[Hally Batterman]

Part of why I’m taking this course again as a refresher before starting early childhood music classes at my facility is because the demand is high and we simply don’t have the services in our area at the moment. Families are constantly searching for those “mommy and me” kinds of classes and for some reason, our area of Long Island (NY) is greatly lacking in those types of music experiences. Some children have the opportunity to receive those types of music experiences through their individual school programs, however, there isn’t much nearby at the moment for the FAMILIES. I get the sense the parents/families also want to participate in music as a way to bond and connect with their little ones. We are still in an unprecedented time with this pandemic that has created a huge disconnect in many families and their children. I feel it is our duty as music therapists who happen to have a passion for this particular work to step up and create the programs that these families are craving and in desperate need of during this scary time.

One of my little ones that I treat individually on a weekly basis tends to arrive with his mother and little brother. I always invite them to come in for part of the session to provide his mother with the opportunity to engage musically with her son. She has expressed to me that she never gets to connect with him on this level outside of music and I’m extremely glad I was able to provide her with the space to do just that. Music is such a universal language especially between families and their children who may have communication needs/might be nonverbal. Music connects us on a deeper level that words cannot always capture.

[Hally Batterman]

Singing:

Awareness – Alter vocalizations in response to singing voice
Trust – Make vocal pitch changes in response to pitch changes
Independence – Utilize melodic intonation when babbling
Control – Match specific pitches
Responsibility – Sing in varied pitches (high, medium, low)

Playing:

Awareness – Turn facial attention toward sound source
Trust – Allow instruments to be played on different body parts
Independence – Use hands to strike a drumhead
Control – Grasp a mallet to play an instrument
Responsibility – Maintain a grasp on a mallet while playing an instrument

Movement:

Awareness – Suck rhythmically
Trust – Move entire body rhythmically in response to music
Independence – Clap hands
Control – Adjust speed of movement to reflect music
Responsibility – Hop on one foot

Listening:

Awareness – Tolerate live music
Trust – Display affect changes in response to emotional content of music
Independence – Follow simple directions set to familiar music
Control – Stop action to listen to music
Responsibility – Maintain an attentive posture while listening

[Hally Batterman]

Singing – This music experiences appears to be the most vital when reflecting back on my work with my clients. After interning with Beth at Alternatives for Children, I really grew to appreciate the use of the voice even just in its own without any sort of accompaniment. So much can he communicated and conveyed with this incredible instrument that we all already possess in our bodies. I use my voice to help guide my clients in initiating, sustaining, and releasing their musical gestures. I also use singing in particular ways that help to highlight the structure that some clients so desperately need in order to feel regulated.

Playing – This is the music experience that really opens up a client’s world to creativity and self-expression. I tend to encourage my clients to independently choose their own instrument, or if they are home in a virtual session, we may use our bodies as instruments (patting, clapping, etc) which could also double as moving. Playing definitely provided my clients with an opportunity for leadership/ownership and an opportunity to make independent musical choices.

Moving – Moving is integral in my work. Whether it is smaller movements through body percussion, or moving/running/stomping/jumping around the room. Moving helps my clients learn where they are in space and where they are in relation to others. I also feel movement is key to regulation and attention, especially during a gathering song.

Listening – This is the one that tends to be the most challenging (and I’m sure many might agree). Sometimes we get so consumed in keeping the structure of the session or song or experience we are involved in, that we forget to really tune in to what our clients are doing. Sometimes this is when we can miss the most beautiful moments. I feel like I am finally learning to listen more deeply thanks to my masters program at Molloy. Many of my classes focus around improvisation and really listening in a new way. I definitely feel like I haven’t mastered this yet and I probably never will, but it feels good to know that I am working on this skill and constantly building upon it every day in my sessions. Sometimes my clients will contribute vocally or instrumentally or even through body language that may seem subtle and easy to miss. These are the moments that I’ve found can be extremely magical if I can catch them with my own ears and eyes.

[Hally Batterman]

I have actually used the song, “Just Like Me,” in an individual session with a music therapy client. He was probably around 4 at the time and we actually used a full body mirror while we sang it. We stood in front of the mirror and sang the song while pointing do our own eyes, nose, mouth, hands, etc. It helped to bring awareness to his place in space, as well as to help him to make connections to those around him.

[Hally Batterman]

I have been working with a client since he was 4 and he is now 9, almost 10. When I first met him, he was able to fully replicate selected pitches including intervals of 2nds, thirds (major and minor), 4ths, 5ths, etc. He appeared to be in the control level of development. He was always very musical from a young age. He could independently sing with varied vocal dynamics, loved pounding on the instruments and experimenting in a contrasting manner by tapping gently with just his finger tips, imitated movements to music, etc. Musically he was way ahead of many of the other children in his class.

[Hally Batterman]

Awareness – A possible change in facial affect when presented with higher pitches, a possible positive change in body language when transitioning to a more lullaby/sedative-type of song, Might turn his/her head towards the sound source.

Trust – Can occasionally match pitches, engages in repetitive movement, independently creates spontaneous melodies

Independence – Babbles with a melodic intent or inflection, Can strike a drum with an open hand, Uses vocal glissandos

Control – Typically uses a fast internal rhythm, Demonstrates contrast in vocal dynamics, Dances to music in a spontaneous manner

Responsibility – Can whisper as well as shout, Can distinguish between loud and soft as well as produce the contrasting dynamics, Can sing in both major and minor keys

[Hally Batterman]

The community in which I work in has a wide variety of musical preferences most likely due to the age differences. My youngest client is 4 and my oldest is probably somewhere in her 40’s. The generational differences bring about different musical styles/preferences. I also see some clients of hispanic heritage. They have brought in music from Columbia and even taught me some new Spanish words! The rhythms are typically a little different than what we are used to in our pop music. However, I also have a lot of clients that enjoy pop music and whatever is currently trending on the billboard charts!

[Hally Batterman]

This week’s content is EXTREMELY important when starting an early childhood music program because it is the foundation that we all need to know as MT-BC’s before working with young children and their families. I feel that the most valuable takeaway would be the language that we can now put into our toolkit. Families are going to ask questions because they generally want the best for their children and don’t always understand why their child is doing (or not doing) something at any given age. This week’s content provided us with the language that is based in research that we can bring to the table and help ease the minds of families when these questions arise. As Beth and Meredith mentioned, parents might be concerned about those “terrible two’s,” but with this information/language, we are better equipped to help explain to the parents what is normal at that developmental stage. We can use the language to help parents understand and get to know their children on an even deeper level.

[Hally Batterman]

I feel that the most important thing that I can personally bring to early childhood music program is years of experience. I mentioned in my last post that I interned at a couple of pre-schools for children with disabilities. I fell deeply in love with the work during that year and was fortunate enough to be hired to come back two years later as an employee instead of an intern. I worked there for two years and when I decided to leave, it was extremely bittersweet. I still had an immense amount of love for early childhood work, but my schedule with grad school just didn’t leave me enough time to truly focus on the work while working as an MT-BC at my other facility. I was noticing that I couldn’t give my all to either job, let alone absorb and understand any schoolwork. I miss working with the little ones every day, but taking this course again is helping to prepare for the jump back into early childhood work at my current facility. I trained under Beth and while her approach and music resonated with me (and still does), I realize that I always put my own spin on it. I truly believe that what makes us all unique as MT-BC’s is our individual personalities and voices. I am not Beth (despite how much I may try to be sometimes). I am Hally and that’s more than okay. Over the years, I developed strong therapeutic relationships with many kiddos and their families in early childhood music groups and while my training/experience is to thank much of that, I know that my individual personality/voice plays an important role as well. I was given the tools and now I can use those tools and years of experience to make the work my own. This course is helping to sculpt and shape me into a better music therapist.

[Hally Batterman]

Hi Celia! I was actually born in Alexandria and lived in the area where you completed your internship! It was beautiful down there and I miss it a lot! We moved up to Long Island when I was 5 so that I could grow up around my family. Your work sounds like a blast!

[Hally Batterman]

Hi everyone! My name is Hally Batterman and I’m an MT-BC from Long Island, NY. I have been practicing as a professional in the field for 3 years now. I currently work full-time at a facility in Hauppauge, NY called the Music Academy for Special Learners where we offer music therapy, community music, as well as adapted lessons to children and adults of all ages and abilities. I have been with the Music Academy for a little over 4 years now. My heart has always been in early childhood. I graduated with a BS in Music Therapy from SUNY Fredonia in 2017 and I went on to intern under Elizabeth Schwartz at Alternatives for Children (a set of 4 pre-schools for children with disabilities). After Beth retired from AFC, I took over as the music therapist at the Dix Hills location. I recently decided to go back to school to pursue my Masters in MT from Molloy University. I hope to finish my coursework in the next couple of years and then apply for my LCAT. Once I got my acceptance letter from Molloy, I made the difficult decision to leave my job at the pre-school and just continue working at the one job at the Music Academy. Two jobs plus graduate school just wasn’t manageable. However, I miss my early childhood work so much. I actually took this training once before back in 2019. It has been a while and I know the training has been re-recorded/updated since I last took it. I am currently in the process of setting up a “mommy and me” type of program at the Music Academy and thought it might be a good idea to re-take this training so that I would have a nice refresher on many of the tools I will need to get myself started in this new program. There is a need for these kinds of early childhood music groups in my area on Long Island, but not much is being done about it. I plan on organizing a program with the help of my boss through the Music Academy so that we can better service the families and children in our area.

[Hally Batterman]

This training coupled with my experience as an intern at Alternatives for Children under Beth’s supervision has already greatly impacted my life as a new music therapist. I am constantly thinking about my clients in new ways especially in regards to their music developmental levels. I do plan to become a provider in the future, but for now, I will continue to take this information and use it in my work with the groups of children at AFC, as well as pitching the program to my bosses at the Music Academy for Special Learners. I’m hoping that it may create some excitement and curiosity amongst my coworkers at the Academy and maybe some of them will take the training too. It would be nice to have a few
music therapists at the facility become SM providers.

[Hally Batterman]

I will definitely take the knowledge I have gained from this course to help in my work with the families I interact with at my pre-school and even at my other job at the Music Academy. The Music Academy has been very open to the possibility of offering Sprouting Melodies classes there and I would love to sit down with my bosses and really explain the program. I think if I can fully educate them on what SM entails, some action will be taken to get things rolling. We have a lot of great connections to families and the community in general at the Music Academy and I feel that having SM classes there at the facility would be a huge success.

[Hally Batterman]

Sammie – I think having this in your back pocket until the time is right is a fantastic strategy. You have the knowledge now to use this in job pitches and I definitely think this will benefit you in your future career path! Very excited for you!

[Hally Batterman]

I also feel that it is extremely important to focus on the children’s strengths rather than weakness and really play on their strengths when creating our music experiences for the groups. If we bring out their strengths, we are always setting them up for success.

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