[Laetitia Brundage]

I have a great EI group that I work with on Saturday mornings. One of the most apparent needs that I have observed in my families is to have the opportunity to feel comfortable and relaxed with their child or children. I still remember the look of relief that overcame their faces when I said that our group was a safe place where their kids could just be themselves and engage in the music in ways that are unique to them as individuals. In a way, it almost feels like they are looking for permission to just enjoy engaging in music with their child. As the weeks progressed, and the kids became acclimated to the routine of the session, they naturally engaged more with the group. Yes, they are looking to us for education and expertise on how to help their children, but many times we can remind them that relaxing and bonding with their child is as equally important and valid as working on other goals.

[Laetitia Brundage]

“Not a music class in a can!” HA! I LOVE that! Yes, we as MT-BCs have so many skills to share beyond the foundations of music. Even within the foundations of music, our unique knowledge enables us to modify, expand and educate way beyond a typical music program. Our clinical experience gives us flexibility and makes us more accessible to children and their caregivers. We can reassure through education when they look nervous or embarrassed when their kid wanders around the room for much of the class. We can give them the tools so they can use the music in their daily lives in ways beyond just singing the songs. The possibilities are potentially endless when it comes to helping families grow within and around our music class settings.

[Laetitia Brundage]

How interesting it is to categorize and then explore what one has been doing in sessions in more of an instinctive way for quite some time. While I have used all 4 of these elements in sessions, I feel that “listening” has been more in the background. I have noticed more “listeners” in my groups this week, and these listeners like to listen from many different places! Whether they are in mom’s lap, peeking out from behind a corner, or standing right in the middle of our circle, they are all making the choice to engage through listening. I have used the mirror neuron bit of information many times to help alleviate the stress-filled faces and actions of the caregivers whose child is actively listening while we roam about the room.
I intentionally play with my voice a lot in my classes. I have found that the children respond by both actively listening and engaging through their own “vocal experiments” more often when adults are also experimenting with their voices. I’ve also found that vocal silliness helps “break the ice” if you have a shy group of caregivers and/or kids.

I love movement in class. It helps us engage in the music on such a deeper level, but it also can produce a lot of anxiety and shyness. So often, we seem to live so disconnected from our bodies, and that is no different in music class! I try my best to encourage the adults to really move their feet to the beat, and engage in movement with their child. I will often use silliness in these situations as well….For example if I demonstrate waving my arms in the air and some adults are not, I will prolong the note and arm wave to a point that is so silly that they have to join in the fun.

As far as playing instruments goes, I love allowing for freedom of exploration for all the kids. I encourage caregivers to follow my lead, but to let the kids make the choice of following me or doing their own thing. Also reminding caregivers not to manipulate the child’s hands or change their playing is a big part of educating classes.

[Laetitia Brundage]

Singing
Awareness: vocalizes in response to familiar voices (i.e.mom)
Trust: beginning to have more purposeful vocalizations; matching pitches half the time
Independence: babbles with melodic inflection; enjoys experimenting with voice by them self
Control: Enjoys performing familiar songs for others. Key will vary, but contour of melody is very clear
Responsibility: child is able to recall, remember and reproduce familiar songs using pulse and meter in addition to melody.

Moving
Awareness: tolerates being rocked/moved; may turn head toward or away from music
Trust: decides what is music and displays this choice through repetitive body movements (arm flapping, bouncing)
Independence: begins to move body parts independently; (clapping hands, stomping feet) with rhythmic intent, but still from an internal place
Control: follows 1-step directions for body movements; purposefully imitating learned movements such as marching, spinning, clapping, etc.
Responsibility: can follow a sequence of movements in a row to a rhythm (i.e. head, shoulders, knees & toes)

Playing
Awareness: Responds to instruments being played around them by turning toward or away from sounds
Trust: will pick up a small instrument and briefly play or explore with hands and mouth
Independence: initiates play with a variety of instruments; will bang a drum, shake a maraca; not using mouth that much anymore.
Control: begins to practice playing with others by stopping and starting with the music. May initiate play during pauses.
Responsibility: plays a variety of instruments with a steady beat

Listening
Awareness: knows the difference between mom’s voice and teacher’s voice
Trust: Familiar songs are recognized and can be used to help center and calm baby.
Independence: actively attends to the intensity of music by matching movements and facial expressions with music intensity.
Control: Makes the choice to move or stop moving to the music in order to actively listen to musical creations.
Responsibility: Makes the connection that music can be enjoyed while others make it; egocentric tendencies can be put aside to appreciate the offerings of the outside world.

[Laetitia Brundage]

I started experimenting with a few of the songs with my son. He really responded to “Just Like Me,” reaching out his limbs for me to touch/sing about after only a few repetitions. I also tried out “A car on My knee” but just chanted about whatever toy with which we were playing, so it made for a nice embedded song! My husband really caught on to “Good Morning to you,” and I’ve heard him singing it several times.

Ashley, I second your comment on Elizabeth’s piano skills! What lovely grooves she created for these songs! They had a very “musical-esq” quality and I felt like I was being welcomed into a story. I definitely do not play enough anymore and she was quite inspiring.

[Laetitia Brundage]

If I had one word to describe the music in my home and community it would be eclectic. On a weekly basis we find ourselves immersed in kids songs, classical, jazz, metal, punk, pop, rock, folk, avant-garde….honestly the list could go on and on. My husband and I are both musicians, and love exploring all kinds of music. We also live in a very urban environment with a thriving local music scene that seems to be just as eclectic as our tastes. One could go salsa dancing one night and go mosh in a pit the next without going more than a couple miles! Growing up, traditional music was mostly religious in nature(catholic), and although I am not religious as an adult, this music will always have a special place in my heart.
The one thing that I always find in common wherever I encounter music is community. Everyone is a part of the music and the music is a part of everyone. You can find the most diverse groups of people leaving their differences at the door to embrace these moments of togetherness through experiencing music.

[Laetitia Brundage]

Just this afternoon I had a great experience observing two dancing children in my class, and realizing one was in the stage of independence and the other the stage of control. The 3-year-old boy was dancing very freely, matching the intensity of his movements with the intensity of the music. He went “gaga” when the music was very soft and dramatically increased in volume and intensity. All of this freedom and independence was beautiful and lacked any consistent rhythmic center. His parallel dancing partner was a 3-year-old girl moving toward the stage of control. She was practicing plies and the delicate arm shapes often found in ballet while she moved about the room. What I found interesting about her movements was that while she was not matching the rhythm of the song, she was consistent in her own, self-created tempo. After class, the father of the boy asked me if it was okay that his son was dancing instead of playing an instrument. It felt fantastic to encourage him by saying “of course! We are here to create and engage in a positive musical environment, and he is showing he is comfortable expressing himself in the environment we created! He is making a strong choice to express his music by dancing and that is beautiful.”

[Laetitia Brundage]

After viewing the video last Wednesday, I have spent the last few days “observing” myself and how I already apply this information in my classes/sessions and areas in which I could improve. I find that I try my best to take advantage of unique opportunities to throw a little development education into the mix depending on the children’s responses. One of the most common examples is how caregivers talk about how “outgoing” and “musical” their child is at home as opposed to the classroom. Having the knowledge and ability to share that this is completely normal for their little one helps build my relationships with the families as well as the children. One area that I’ve already begun to explore and strengthen is reassuring and explaining to families that when their child has a challenging reaction to something in class, that they don’t have to apologize or leave. While I already reassure them of this, I will strive to have more specific developmental education for caregivers. i.e. Why a 3-year-old could become upset as opposed to a 15-month-old, etc. I’d like to second Anne Marie in the way that, Hopefully, this will help all families “leave the group feeling encouraged and uplifted.”

One area that I sometimes find the most challenging, and would love to discuss with this group, is helping caregivers come out of their shell. It seems that no matter how many times I explain that the kids learn best by their example and emphasize bonding and growth through everyone’s participation, some classes and/or caregivers just sit quietly and immobile. This type of class often leaves me exhausted, frustrated, and at a loss for how to improve the atmosphere. Does anyone have any strategies that have worked consistently?

[Laetitia Brundage]

Every time I reread or otherwise re-inform myself of information about early development, I take something new with me. This time around I found myself both reminiscing about my son’s first year of life and how applicable this information is to my classes and sessions. Like many of you, being able to give caregivers information beyond the music is more than fantastic; I’ve found that it boosts participation (from caregivers, and in turn, the kiddos), and allows me to really modify in the moment to meet the kids where they are on any given day. I also love the notion that one must remember to genuinely “be childlike!” This reinforces my belief that being able to meet the kids at their level and really delve into their world helps us help them explore and learn something new.

[Laetitia Brundage]

Hello Everyone,
It’s wonderful to meet all of you! My name is Laetitia Brundage. I’m originally from Quincy, MA and now reside in Somerville, MA. I graduated from Marylhurst University in Oregon with my bachelor’s in music therapy in 2008, and completed my internship at Shriners Hospitals for Children at Boston in 2009. For much of my professional career, clinically, I have worked with children and adolescents with D.D. in school settings, and otherwise, have taught early childhood music classes in and around my community. Most recently, I have joined the music therapy team at Roman Music Therapy Services in Melrose and work with clients ranging from Early Intervention to End of Life. Exploring avenues of music therapy that I only briefly touched upon in school has already been an exciting and fulfilling adventure.

I have always had a passion for working with children, so I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge and “toolkit” by taking this course. I’m sure it will be applicable to my time as a new mom as well as a professional!

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