[Marchele Gilman]

I think Flora spoke it beautifully. We as music therapists bring our skills in how to create musical interventions to work on nonmusical behaviors. We are trained to assess and bring in therapeutic interventions that support child development. We bring our developmental knowledge and our abilities to create and change interventions in real time as group dynamics change. We bring our abilities to create developmentally appropriate music tailored to a specific child or children.

[Marchele Gilman]

Elizabeth, I couldn’t find that issue of Imagine on musictherapy.biz. Is there a link so I can read that article?

[Marchele Gilman]

I would say that the families I currently work with need support. Since I work with children with special needs, they need information on how to parent, information on what to do when a child has certain behaviors and why. They also need to know that they are doing a good job, and that I am there to support them and refer them to others with special skills that can also help them along the way.

[Marchele Gilman]

Tracy, thank you for your thoughts. I have wondered about other music curriculums and how they each were different from each other. It is particularly valuable hearing from a music therapist’s view.

[Marchele Gilman]

I don’t currently work with the 0-5 population, so my use of moving, playing, singing, and listening within the realm of music therapy intervention is different than what I would use with children 0-5. As I work with children with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, I find that many are sensory seeking. I have found that when I begin with a musical obstacle course at the beginning of a session, they are more focused for other more sedentary activities later in the session. I also use songs that have movement built into them. I use instruments during the hello and goodbye songs, as well as improvisation. We listen to music sometimes before the sessions begins and at the end if they request it. I have not used singing a lot because the population I work with (6-12) does not respond or is not comfortable with singing. I will sometimes begin a familiar song and stop and have them supply the words. This is as successful as I have been with singing with this population.

[Marchele Gilman]

Musical Development:
Singing- Awareness: Looks at singers face , Trust: matches pitches about ½ time, Independence: uses inflection of pitch, babbles Control: follows melodic contour of song, understands song as whole, Responsibility: uses pulse, meter, melodic content. Creates own melodies, experiments with pulse, and meter

Playing Instruments-Awareness: responds differently to sedative VS play-song music, explores instruments briefly Trust: briefly uses pulse and meter…will shake instrument…intentional use of instrument Independence: will explore instruments purposefully, won’t put in mouth as much, explores with mallets Control: Love musical stops and starts of music, child is internalizing control Responsibility: can maintain a steady beat with others,

Moving: Awareness: rhythmic movement are instinctual, Trust: repetitive movements-not necessarily paired to the music, “baby-bop” Independence: Knee patting, stamping feet, moving body intentionally Control: imitate learned musical movement, clapping, patting their knees, with others Responsibility: connects musical movements in a sequence…clapping, stomping, etc.

Listening- Awareness: recognizes changes in vocal timbre, Trust: recognizes a familiar melody, can be comforted, calmed and centered with a familiar melody Independence: begins to match intensity of the movements to intensity of music Control: stops actions to listen to music
Responsibility: Listens to the music of others

[Marchele Gilman]

I have been working with a client since age 3. I have had the privilege of watching her rapidly progress and catch up to her peers in development in many ways. She just recently turned 6 and is functioning in the responsibility stage. This week, I presented a familiar song with words changed slightly, I sang one phrase and paused, giving her the opportunity to create an ending. She did, singing the line and spontaneously supplying new words to the song. This is the first time she has done this. She smiled and laughed at what she created.

[Marchele Gilman]

Like Cassandra, I don’t have access to any small children to practice these songs with. However, I enjoyed learning them, and I will look forward to using them in the future. I found it helpful in looking at the form and hearing the catchy melodies to these songs. Hearing songs in minor and how well they are used, has made me open to using songs in other modes. All in all, it helps me to see how I might write similar songs for my clients in the future.

[Marchele Gilman]

Traditional music in my area of Eastern Oregon consists mostly of traditional folk songs and songs like “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, “This Old Man”, and “Shoo, Fly”. We have a large hispanic population, as well as a small Basque and Japanese population. I have not worked with the 0-5 population in a preschool setting, so I can’t say what is being taught in this area. However, I would expect that traditional songs from hispanic culture as well as traditional songs in English and Spanish are taught.

[Marchele Gilman]

I bring my own experiences as a mother of a typically developing child and ones that have developmental delays. I understand from a parent’s point of view what it is like when a child is not developing as they should and the stress it puts on the family. I understand what it is like to be told that your child has a disability. I believe that having this experience, my training as a music therapist, along with the information in this class is providing, will help me be a more effective therapist and a support to those that may find themselves navigating the world of disabilities.

[Marchele Gilman]

I think my most valuable takeaway this week is that as I listened to the lecture, I began to build a framework to which music would fit in developmentally in the stages of development. I am beginning to build a new paradigm and think in terms of development and what I can bring to the table musically to support that development.

[Marchele Gilman]

Hi My name is Marchele Gilman but everyone calls me Shelly. I live in Ontario, Oregon. I graduated with a BS in Music Therapy in 1998, worked briefly in the profession, taking time off to raise my children. Three of my four children were diagnosed with special needs, so I devoted my time to them until I could see that they were stable and doing well. About 3 years ago, I became board-certified again and am currently working with special-needs children. I have an opportunity to run a preschool music group at a school of music in my area, and I would like to learn all I can in how to run a successful program.

[Author]

Posts