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October 15, 2023 at 5:06 am
in reply to: What are the needs of the families and communities that you work with?
ParticipantThe needs of the families I work with and the needs of the community have many similarities:
1) They are worried about their future in the context of the current situation in Ukraine.
2) Parents wanted their children to be healthy and develop according to their age. For children who require more support, parents want to “compensate” their needs.
3) They want affordable interventions.
4) They want to see the results of the interventions.Music can meet the needs of the community:
1) By providing a safe environment and joyful activities. Moments of happiness and music can facilitate recovery from emotional traumas. Music can be used as a coping strategy.
2) Music facilitates the development and acquisition of new skills, so it’s always beneficial for children’s and families’ needs.
3) The therapist can provide parents with ideas of interaction with children through music-making. Practicing songs at home is affordable and therapeutic.
4) Therapists can point a caregiver’s attention to any progress their children make that may help parents see the effectiveness of music-based interventions.ParticipantSinging: A – a child may look at the person singing; T – a child may longer keep attention to the source of the sound; I – a child may imitate sounds; C – sings familiar parts of a song; R – can sing a song together with other children.
Playing: A – a child may look at the person playing an instrument; T – can explore instruments with hands and mouth; I – may use hands to play drums; C – chooses an instrument to play; R – can play instruments in a group.
Movement: A – a child may instinctively move to rhythm; T – a child may respond to music with repetitive movements; I – isolates body parts to perform rhythmic movements; C – a child may dance to music; R – can learn movements to a song.
Listening: A – a child may look at the source of the sound; T – can concentrate on listening longer; I – enjoys dynamic changes in music; C – can choose a favorite song to listen to; R – can recognize a song by melody without lyrics.
ParticipantI agree with Olivia that music provides a safe space and fun for families. Group sessions give a sense of community and bring like-minded people together. Music therapists can assist parents by showing them different than verbal ways of communication with their children. Also, therapists provide caregivers with ideas of how to teach through music.
October 14, 2023 at 4:37 am
in reply to: How have you used these four music experiences in your practice?
ParticipantAs for many of you, It’s been helpful material this week for me too. I agree with Courtney about the importance of listening at the session. Some time ago, listening was underrepresented in my sessions. Somehow, I believed that children had to be engaged in sessions by doing actions. I tried to use more movement/instruments playing songs than singing and listening. I am glad it changed))) Also, like Olivia, I always started sessions with Hello songs. Observing Sprouting Melodies this summer, I saw how Gathering songs helpful for organizing children, and I included them in my practice.
ParticipantToday, I had a session with an 11-month-old boy. He showed most of the responses at awareness and trust levels. At first, he seemed to be shy but interested in me playing the guitar. He carefully observed his mom and me playing drums. When introduced to the maracas, the client started to through them on the floor to make sounds (after the session, he tried to do the same with my metal water bottle). I brought a tongue drum with me, and it was metal. It was funny to see how the kid approached and touched the cold drum for a moment. He made a surprised face and approximated to say “Oh” and then touched it again.
Participant3 responses:
Awareness – to look toward the source of sound or to look away, to attend or to not attend, to reach toward music.
Trust – to explore musical instruments, to pay or not to pay attention to music, and to choose how long to play the instrument.
Independence – to choose what instrument to play, how long to play, and what hand to use.
Control – to sing or not to sing, what instrument to play, to choose tempo and dynamics.
Responsibility – to choose how to interact with music – sing, listen, or play; follow rhythmic or dynamic directions; to use one, both or alternate hands.ParticipantI have not used these songs in sessions this week yet. I am looking forward to doing a session for my friend’s 11-month-old son tomorrow. From my time at RMTS, I remember most of the children giggled when Favor did “The Tickle Song,” so I expect to see the same reaction tomorrow.
ParticipantI also like that song! I mean “Your head, your hands…” It’s easier for babies then original “Head and Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”
ParticipantI work with school-age children, and they listen to all kinds of music, from classical to K-pop, rap, and dubstep. It’s interesting how many different genres one person can like. Kids don’t even think about genres – they choose some songs because of the lyrics, others because of rhythm, and the rest because of the movies with their favorite actor.
When I worked with younger children, they mostly listened to popular music their parents liked, Disney, and music from cartoons. Rarely parents asked for folk or Christian songs for their children.ParticipantHi MacKenzie, I felt the same way when clients shared with me their preferred songs in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish, so I asked them to sing it for me, to find on YouTube, or to create a song together ( me playing the guitar, them-singing).
ParticipantHi! I want to bring some evidence-based knowledge through early childhood music therapy based programs to parents and authorities.
I grew up in a post-soviet country where people believed that only gifted children should try music/dance/art/etc. All arts were seen as something professional and highly selective. A child could be auditioned in their early years and rejected from participating in musical activities. Sometimes, when kids were 3-4 years old and marked as “gifted,” their parents had already chosen a profession for them, believing in the exceptionalism of a kid.
It’s much better now, but I feel like our people still have more biases than same-age adults from developed countries. I want more adults to understand that all children can and should participate in music, that music will support development, and that development happens through music. In general, I plan to improve music therapy in my country. It might be easier to start with early development programs. I believe parents of young kids are more accepting of new practices.
ParticipantThe biggest takeaway this week is reminding myself how rapidly children grow and acquire new skills. That is common knowledge, but I did not realize how fast it can happen. For example, I was impressed observing children’s development in the eight-week Sprouting Melodies class. Some kids came from sitting to standing position, while others made their first steps.
Also, I put in my notes what was said about development and music – that development is musical, and that musical interaction reflects the child’s developmental level. By observing young kids at group sessions, we can assess their social skills by how they interact with caregivers/peers, cognitive skills by how they use musical instruments, etc. Development happens through music, and kids love music))
ParticipantHi, I’m Elmira! I live in Poltava, Ukraine.
I’ve been interested in music and helping people since adolescence. I completed my bachelor’s in music education and social work. At that time, I chose my favorite populations – children and teenagers.
In 2020, I came to the US to do my master’s equivalency program in music therapy as a Fulbright scholar. I graduated from Arizona State University in April 2023 and completed my internship at Easterseals Midwest, Cape Girardeau, MO.
After graduation, I applied for intensive training provided by the Edmund Muskie program. I completed my training at Roman Music Therapy Services in Wakefield, MA, where I first saw Sprouting Melodies in action. It was the first time I interacted with such young kids, and I fell in love with them. From this training, I expect to get more theoretical knowledge to build a similar community program in my hometown. Also, I wanted to stay connected with people in the field as I miss my music therapy friends.
I’m excited to be here and learn from Meredith and Elizabeth!
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