[Caitlin Britt]

Singing Awareness: recognizes major vs. minor tonalities
Trust: responds to the differences in tonality with vocalization or facial affect
Independence: vocalizes differently in response to the different tonalities
Control: Follow melodic contour and shows the differences with vocalizations
Responsibility: Demonstrates a different pitch between the tonalities

Playing instruments Awareness: moves instrument instinctually to the music
Trust: grasps the instrument and begins to move it
Independence: chooses which instrument to play
Control: can use motor skills to play the instrument up high and down low
Responsibility: can trade instruments with a friend

Moving Awareness: Has a sense of proprioception
Trust: can feel comfortable swaying or redistributing their weight
Independence: can take purposeful steps (or bopping, crawling etc)
Control: can walk for periods of time
Responsibility: can use movement in a way that matches the music

Listening Awareness: notices start/stop
Trust: anticipates that the music will either begin or end
Independence: participates in music making within appropriate time for start or stop
Control: impulse control allows their body to start or stop
Responsibility: Has awareness of other children and how they start and stop either with vocalizing or instrument playing

[Caitlin Britt]

In my practice I have used independence, control, and responsibility in a variety of ways however I have yet to explore implementing the trust stage. I think it is very important to include this stage and I am excited to find different ways to be mindful of including the trust stage. I allow my clients a lot of room for independence and control through music. For example: start and stop through music, musical attention experiences, impulse control and maintaining a steady beat.

[Caitlin Britt]

Haley,

I also find myself becoming stuck in familiar chord progressions or melodies when I’m composing my own music. I challenge myself to learn new music or write new music every Friday. I hope that using different modes and intervals helps you with your composing!

[Caitlin Britt]

Erin,

That is such an interesting perspective with working overseas! What a unique experience to be able to bring new music to the children you work with and to also grow as a therapist by learning the local music of the place that you live. I’m curious to learn Scottish children’s songs now!

[Caitlin Britt]

I am very lucky to provide music therapy to a wide variety of populations. I see clients in a nursing home a few times a month and we sing a wide variety of music from the 40’s 50’s and folk music. One time during a session I played La Bamba and one of my Spanish speaking clients began to sing every word! It encouraged me to learn more music in Spanish.

I also work in the school setting. With my younger kids (7-10) we utilize a lot of music from Disney movies and some nursery rhymes. I often work with them on “silly songwriting” or mad lib style songwriting and we will change the words to some of the favorite songs.

With my teenagers we sing a wide range of pop music, hip hop, music from movies etc. They seem to be all about popular music and are always suggesting new songs.

I typically ask every few months if there are any songs that any my clients would like to use in sessions. Client preferred music is so motivating and learning new music definitely keeps me on my toes!

[Caitlin Britt]

I also loved learning these songs! They are functional, therapeutic, and purposeful and I am very excited to implement them into my sessions! I have often struggled with transition songs in my practice and am very excited to use the ones from this course. I love that transition songs can allow the kids to anticipate whats coming and I also love that Beth included that questions can be part of transition songs instead of just directions.

Learning these songs has also inspired me to get back to writing my own songs as well. I”m very excited for my sessions this week!

[Caitlin Britt]

I currently don’t have any children in my practice that are under the age of 5. However, I did interact with an 18 month old who demonstrated a great deal of independence and was able to take a shaker egg out of a container and put it back in. She also demonstrated some defiance when her father attempted to keep her from eating dirt from a potted plant.

It is my hope to work with children 5 and under when I am finished with this training! In the meantime, I will continue to observe the developmental levels and musical responses in children outside of my practice.

[Caitlin Britt]

Thats a great idea, Erin! I think a cheat-sheet would be super helpful 🙂

[Caitlin Britt]

Thats a great perspective, Julianna! I also think its important to let parents know why we’re doing what we’re doing. I think that is a great way to highlight our background and knowledge as music therapists!

[Caitlin Britt]

I am hoping to bring more playfulness to any early childhood music programs that I lead. I find that sometimes, depending on the setting, that playfulness is not prioritized in typical music therapy sessions. I am hoping that by incorporating more playfulness in early childhood groups that this can transfer over into my classic music therapy sessions and groups.

I also feel that I will be a strong advocate for parents and will provide tools and resources for them to be actively engaged in their child’s growth and development.

[Caitlin Britt]

There were two aspects of this module that really stood out to me in terms of value. I really appreciated that Beth took time to point out potential red flags for developmental delays but that she also approached this topic very mindfully. It encourages me to be aware of any delays but also to know that every child is different and can develop at a different rate.

I also loved how Beth informed us of certain things that we can reassure parents about. I don’t have children of my own yet, but I can imagine it would be calming to hear from an early childhood practitioner that my child was doing something that was typical for their development. I also really valued learning about how children need simple answers to their questions in order to feel secure about their environment.

[Caitlin Britt]

Hi all,

My name is Caitlin Britt and I am board certified music therapist practicing in Denver, Colorado. I have a private practice called Mountain Sound Music Therapy where I serve children and adults with developmental/intellectual disabilities, psychological needs, and neurological issues. I work in a variety of settings including 1:1 in client homes, special education classrooms in multiple schools, nursing homes, and adult day facilities. I have been working in the field for 4 years. I am excited to take this training because I have heard wonderful things about Sprouting Melodies and I love the focus on the individual child rather than a strict framework based on education. I consider myself a person-centered therapist and wish to be able to provide the best care possible to any client that I work with and I find that that mentality requires a wide variety of trainings and flexibility. I am hoping to be able to add Sprouting Melodies classes to my private practice and I am excited to learn more as we go along. I hope you all have a great week!

Take care,
Caitlin

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