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July 20, 2015 at 11:06 am
in reply to: What value do music therapists bring to families of young children?
ParticipantFirst of all I have to say ditto to the above comments about the Music Therapy community. I think we have a profession that excels in knowledge and application of our craft. We also are incredibly supportive of each other and the quality of training available through conferences, trainings and the like is pretty remarkable. As I watched this video I made the following list of reasons someone would come to me for services:
experience with children and music
knowledge of development, continue to learn and develop myself
individualized attention
dedication to providing service excellenceIn starting a business I am finding that it is SO important to find my own value and then learn how to talk about it!
July 19, 2015 at 10:06 pmParticipantI am personally excited about the focus on programming that is developmentally appropriate. I think I will be better able to educate and explain what I do in my current job and I think this information will make me more aware of client needs as I seek to open my own practice. I also think I will feel more confident making decisions about what I am doing musically when working with early childhood and with older clients as well.
July 14, 2015 at 11:39 am
in reply to: How have you used these four music experiences in your practice?
ParticipantOne tool I have really been excited about using is introducing one timbre at a time. I had been struggling with seeing that my students didn’t really seem to ‘hear’ the music (we are a very adult-prompt heavy setting). I began introducing a single sound, such as a desk bell. I played the song on the bells, combined playing and singing and then invited the students to play the bells with me. I have noticed a definite increase in students attention to task and awareness of the music since I’ve been working this way. So that involves listening and playing instruments… for movement I again struggled with students not really hearing the music but looking to staff to see what to do. I think I will begin to work more with supporting the students movements and see where that leads me. For singing I have used a lot of voiced syllables in the past. Right now I have very few students who even vocalize so this is a challenge. I find the more free I am with my vocalizing the bigger response I usually get from students.
July 14, 2015 at 11:34 amParticipantI’m giggling right now because I WAS confused a little. I kept checking back to see how others had posted…I decided to do this assignment based on response I might see from my current students. I have all levels of developmental delays and cognitive impairments.
Playing Instruments: AWARENESS: responds to different sounds, looks for/at stimulus, TRUST: explores instruments, grabs/manipulates one handed instrument; important to educate staff that just touching and exploring is OK! INDEPENDENCE: uses more complicated instruments, may use 2 hands (mallets, cymbals) CONTROL: will manipulate their own playing – start/stop, fast/slow, loud/soft, more playing WITH me as opposed to just exploring. RESPONSIBILITY: play as a group, joins friends, waits for others to play
Singing: AWARENESS: mouth moves when there is singing, unplanned vocal sounds TRUST: sing back pitches to students, they may respond to my singing with more pitched vocalizing. INDEPENDENCE: respond to open-ended vocal songs (singing in spaces), purposely making sounds with me. CONTROL: singing during familiar songs such as hello/good-bye songs RESPONSIBILITY: student finishes a phrase in a song
Moving: AWARENESS: responds to a variety of musical styles/genres, I might provide musical support for their natural movements. TRUST: may copy one movement per verse in a song. INDEPENDENCE: body part songs (play the drum on your knee…) CONTROL: copies more movements, finger plays and action songs. RESPONSIBILITY: possibly do movements to a song without me
Listening: AWARENESS: experience with a variety of timbres, find preferences. TRUST: responds to familiar songs or melodies. INDEPENDENCE: responds when style changes in a song/music. CONTROL: changes playing/moving when music changes. RESPONSIBILITY: makes song choices, expresses preferences, follows directions embedded in lyrics.
July 8, 2015 at 6:11 amParticipantI love your story Mary! First of all it is super cute and funny but it also makes me aware that I tend to think about development in isolation with my work. What a good reminder to look outside myself and my own situation for these things we are learning. Thanks for sharing that!
July 6, 2015 at 11:56 amParticipantBecause I work with students with cognitive impairments I see a lot of the trust moving to independence stages – even with my older students. In particular I can think of many times when the musical surprise and/or a musical freeze really engages the student. Often the first time is a surprise but consecutive times are greeted with smiles or laughter. The best is when they begin to anticipate the stop or the surprise!
July 6, 2015 at 11:53 am
in reply to: Discuss with the board the traditional and cultural music in your home community.
ParticipantI think my area has pretty traditional children’s songs although I have noticed, working in the schools, that many students don’t know some of the children’s songs I grew up with especially the American folk songs. We do have a large hispanic population and I’m always looking to add music from that culture but again students don’t always seem to have an awareness of the traditional music. I think a lot of students grow up with Country music or Pop/Hip Hop. This is what is played in their homes and they are most influenced by it. Fun story: I did an informal assessment on a little girl in another county who has Williams Syndrome. She was enamored of “that Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.” What a blast to work with a little one who loved Mozart!
July 6, 2015 at 11:48 am
in reply to: Sing and learn some of the songs presented in the video. Share with the board your experiences using these songs.
ParticipantI will be starting groups again next week so I won’t be using these songs yet but here are a few thoughts on them. I really like “I Can Move Around” for my preschools. I like that the directions are not specific because I have some staff that have a hard time letting students be creative with following directions in songs. With this and the ‘tralala’ song I think I will be able to stimulate the students AND subtly encourage the staff to allow the children to simply experience the music. I am also looking forward to experimenting with some minor keys this year – I’ve not done much in minor and I think it will be a nice change for us.
June 26, 2015 at 5:59 am
in reply to: What was your most valuable takeaway from this weeks’ content?
ParticipantAs already mentioned this was a great refresher on the developmental stages, I don’t think about them often enough or specifically enough. I work with students with often severe delays but interestingly they are often expected to behave in a classroom setting as if there is not a delay! I think going through this course will help me have more confidence to address expectations with my coworkers that are unrealistic for students.
A couple of items that stood out for me from this session: I love the concept of development THROUGH music! I am a little bit fascinated about the idea of music therapy in the wellness arena and can see how our expertise as music therapists can be of great value to children and families in wellness. I also like the phrase “developmentally appropriate practice.” It is always helpful to have a way to explain what I do more clearly. I feel this phrase will be useful when communicating some of the changes I plan to implement in my current job.
The other thing that was interesting for me was the lay on your back exercise. I’d never really thought about the child’s perspective in that way. I was amazed at how limited my world was when lying on my back…I often think about how I tower over my little preschoolers when we are standing and dancing so this was just another way to put myself in the client’s shoes and appreciate how their perspective might be different.
ParticipantJust did my gravatar so seeing if it worked – also got my book today! Can’t wait to get started…
ParticipantHello! My name is Cindy Cross and I live and work in Michigan. I have worked in special education for the last 10 years. I work with students ages 3-26 with a variety of cognitive, emotional, and physical impairments. As of last year my schedule was reduced to 50%. I finished my master’s degree and began exploring the possibility of private practice. I am hoping to utilize this course to beef up my offerings for the early childhood groups I currently serve through my employer and to allow me to begin a practice in my community. Early childhood is such a big area in education so I feel this is an awesome opportunity to establish a MT presence with this population. I also love the idea of being part of the wellness movement. As a music therapist I often focus on making life better for my clients – the elusive “quality of life” goal. I think it is important that we are represented in all areas in which we can make a contribution. I am so looking forward to working with you all during the next several weeks!
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