[Amy Berggren]

1. Exciting, exploration, playful, engaging, motivating
2. “It’s ok if they put the instrument in their mouth, they are exploring and we will clean it later!”; “They don’t have to play their instrument, they might just be taking in the music/environment”; “I love how much they are moving around the room!”; “Listen to how they are vocalizing, they are matching my pitch!”; “They are doing so well exploring their instrument”
3. Come Gather Together, Hold on Tight, Just Like Me, Dancing in the Middle, March With My Baby, Goodbye, Thank You Very Much

[Amy Berggren]

I love working with this age! As I’ve mentioned before, I work with a group of new moms and their newborns and I love using bonding songs and cuddle songs with them. I also love including educational components discussing how music can benefit their babies and how they can use music with their babies when I am not around. I loved watching the videos this week; I have a lot of new ideas that I can take to this group!

[Amy Berggren]

Music therapy can play a big role in community settings. I think one of the biggest impacts is the ability to bring people together and build relationships. Since music is such a fundamental part of human lives, people are easily able to come together and build relationships over it. As a music therapist, we have the added skills to facilitate and further these relationships. I think this aspect of community-based music therapy is especially important these days as we start getting back into the world post covid.

[Amy Berggren]

Music therapists can provide education on why a child is behaving a certain way and the best ways to engage them in the music based on their developmental level. Also, because of our education and training, we are able to adapt to ensure all participants are able to engage in the best way possible despite being at different developmental levels and having different areas of need.

[Amy Berggren]

Most of the clients I work with are either children and teens with developmental disabilities as well as adults in an addiction recovery program and their children. For the families in the addiction recovery programs, the parents often need help finding meaningful ways to engage with their children while also maintaining their dedication to their recovery program. Music has the ability to give them opportunities to connect with their kids as well as develop the tools to continue with the lifestyle changes they have made.

[Amy Berggren]

We can notice and interpret musical behaviors that others may not pick up on. We also have the ability to educate families on development and how they can use music to aid in development. One of my favorite things is that we can use music to help strengthen the relationships between children and their close family members.

[Amy Berggren]

I think the experiences I use the most are moving and playing. I work in a school for elementary schoolers with autism and many of the kids that have more sensory needs respond so well to movement interventions. Some of my favorites include “shake, rattle, and roll” with instructions on how to play their instruments, the “party freeze song” with instructions on how to move, and pairing different movements with different strumming patterns.

[Amy Berggren]

One of the babies in my mom/infant class demonstrated being in the awareness stage of music development. Before starting music (when I was talking with the moms in the group) she was focused on her mom, on her clothes, or the floor. As soon as I started playing the guitar and singing, she looked up at me and did not look away the entire time I was singing. When her mom took over singing, she turned her head toward her mom instead.

[Amy Berggren]

I loved using the tickle song in my mom and infant groups this week! The babies in the group range in age from 1 week old to 9 months old; it was really interesting to see how babies of different ages reacted to the song and interacted with the parent during music this week!

[Amy Berggren]

I live in a large city near the border between the United States and Mexico so there is a large influence from Mexican and Latin music in this area. Also, Native American/Indigenous music plays a large role here. There is a large university here so we experience high cultural and musical diversity from the various places students and professors are from.

[Amy Berggren]

I’m hoping to bring shared knowledge into my sessions. I work with a lot of first-time moms/families in need and they haven’t had the opportunity to learn what is going on developmentally with their children. I hope to help them better understand development as well as show them how music can be a fun and effective way to aid in the development of their children

[Amy Berggren]

I completely agree, this is such an important thing to keep in mind. It’s so important to be aware of a child’s developmental stage when interpreting their behaviors and how they interact with their environment.

[Amy Berggren]

My most valuable takeaway from this week is how much development occurs in such a small period of time and that the development during early childhood sets the foundation for all further development. Looking at the overall life span, 5 years is such a short amount of time for such drastic physical, cognitive, emotional, language, motor, and sensory development to occur.

[Amy Berggren]

Hi! My name is Amy Berggren and I live in Phoenix, AZ. I have been a music therapist for almost two years and I finished my masters degree this past spring. I currently work for a nonprofit where I work at a charter school for kids with autism, in an addiction recovery facility, and with children and young adults with developmental disabilities. I also recently started a group for pregnant women, new moms, and their newborns who are currently enrolled in an addiction recovery program. I am looking forward to learning new skills and music that can be used with my preschoolers, elementary schoolers, and my new mom/baby group!

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