[Emily Seymour]

    I recently visited a friend who has a six month old baby.  Even though I made a visit to their home, the baby was unsure/scared when I arrived and needed time to get to know me.  I can understand why there is no instrument exploration at the beginning of Sprouting Melodies 1-  these babies and parents need time to acclimate and adjust.
I had purchased a little toy that played 3 different melodies and lit up when a button was pressed.  The baby first explored the toy with her hands and then pressed the buttons by putting the toy in her mouth and chewing on it.  Later that day, my friend played a tune on the piano and I held the baby while moving with her to the music.  She smiled in response to this and enjoyed all the different planes of movement.  I am looking forward to having more experiences working with this age range in a professional, music therapy setting.
 

[Emily Seymour]

A lot of my answers are similar to Erika’s.  I promise I wrote my answers out beforehand and didn’t cheat!  🙂

Over time you can expect your baby to enjoy and be calmed by familiar melodies.  Your baby may make pitched vocalizations in response to singing.  Your baby will also explore instruments and other objects with their hands and mouth.  Some infants feel more comfortable standing during music time while others may not want to leave the safe space of mother/father’s arms.  Some infants may be startled in response to the music, while others may kick their legs and move their arms.

All of these responses are okay!

           

[Emily Seymour]

        The field of music therapy has drastically changed since the days of doing case studies in clinical settings.  During my job search, I saw multiple positions open for community based programs that I was qualified for.  Like Elizabeth said in the video, I think the role of music therapy in a community setting is to promote healthy development and to build upon strengths.  A music therapist uses his/her training in a different way when working in this setting.  For example, instead of tracking data on each individual of the group, the music therapist may have large, overarching goals that he/she wants to accomplish.  I think that MT-BCs should have enough training and experience to feel comfortable leading sessions in both community-based and clinical settings.

 

[Emily Seymour]

Gentle, Calm, Connection, Structured, Nurturing
 

[Emily Seymour]

1. Play background, pre-recorded music as parents settle in
2. Hello (MRP)  followed by Good Morning (EKS) with infant’s names placed in the song
4.  Body Percussion  Sit Down With Me (EKS)
5. Lap Rides/Tickles  (bonding songs)  Wiggly, Jiggly Car (EKS)
6. Instrument play  In my little hand (EKS)
7. Movement  Where is Big Toe  (Adapated by Pam Schiller)  To the tune of where is Thumbkin

Where is big toe where is big toe?
Where is big toe where is big toe?
Here I am!
Here I am!
How are you today, toe?
I am fine today, friend.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

Additional Verses:
Kneecap…bend, bend, bend
Elbow…bend, bend, bend
Bellybutton…poke, poke, poke

7. Cool Down:  Read the book “Where is Baby” by Karen Katz
8. Goodbye song (MRP)

[Emily Seymour]

           Music therapists are valuable to families of young children because they help support development through musical experiences.  Music therapists look at a young child on a global level and take multiple domains of development into consideration.  This makes us a great source of knowledge to our families.  As music therapists, we have the opportunity to make a great impact on young children due to the fact that their brains have such neuroplasticity.  The more we can help a young child grow and develop, the more we help their families in turn.

[Emily Seymour]

        The families that I work with are in need of more services for those who have special needs.  There are general music classes advertised in the local park district magazine, but the special recreation association for my community offers no fine arts classes.  Families have to travel to other cities to participate in art, music or drama classes.  I would love to one day provide music classes specifically designed for those with special needs in my community.  I would also like to start a sing & sign class for young children and their parents (similar to the work of Anne Meeker Miller) in the community.  We’ll see where the future takes me!

[Emily Seymour]

I have always made it a point to include singing, movement and instrument play experiences in my session plans.  Like Kristen, I have most typically used listening when working with hospice patients.  After this week’s training, I look forward to bringing these experiences to infants and toddlers in a developmentally appropriate level.  When I first started working with 3 year olds in a group setting, I saw children in different stages of musical development but didn’t know it at the time.  I remember that the teacher’s aides would discourage children leaving the circle when moving to music, or discourage a child from putting an instrument in his/her mouth.  Now that I am familiar with the levels of awareness, trust, independence, control and responsibility I can create specific interventions that will support children according to what stage they are in.  I am happy that my work with this population will be more intentional in the future.

[Emily Seymour]

I created my developmental sequence on the pdf worksheet without realizing I could not upload it on this forum!  My source for this project was none other than:

Schwartz, E. (2008). Music therapy, and early childhood: A developmental approach. Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.

[Emily Seymour]

    I was working with young children in a group setting when I interacted with a child who was in the control stage of development.  This child responded very positively to music and would move her body whenever the guitar played.  Although her language was just emerging she made her desires known by seeking out the instruments she was interested in playing for herself.  She also liked to take charge and show her classroom peers how to properly perform tasks (ex. how play instruments).  She could identify body parts and was familiar with the routine of the therapy sessions and anticipated which interventions would come next.

Question:  For typically developing children, what are the general age ranges for awareness, trust, independence and control?

[Emily Seymour]

I focused on learning how to play In My Little Hand, I Like This Song, and the Summer Song presented in the video.  I was under the impression from previous education that it was best to use consonant music in only major keys when working with children.  When Beth said that she has seen children vocalize more often with minor keys or the phrygian mode I was shocked!

Learning these songs helped me realize that I have been limiting myself when it comes to song choice and accompaniment for this population.  I especially enjoyed the friendly, more jazz-like accompaniments that Beth used when demonstrating songs.  I have been sticking to the bland I, IV, V in my professional work and I have too much music training to let myself settle for that.  I am now thinking about different modes and chords I can use when songwriting for this population.

[Emily Seymour]

There are many genres that make up the musical culture of my suburban home community.  People who have interests in certain genres often go to the same places for entertainment.  For example, those who like country music in my town enjoy going to the local country bar to participate in line dancing.  People in my community generally travel to Chicago be involved in music performances/experiences.
One community that I share music with is the choir of the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonatus in Joliet, IL.  We sing chant, polyphonic music from the Renaissance, as well as contemporary choral pieces.  It is such a joy to regularly sing traditional music that has been practiced in the Catholic faith for thousands of years.

[Emily Seymour]

       As a practitioner I want to be seen as a great resource to my clients’ parents.  I want to educate parents on what healthy development is and teach them how to promote this development through play; particularly play through music.  I would also like to connect parents with other programs and services their child is eligible for in the community.  

  
 In my work as a music therapist, I want my parents to understand and value the role of music  in their child’s life.  I never want them to think, “Why are we shaking this maraca?  This is pointless”.  I want parents to understand the larger, developmentally appropriate goals that music can addresses.  Being able to advocate for music therapy efficiently with parents will be the beginning steps to confidently advocate in larger setting such as hospitals, schools, with government officials, etc.

[Emily Seymour]

The most valuable takeaway from this week’s content was learning what typical parent concerns/thoughts are on their child’s development.  I have been working and studying alongside other therapists for so long that I forgot that phrases like, “this child needs oral sensory input” may not be the most parent-friendly way of communicating!  It was helpful to hear how parents might feel about issues of potty training, biting and make believe play.  Not only can I reassure and educate parents on these topics using laymens terms, but I can also use my expertise and knowledge to explain why these behaviors occur in development.

 

[Emily Seymour]

Hi all!  My name is Emily Seymour and I am a new MT-BC writing to you from Plainfield, IL.  I graduated from Illinois State University in December of 2012 with a bachelors of music in music therapy and a minor in psychology.  In my undergraduate studies I did a practicum working in early intervention and that’s where my interest in this population first began.  I did my internship in 2012 with Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care.  During my internship I got the opportunity to work with Russell Hilliard at a bereavement camp providing music therapy (and other creative therapy) experiences for bereaved children ages 4-7.

My first position as a music therapist will be working for a small company that provides early intervention services.  I will be driving to families homes to provide music therapy for their infants or toddlers who have special needs or  developmental delays.  Part of my job will also be educating parents on how to provide developmentally appropriate play to help their child learn new skills.  Currently I am working to become a developmental therapist.  This is a credential I need before I start working for this company for billing purposes.

I am taking this class because I know I will be able to directly apply it to my work!  I have been learning a lot about child development over the past month and I think this class will bridge the gap between the MT knowledge I already have and the DT material I am now learning.  I am looking forward to having more resources for intervention ideas.

@ Courtney   – When I was doing my job search I saw that there was an opening for an MT at Cardon Children’s Hospital.  I wanted to apply, but they wanted someone with 2 years of experience.  Small world!

@ Lisa  –  If I ever decide to go to grad school in music therapy (that’s a whole other discussion) I would go to University of Iowa.  I am a child of deaf parents and really admire Kate Gfeller’s work in the deaf community.

Here are the questions I have so far:

1.  I know that IDEA part C  is for the early intervention system and part B is for special education in the schools.  It seems that music therapy is included in both of these parts of IDEA, but do you have more information on how reimbursement can come through this?

Billing/funding/money was not a part of my curriculum in school and I am wondering about the possibilities for reimbursement for MT through insurance companies, where to go to find grants for MT, etc.

2.  You mention that the information that you will share is research-based.  I feel like when I was in school I had so much research at my fingertips and now that I am graduated I feel disconnected.  How do you keep up to date with research without having to pay an arm and a leg to stay informed?

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