Kim Schlesinger

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  • in reply to: Tell Us About Your Instruments.

    #16671

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Erin – I saw that you mentioned boomwhackers, tone chimes, and bells, all of which can have really good effects when working as a team. I’m wondering how you often use these (i.e. for melodies, accompaniment, improvisation, etc) and if you have ever adapted them to be used with younger clients.


    in reply to: Tell Us About Your Instruments.

    #16670

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    I have been using the instruments available through my internship at Roman Music Therapy Services and therefore a lot of the instruments that we have all seen in the training videos. During our Sprouting Melodies classes we use frame drums, a bucket of various percussion instruments (small tambourine, rain stick, castanets, mallets, and various shakers), and the small colorful maracas without fail. I also particularly like to have scarves to use as a cool down tool along with an ocean drum. A couple of other fun props that we will bring out from time to time include a large parachute and a large canopy scarf that group members (usually the caregivers) will hold onto around the outside and the babies can move around outside of and underneath it.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    5 Words: Energy, Playful, Exploration, Movement, Anticipated Surprises

    5 Sentences: (during a lap ride) Don’t worry if your child is making the choice to sit elsewhere or on another caregivers’ lap, they are learning that independence and also getting an opportunity to socialize. Similarly, as they are exploring the room from different perspectives they are not rejecting you but rather gaining their own independence. Children are able to make a lot of choices at this stage including playing and not playing; it is okay if they do not play up high with us, they are observing others in the room and making choices for themselves. You may notice that your child is beginning to recognize the melodies that they are familiar with in this space. They are also likely to notice if there are small changes within those familiar melodies.

    Plan: All Night (gathering song); Hello Everybody; Wiggly Jiggly Car; Can You See Me?; In My Little Hands; I Can Move Around; Rhythm of the Waves (Ocean Drum cool down); Goodbye Music Time is Done

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Sammie – I love looking back to our first run-in with community music therapy and thinking about the progress that we have made since then. It is so interesting how the way we are educated affects our understanding of and philosophy toward the work that we do. While we may have had some difficulties with transitions at Wartburg, I think it is really cool to see how our mindsets have shifted with the introduction of many different philosophies.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Christina – I love that you mentioned reaching out to people who we initially think might not “need” music therapy. It is great to spread music and to allow them to utilize it in all of the ways that you mentioned, and I also think that community music therapy can build bridges between those who “need” MT and those who maybe don’t. For example, the karaoke nights that we hold can act to connect typically functioning individuals in the community with those of various disabilities, sharing in a music experience.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    I have been intrigued by the idea of community music therapy ever since I first started to get an understanding of the term. I feel very fortunate to be at this internship site which allows me to understand the various levels within Meredith’s community based pyramid model and to see first hand the role that music therapy can play in a community setting. Just this past Friday I had the opportunity to work at a community music therapy karaoke event held for many of our clients with various disabilities. Through observing and leading sprouting melodies I get the opportunity to witness t he community bonds that are built each day. I truly believe that taking a community perspective allows us as music therapists to see the bigger picture of our clients’ lives, as well as to address bigger issues and serve greater needs within the world around us. Our skills as music therapists allow us to use our own specific medium, music, to play a small role in building up communities all around us.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Most of my work with this age range has happened just in the past few months since I started my internship. I have been able to observe the sprouting melodies classes, but some of the most significant developments that I’ve witnessed in regards to this age group has been at the daycare center where I’ve been observing and coleading. Some of the youngest babies who were brand new when I started my internship have shown some tremendous progress due to the regular exposure to music. One little boy in particular used to cry when we first came in, and when I met him he could barely hold himself up in a seated position. He then moved to a stage where he would stare at us with a straight face for most of the session and tentatively grab the instruments offered. The difference now is almost night and day, he’s learned to crawl and pull himself up and he often will crawl right up to us while we are playing guitar and pull himself up to explore the instrument.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Words: bonding, awareness, newness, touch, growth

    5 Sentences: Your baby will respond best to your voice because it is familiar; if you’re not singing now you won’t sing at home so please sing with us! Whatever reaction your baby has is OKAY, they may seem bored or startled or upset, but mostly they are probably just confused as this is an entirely new and different experience. Notice how your baby might show that they are aware of their surroundings by turning to or away from the music. It is natural for your baby to move with the music. They might respond differently to these softer, lullaby, sedative songs than they would to more upbeat active songs.

    Plan: Gathering song (All Night, All Day) – Hello Everybody (including names) – Gathering song (Come and Sit With Me) – Lap Ride (Big Red Fire Truck) – Instrument Play (Sit and Shake with Me, yeah) – Scarf movement/cool down (The Leaves are Falling) – Thank You For Your Music – Goodbye Song


    in reply to: What are the needs of the families you work with?

    #16572

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Christina – I think it is awesome that you are able to connect families seeking housing with the resources that might help them. In helping professions I believe it is very important to work collaboratively in order to serve our clients holistically and not just meet the specific needs that we are trained to address. I wonder how often this sort of thing happens and what other ways we as Music Therapists can reach out to community partners in order to connect our families and individuals with appropriate resources.


    in reply to: What are the needs of the families you work with?

    #16571

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    In my current internship at Roman Music Therapy Services I am driving to many different clients in multiple different communities in and around Boston. While our Sprouting Melodies classes take place at our central office in Wakefield, there are many other communities of children that I get the opportunity to work with. After a session that I held at a youth rec center last week, one of the parents mentioned that it is really nice to have services available right there in their own town because her kids have a difficult time with long car rides, getting stuck in traffic, etc. This made me realize that, while the towns around here may be close together, families in each unique community have a need for available services in close proximity to their own homes.

    Additionally, through the Wakefield Sprouting Melodies classes, RMTS has been able to fulfill the need in this community or building bridges between families with young children, exposing them to music, integrating early intervention children with typically developing children, and nurturing their developmental milestones in an accepting environment. I believe we also fill the need for a space that parents can allow their children to explore a new experience in a variety of ways without fear of judgement for the way that they each might interact with the music.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Erin – I like how you brought up empathy as one of the defining characteristics of an MT. I take that to mean that this is a very important quality to you and I’m sure that comes through in your practice and really benefits your clients. Discussions about empathy always make me think about the fine line that we all must walk when working with a variety of clients in order to provide caring service but also not take on too much emotional pressure in order to protect our own mental health. This may not always be the case when working with young children in early intervention, but the community aspect of this program and our close work with families can play a role in our interactions and personal connections.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    The video posed three separate questions to support this prompt, why are families coming to our programs, what makes it worth their time, sacrifice, and money, and why us specifically / why our groups. Like many of you have mentioned, we as music therapists have specific skill sets (adaptability, musical training, etc.) that make the classes worth it. But I have wondered how much of this parents really know or take into account. The sense of community and family to family bonding and growth is what I have observed to be one of the biggest reasons that parents keep coming back and contributing their time and money. Through all of the many things that we do to create a positive musical environment for our families, bonds are made before during and after classes and this can be very powerful in creating very necessary educational and social opportunities for the families. I believe that our holistic understanding of the child as part of the family and the family as part of the community is really what makes our specific programs valuable and unique.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Hally – I love the idea of turning drums over and vocalizing into them. This past week I watched my supervisor do a similar thing with a plastic jack-o-lantern bucket singing “boo goes the pumpkin” and placing the “boo” right into the bucket. She let the babies have an opportunity to “boo” as well, and when they did not immediately catch on she had caregivers model the “boo”ing. By the end of the session a few of the babies had picked up on it and it turned into a really cute intervention.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Singing: Awareness- turn facial attention toward the source of the singing / Trust- match selected pitches in about half of attempts / Independence- imitate animal sounds / Control- sing to words in phrases using pitched intervals / Responsibility- sing intervals (stepwise, minor 3rd, 4th, 5th)
    Playing Instruments: Awareness – alter movements in response to instrument sound / Trust- play very simple short repeated phrases / Independence- transfer instrument from hand to hand / Control- use familiar instruments functionally and grasp mallet or striker to play instruments / Responsibility- play rhythm patterns on a two handed instrument
    Musical Movement: Awareness- suck rhythmically / Trust- move body parts with internal rhythmic beat / Independence – alter movement in response to change in music / Control – maintain a movement pattern throughout a familiar song / Responsibility – use sequences of movement patterns
    Listening: Awareness- alter vocalizations and movement in response to silence in music / Trust- look toward sound source in response to silence in music / Independence- recognize familiar music even with changes in timbre / Control- stop action to listen to music / Responsibility- listen to the music of others

    I did this similarly to Hally’s strategy, pulling out examples that spoke to me within the book. It’s so cool to have seen these different interactions and stages with the clients I have worked with and to put them in a logical order.

    Kim Schlesinger

    Participant

    Hally – I appreciate your comment about familiar verses novel experiences. I know that this is something that I have struggled to find a balance with as I don’t want to overdo a certain song but I also know that repetition is important in development. I try to keep things exciting by bringing in topical songs that match the seasons while keeping some things consistent so that parents and children know what to expect and can sing along.

Viewing 15 posts – 16 through 30 (of 45 total)

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