[Molly Moses]

Singing: Awareness: Cooing or spontaneous vocalizations as a response to music. Trust: Intentional vocalizations imitating pitch about half of the time. Independence: Babbling in response to singing. Control: Sings familiar songs and begins to sing along with similar songs. Responsibility: Child sings rhythm and meter with an accurate melody.

Playing: Awareness: Eyes look toward source of sound and reaches for instrument. Trust: Briefly plays instrument with structure. Independence: Explores new instruments and purposefully makes different sounds. Control: Listens to music and initiates during a pause. Responsibility: Is able to play with a steady beat more consistently.

Moving: Awareness: Reflexive, instinctual movements. Trust: Bounces repeatedly with music. Independence: Is able to move just one part of his or her body, such as foot or hand. Control: Imitates expected movements. Responsibility: Is able to control body parts and move them in sequence.

Listening: Awareness: Appears to alert to changes. Trust: Responds to changes in familiar songs. Independence: Facial expression corresponds to music. Control: Is able to identify what they like. Responsibility: Able to listen to others and respond.

[Molly Moses]

I worked for a period of time in an outpatient clinic for children who had cochlear implants. Although they were in early elementary school, and not infants or toddlers, they were learning to hear and use their voices for the first time.

Singing: We did a lot of singing together, and depending on the what each child was capable of, made adjustments. Some of the children could only sing a few pitches and we worked to use those is songs and get the melodic inflection. Some were capable of call and response singing, where I would sing one line and they would repeat and try to match pitch.

Playing Instruments: These patients were typically good with rhythm, pulse, and meter. We used pitched instruments to add another auditory layer.

Moving: These children generally used purposeful movements, and learned musical movement is sequence.

Listening: Groups were often beneficial for these patients because they learned to listen to the music the others were making and play along.

[Molly Moses]

I hope to use this information to bring joy to children and their families while supporting their development and growth. This course and this unit’s information will help me keep in mind how children typically develop in order to best use music to serve the community.

[Molly Moses]

I believe my area also has traditional children’s music, though pop music is incorporated as well. There is also a fairly large hispanic community and I’ve been working to learn more songs in spanish, particularly lullabies. I enjoyed some of the songs from this week because they were in a minor key, which isn’t as typical in children’s songs, but I’ve found is more prevalent in certain cultures.

[Molly Moses]

I love the song “Hold on Tight!” I could definitely see using this early on; if a child is wary in a new environment, this song lets them be physically close to their parent or caregiver while engaging in the music. I also liked “Where is the Music?” because I’ve often heard parents say “I can’t sing” during sessions. I think this song would help ease those parents into the music by allowing them to chant rather than sing.

[Molly Moses]

During my internship, I had the opportunity to run an infant/toddler group one morning per week. It was so interesting to see these children develop through the awareness and trust stages. The younger infants would often respond by looking at me or their caregiver or by reaching towards my guitar or a shaker. As they moved into the trust stage, I could see them begin to explore instruments (often with their mouths) and choose to turn towards the music.

[Molly Moses]

The overview of development, separated into appropriate age groups, was very helpful. I also really liked the few activities in which we got into the mindset of a child, particularly the one with “bend your knees, touch your toes, count to three, and jump!” I think it’s really beneficial when working with children to get on their level, and this was a good exercise to get into that mindset.

[Molly Moses]

Hello! My name is Molly Moses and I am a music therapist in Winter Park, Florida. I graduated from Florida State University last month with my equivalency/Master’s degree. I completed my internship at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, and absolutely loved working with the infants, children, and their families. I completed my NICU-MT certification while at FSU, and my practicum included working with student veterans, preschool-aged children, middle school-aged children, older adults, and adults in the medical setting. At conference in 2013, I attended a session on Sprouting Melodies and loved it. I am working towards starting my private practice in Central Florida and am so excited to learn how to lead these groups in order to incorporate them into my practice. I can’t wait to learn more and to get to know all of you in the next few weeks!

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