[Rebecca Woodruff]

I had two different groups in my various practicum experiences that had children of this age. The first was an inter-generational group in a nursing home that children from a near-by daycare would attend. The age ranges of this group were profound (about 18 months – 90 years). I felt like most of our music was geared towards children of an independence/control level and that the little one often slept through our sessions (possibly that child’s way of self-selecting to remove from the group and avoid too much stimulation). The second group was a mommy and me music group ages 18 months – 5 years. I feel like our supervisor was able to facilitate appropriate music experiences for these little ones. Personally, I feel much more confident to provide appropriate developmental experiences for very young children now than I did then – especially with the use of instruments. In my personal life, I have had experiences with many nieces and nephews of this age. Most often I will sing to them unaccompanied to calm them or to play with them. One instrument that has been fun to use is my harp – it can really soothe and be interesting at the same time.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

As of right now I am not working as a music therapist but I am working with families in the community as a piano teacher. I work with families to meet their needs as best I can. The needs of families are as unique as the families themselves. I have two families with a child with special needs, another where both parents are doctors and extremely busy, other that home-school. I have found one of the best ways to meet their needs is to be flexible in scheduling and how I present materials.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

I agree with what both Nicole and Julia said about music therapy, and Sprouting Melodies in particular, focuses on the relationship of parent and child. I feel like that is so important and another facets of the whole music therapy package.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

Music therapists are not only highly trained musicians but have also been trained in development and psychology. We understand music, what music is developmentally appropriate, and how to interpret one’s response to music. We are able to use music to accomplish non-musical goals and use our psychological training to influence behaviors in a healthy and research proven way. I like to think of us as the whole package. I also love that sprouting melodies focuses on giving the parents education as well. As we educate parents about what is developmentally appropriate and teach them skills (reinforcement, replacement, etc.) for them to use at home, we can reduce some of the stress and anxiety that parents feel.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

The semester that I did my practicum in a musical development group we definitely used movement frequently with the children. Having structured movement helped the children to get the time they needed to move without making the parents worry about their children not sitting in place. We also let the children experiment with playing many different instruments and introducing new instruments to listen to. I was able to bring in my lap harp one session and lead a relaxation. This was a unique listening experience for many of the children and caregivers.

There are some changes I will make when I start by own developmental music group after learning content from this course. I won’t be as stressed about keeping children in their seat – as that is not developmentally appropriate at certain stages. I will also be sure to explain this to the parents. I will also be sure to communicate the research done on motor neurons and the importance of “everyone stays, everyone plays”. Working in a school system, it was frustrating trying to get all of the aids to participate during music. I wish I would have known this last year to communicate to them – it might have been the thing to finally get them to participate.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

LISTENING Awareness: Recognizes pitches in triad. Can discriminate pitches and prefers consonance over dissonance. Trust: Recognizes changes in rhythm in familiar songs. Can locate sounds at a distance. Independence:Enjoys musical surprises (crescendo, fermata, glissando, silence) and different tempos. Control: Actively makes the choice to listen. Responsibility: Appreciates the music of others. Use the rule of 3000. It usually takes kids up three full seconds to listen, process and respond.

MOVING Awareness: Changes in movement reflect changes in music. Trust: Displays movement that is rhythmic but not synchronized to music. Independence: Uses entire body rhythmically. Will choose where to position themselves in a group. Control: Dances spontaneously to music. Has fast internal rhythm. Responsibility: Can use rhythmic sequences. Songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” is now developmentally appropriate to use.

SINGING: Awareness: Vocalization is in simple rhythms. Can demonstrate different duration in sounds. Their pitches contain intervals and they use audible breath (this means vocalization is coming). Trust: Makes purposeful pitched vocalizations. Independence: Uses musical babble and mostly descending intervals – major 2nd interval used frequently. Creates spontaneous melodies and songs. Control: Uses intervals of 2nd, major and minor 3rd, perfect 4th, and 5th. Imitates words from familiar songs. Still lack tonal center. Responsibility: Can sing in key for almost an entire song. Can: recall, remember and reproduce familiar songs. Can shout and whisper.

PLAYING: Awareness: Can reach toward music. Trust: Explores instruments with hands and mouth. Short periods of instrument play. Independence: Uses hands to strike drum head or tambourine, Grasps and shakes maraca or jingle bell. Control: Like to pound and bang. Will have more sustained play. Responsibility: Can create rhythms. Plays beats and rests within familiar structure.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

While, I am not currently working in the music therapy field, I was able to hold a mini session with a few of my nieces and a nephew. As we sat down and chose instruments I improvised my own gathering song which gave each child a chance to play their chosen instrument. Later on in the session I used, “Will You Come?”. First I chose marching and set a steady 2/4. The children were able to follow my example and march a steady beat. Then I let the children choose other movements for us to do. Two choose spinning around. I was able to change the lyrics, meter, tempo and use fermata to support their movements. We also used skipping and using a 6/8 meter really supported the skipping movement (something I had not consciously thought to do until hearing it in this week’s lesson). I was also able to use the song “Hold on Tight” with my youngest niece. While I used the music to support the actions in the song she did not seem very interested. This could have been her displaying preference or could have been developmentally a bit below her level.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

While I am not currently working with children. I was able to run a mini session with a few of my nieces and a nephew. I believe the youngest niece is emerging into the Responsibility Level. As we began our session, I had each of them choose an instrument and play only when I sang about them. While I was singing about one child, the others were to quietly listen to that child’s playing. My niece was able to listen successfully with only one incident of playing the drum when she was not supposed to. Therefor, she was able to demonstrate listening to peers, following directions, choosing an instrument and playing with purpose. When asked if she would like to choose a favorite song she chose “Let it Go”. While we sang the song. she chose not to sing and play several instruments instead. She was able to share or “trade” as I called it several instruments (the frame drum, maraca, and tambourine) with me and her peers. She showed great enjoyment of start and stop music games – often found within the Control level. When I played a simple rhythmic pattern she was able to play it back mostly successfully. Throughout our entire time together she chose not to sing which was completely valid.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

In my community, the children I have observed seem to know nursery songs such as “twinkle twinkle” or “five little speckled frogs” but when asked to choose a favorite song will gravitate towards Disney music, especially “Let it Go” from “Frozen”. There has been a large increase in the Pilipino population in my community over the years, so I will be looking more into songs popular within their culture. My community also is surrounded by farms and ranches so western and country music is also popular.

Within my internship, though we used set lesson plans we would often look for ways to add more new music, usually pop, into our sessions. The children and caregivers responded to these songs with great enthusiasm. Many of the children I worked with in my internship were in the developmental levels discussed here. They also greatly enjoyed nursery songs, “the Wheels on the Bus” and songs with embedded movement, “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

Something I believe that I bring to early childhood music therapy is, like many others, I can be child-like and still maintain a professional demeanour. I love to make people laugh but I know what is appropriate. I feel that by giving myself freedom to be silly or funny I am being authentic. This also helps to put children and parents at ease and makes it easier to build rapport, which is crucial to therapy and learning. I have seen this in my experience in my work with children with disabilities and their care givers as well as teaching children 7-8 piano.

Being able to be child-like also helps us to better understand the children in our groups and feel greater empathy. This, as well as the information in this module, will help me to ensure that my interventions are developmentally appropriate for the children so they can best succeed.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

I think one of the most valuable things I took away from this week, is knowing more about developmental red flags. Being a new parent is stressful and people worry so much about their kids being normal. It is nice to be able to know what is expected at these stages of development and to be able to calm parents with this knowledge. On the other hand, it is good to be able to catch red flags early on. Quick diagnosis leads to quicker treatment and better outcomes for children with disabilities.

[Rebecca Woodruff]

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca Woodruff, I’m an MT-BC from Alberta, Canada. I just completed my American music therapy certification in December and will have everything processed through on my Canadian certification in about a week or two. I earned by bachelor’s in music therapy at Utah State University, in Logan, Utah and completed my internship at Hartvigsen School in the Salt Lake area. At Hartvigsen, our clients were special needs students K-12 with a variety of disabilities (Autistic Spectrum Disorder, CP, TBI, Downs-syndrome, blindness, etc.). My internship was an excellent experience for me and I am looking to work with similar clients. After I finished my internship, I moved back home to Canada where I have been teaching piano and guitar as well as gigging with harp and piano.

During my time at Utah State, I was able to complete one of my practicums in a group that is similar to Sprouting Melodies. I greatly enjoyed that practicum and wanted to start a similar program. I felt like enrolling in the Sprouting Melodies training would help me fill in the gaps of my understanding of development and to ensure I am using best practice principles. As a new professional, I am excited to hear the input of all you with much more experience than I.

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