[Micaela Gibson]

Singing has been something I’ve always included in my music therapy practice thus far when I can, I did have a practicum in the past fall where there was no singing allowed for the clients, and it was so hard not to encourage sining because for me it takes away a way for clients to engage. Singing provides an opportunity for clients to engage in many different ways; by singing along, listening to the lyrics, and many other ways.

Instrument play is something I have used for all populations. With children I find myself using auxiliary percussion instruments like shakers, drums, and other fun, colorful, engaging instruments that grab a child’s imagination. In person I would use drums and marimbas a lot with the more adult populations. Tone chimes have been really successful when I’ve used them as older adults since they form sort of a “choir” and allow for collaboration. Now that I’m pretty much exclusively on Zoom, there is pretty much no instrument play going on unless a client chooses to bring their own on screen.

Movement is something I’ve tended to stick with doing with children and young adults. Kids love dancing around to different types of music which is always fun to see. I’ve also had a lot of virtual adult group home groups that love engaging in dancing and getting moving to music. Obviously I don’t want to over exert older adults with too much movement, but I’ve utilized structured guitar strumming for warmups.

Listening to music has really emerged during my virtual sessions more so than in person. Song sharing over Zoom has given great opportunities for discussion about the meaning of songs to open up without going lyric analysis level deep. I’ve also had more groups now that benefit from receptive listening of music, getting that relaxing time away from maybe the stress of their daily schedule.

[Micaela Gibson]

One of the biggest things I got from this course was seeing how to work with the early childhood population from new perspectives, to which I am so grateful. As an intern, absorbing as much knowledge as possible about music is of the utmost importance to me, and I can say I took away so much new and refreshed knowledge from this 10 week course.

While I took a class in undergrad about child development and music, including the 5 areas of awareness, trust, control, responsibility, and independence really put them in a new light for me in a music context. It made development happening through music become that much more real to me. I also took away that a wider age range than I thought prior can participate in music therapy. I had just thought only toddlers and preschoolers benefit, but infants can too! I assumed they were too young to get anything out of something like this, but the unit on Sprouting Melodies I showed me that infancy is a great place for a child to start exploring their musical identity.

I am looking forward to put this course into practice as I begin leading Sprouting Melodies classes within the context of my internship!

[Micaela Gibson]

In my experience, and as others have touched on, being specific with children is the way to go. If you just give a generic compliment like “that was good”, they may be confused and not know which of their behaviors or actions that they did were good. You have to point out something specific to give them that reinforcement. If you comment on how well they dance around the room, they may be likely to keep doing that as they know they’ve been told they’re good at doing it. And if things children are doing are pointed out, other children may seek to copy their peer, perhaps leading them to engage in the session in a way they haven’t previously. I also like to give children in my groups choices over how the music is played so it is adaptable to how they want to experience it that day.

[Micaela Gibson]

I’m excited to have a new avenue to work with my population of choice. Before I began my internship, I never really considered that music therapy for early childhood could include parents and caregivers in the group. I just envisioned myself only working with the children and interacting with the parents outside of sessions. But now I’m excited to see just how much children of all developmental levels can benefit in music therapy from having a familiar figure present.

[Micaela Gibson]

A big challenge is definitely making sure the music provided can engage the independence of older children while also giving younger children the opportunity to participate. On top of this, balancing the leadership roles an older child might want to take on with the initial exploration of new experiences that a younger child may have is needed. This could afford a good opportunity for engaging the older and younger kids together, like giving a 4 year old the responsibility of handing a 12 month old a shaker, making sure everyone has the opportunity to be engaged.

[Micaela Gibson]

I think that it’s important to point out to parents that there is no “curriculum” in music therapy programs like Sprouting Melodies. There is no specific timeline a child has to follow, rather the music guides their development. And the music can be made customizable to meet the child where they are at in order for them to get the most out of their experience and develop at their own pace with the developmental tools music provides. This is done through original songs and experiences that can only be determined by what the child brings to the table.

[Micaela Gibson]

5 words: varied, adaptable, familial, attention-capturing, creative

Session: Hello Everybody, Row It Faster, Watch Me Go, Dancing in the Middle, I Can Move Around, Goodbye

[Micaela Gibson]

5 words: creative, intentional, active, togetherness, accepting

Session:
Sit Down with Me, Hello Everybody, Swimming Together, Hand Hand Finger Thumb, I Can Move Around, The Leaves Go Down, Goodbye Music Time is Done

[Micaela Gibson]

I don’t currently have any groups with this age, and as an intern and former practicum student, the brands of what I use aren’t really up to me. I would definitely utilize a lot of small frame drums, egg shakers, maracas, and scarves with children in this age range when in a group setting. I think a gathering drum could be beneficial as well.

[Micaela Gibson]

5 words: Adventurous, playful, adaptable, personable, exciting

5 sentences: Sprouting Melodies 2 is an extension to growth your child may have already explored in music. They get the chance to experience music on their level, whether that’s engaging with the session the whole time or taking a break to experience the music in a different way. Sometimes your child might explore music in ways that seem unorthodox, like putting instruments in their mouth, but this is all a part of growing and developing as a toddler and as a musical child. There are many opportunities for your child to move their body and it’s important to help them connect with those moments. They absorb these songs so quickly so it’s highly encouraged to engage your child with these songs at home!

Session:
Hello Everybody
Rocketship Ride
All of This Is Me
Sit With Me and Shake
I Can Move Around and Make Music
Goodbye

[Micaela Gibson]

I think it’s definitely important to include opportunities for all 5 senses to be stimulated throughout a session, but too much of all senses being stimulated at once is too much. A balance needs to be kept, as well as keeping an eye out of client responses to make sure we’re not doing harm through our music. We need to look out for verbal and non-verbal cues such as covering of ears, signs of being overwhelmed, and checking in to see if the clients want to continue the music experience.

[Micaela Gibson]

Like others, I have very little experience working with children 0-9 months old. The youngest I have served through music therapy is 12 months, likewise with the child development center I worked at during my undergraduate courses. I can definitely see how a lot of the work music therapists can do with Sprouting Melodies in this age range can support a child’s development as they get older. Giving non-invasive, child led experiences to be available for this age range of children will allow them to become more independent as they grow older.

[Micaela Gibson]

Music therapists have a certain understanding of how to make therapy not feel like therapy. In Sprouting Melodies, this is evident through the language used to describe many aspects of it. The term classes is non-invasive and does not necessarily imply therapy is happening. As Emily touched on, this allows for a wider range of clientele to want to enroll in these types of classes as parents and caregivers can be repelled against the idea of putting their child in “therapy”. In a community based setting, something like this will attract members of the community to participate in music therapy where they otherwise might not have. Of course, each community has different needs for music therapy, so marketing can be tweaked to fit those exact needs.

[Micaela Gibson]

Session Plan:
Gathering: Hello, Today is a Beautiful Day
Bonding: Row It Faster Lap Ride
Songs About Me: Where Is My Face
Instrument: Sit With Me and Shake
Movement: Pick Your Hands Up High
Goodbye: Out of the Box Goodbye Song

[Micaela Gibson]

5 words to describe: gentle, calm, connecting, soothing, and developmental

5 sentences: Sprouting Melodies 1 is a great way to aide your child’s development in a gentle and non-confrontational space filled with fun and music! Lots of bonding can happen between the infant and caregivers through music due to shared experiences that bring them closer together. These experiences span from instrument playing, movement, to hearing calming songs. Lots of caregivers find themselves singing songs from Sprouting Melodies at home with their infants, and they find that it connects their development happening in music time to development happening at home. Infants are naturally curious about new things in their environment, so you may be surprised how easily they catch on to certain songs and activities.

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