younger nieces and nephews) but I don’t see them very often. However, I am currently working with a preschool client who is autistic, and he presents with some developmental delays, which land him in this age range for several domains. I have used a lot of the information I am learning in this course to develop appropriate interventions for him. A lot of our work revolves around building a bond, trust and exploring instruments together. In the past few weeks, as we have started to build this bond, his babbling has increased and become more musical and purposeful, his upsets over lower preference tasks has decreased, appropriate eye contact has increased and the types of songs suggested and discussed in these modules have been crucial to productivity in sessions!

[Gwendolyn Van Baalen]

I’m currently working with infants and toddlers and their families in early intervention. The sessions in this setting typically occur as in-home, individual or family sessions. This work provides experience with a wide range of needs, strengths, and goals, including children with development or medical diagnoses, children with delays, and children exposed to risk factors. Whether the family views me as a mental health clinician, music therapist, or ‘teacher,’ I use music in almost every session. I try to find as many opportunities as possible to provide accessible music-based strategies that build on the child’s play, activities, and routines and can be integrated by the caregivers.

[Alison Albino]

I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in on a few SM1 classes. Most of the children were actually cousins, so they were seeing familiar faces! It was so wonderful to watch them progress in the few weeks of class. Most of the children came in already exploring drums and maracas. In my opinion, the best part was hearing parents say they started singing the songs from class at home. The way one child in particular smiled during the hello song his parents began singing to him during one of the last classes was really amazing!

[Beth McLaughlin]

I have not had formal experience with children this age but I am a grandmother of 2 beautiful little girls. They are 6 and 2 but when they were babies, I was struck by how soon they began responding to the voice and facial features. I have a 3 minute recording of Sofia vocalizing with me at 3 months. As she got older, she would study people’s mouths when they spoke or changed their vocal timbre. She began imitating words and sounds and funny faces. Of course, I thought she was a genius but realized that this is how children develop – through keen observation and imitation. That’s why repetition and consistency is so important which is the other thing I noticed with both girls. They want the same song sung or favorite book read over and over. I have seen by honoring these requests for ‘again, Gramma,’ we have formed a very close and trusting relationship.

[RaeAnna Zinniel]

I have little experience working with children in general. However last summer I worked as an assistant teacher at a daycare center in the infant room. I had such a wonderful time watching them learn and grow. This upcoming semester one of my practicums will be with infants in a childcare center and I can’t wait to see how they react to music.

[Elizabeth Ferguson]

I have been teaching piano since I was 13 years old and have never looked back! I have always had a love of music and always wanted to share my love of music with children. Whether this is with a traditional music student, a music therapy session, or group music class, I love using music to make connections! Connections in the brain for starting to communicate with words, connections among parents, connections with music, connections with children all are a privilege to be apart of!

[Ayelet Weiss]

Most of my experience with this age group is pretty recent with my own son. It has been so amazing to watch him grow and develop. Musically, he always responded to my singing and vocalized on pitch. He’s had a strong pincer grasp pretty early on and loved exploring the xylophone with a small mallet. Something that really stood out to me during this stage was that he would recognize one specific song on the radio and whenever it came on he would literally stop what he was doing, crawl closer to the source of the music and dance by swaying back and forth, side to side and eventually the “baby bop”

[Anonymous]

Ayelet I think you will find your time with your son will give you great insights into working with young children. I had my daughter as I started a Sprouting Melodies program and I felt it helped me in so many ways. It is not a necessity to have a child to be a great facilitator, but it can also be helpful.

[Author]

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