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As music therapists, I think we provide a more tailored experience for the children that focuses more on the individual children in the room and less on the material that is being taught to them. We have the skills and ability to adapt what we are doing to fit their needs and then in turn explain to the parents why we are doing so which helps them to understand what we see. I really enjoy the parent teaching aspect of this course because it helps to give us the skills and confidence to help inform parents about what we are seeing which may also help to put them at ease, especially if they are new parents. We also, as therapists, are a little more in tune to reading how parents are feeling as well so we may be able to tell whether or not a parent may need a little encouragement to engage more in a session or need some reassurance that what they are doing is correct!
February 21, 2023 at 3:58 pm
in reply to: Create your own Developmental Sequence of music responses.
ParticipantSinging: A- Vocalizing during songs, T- matches pitch at times, I- shows melodic inflection in babbling, C-begins to imitate melody shapes, R- will attend to tempo in song<br />
Playing: A- adjust playing to different music styles, T- will briefly follow tempo, I- will explore diverse array of instruments purposefully, C- will start and stop with purpose, R- maintains a steady beat<br />
Moving: A- instinctual movements are rhythmic, T- response to music is repetitive movements, I- can isolate body parts when moving, C- imitates learned movements, R- can sequence movements<br />
Listening: A- recognizes changes in timbre of voice, T- recognizes familiar melodies, I- will imitate musical intensity with movements, C- will stop to listen, R- listens to music others are creating
February 8, 2023 at 6:17 pm
in reply to: How have you used these four music experiences in your practice?
ParticipantWatching and working with these four experiences of listening, movement, playing instruments, and singing has made me think more critically of how my clients are participating with these experiences in my work now. I have taken more note of how my clients interact with instruments and how they engage with movement and how they engage when listening. Taking that extra step of watching how they engage with instruments rather than just trying to get them to engage in the first place has helped me to tailor my interventions more towards the specific ways my clients enjoy interacting with instruments. For example, I have clients who do are able to participate at a higher level and enjoy participating more when using simpler instruments so I offer them instead which leads to client success at a higher rate. While some of the concepts didn’t apply very directly to my work now, due to me not working in early childhood, I feel as though they have helped to shift my perspective on my work now which has been a very positive experience!
ParticipantFor the Awareness and Trust level, I would expect them to stop making noise when I am singing and to babble or make noise when I am not singing. I would also expect them to turn their head towards or away from the music to indicate whether or not they would like to join the experience. Lastly, I would expect them to shy away from dissonant music and react more positively towards consonant music.
For the Independence, Control, and Responsibility level, I would expect them to respond well to opportunities for autonomy, like where they get to choose an instrument. I would also expect them to be able to begin to have the ability to maintain a steady beat when playing instruments. Lastly, I would expect the kids to begin to be able to listen to their peers playing without also needing to play along.
ParticipantI enjoyed learning and playing around with the music this week, the songs were easy to learn and fun to manipulate. The song that stuck out the most to me was “Just Like Me” partly because it was stuck in my head for about an hour after learning it, but also because I enjoy the structure. As soon as I heard the song, I just thought that it was very malleable and that you could use it in almost any situation which is great for being flexible and working with a client’s needs in the moment. My brain just thought of a bunch of different ways to use it like to order tying your shoes for kids slightly older, for conversation skills if you do call and response with a client, and more! Thanks for sharing these songs they were a joy to learn!
ParticipantI worked with a child in the past who was 3 years old and had down syndrome and, looking back on it, they were definitely in the independence/control stage at the time I was working with them. They loved to imitate what I would play and we would go back and forth playing different instruments while also exploring new ways to play them. They also loved surprise changes in the beat and big glissandos in the music. They reacted well to being given the autonomy to choose what they wanted to do and they would make sure mom was nearby, but they became comfortable with playing songs and engaging in music with me over time. I didn’t think of that at the time but it is interesting to look back and see how the framework applies to work I have completed in the past!
ParticipantI work mainly in special education classrooms in a school district that is close to 95% hispanic so I try to utilize music that is culturally appropriate. Most of the songs I have found and started using come from the students themselves, teachers, and paraprofessionals. I hadn’t done a lot of work with hispanic clients previously so it has been a learning curve, but I have really enjoyed experiencing more of the culture. I don’t work with anyone under 4 years old in the district so I would be interested to see if there are any major differences used in early childhood work with hispanic clients. If anyone has any knowledge, I would love to hear about it and work to expand my repertoire more!
ParticipantI would say that my biggest takeaway from this week’s learning was the milestones of development. Going into this course, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge on the milestones and the videos explained and laid everything out really clearly which was helpful for me in conceptualizing them. I feel that the list of milestones provides a groundwork for planning interventions for specific groups because you know what to be expecting developmentally from the group when planning. Before this lesson, I did my best to guesstimate what I should do and really leaned into being adaptable, but this framework will be a huge help!
ParticipantFor me, I have no kids and not any extended family members who are much younger than I am so my experiences with young children are limited to my experiences in my young career as a music therapist and my practicum placements at school. Not having a lot of experience, I do my best to bring as much positive energy as I can to create a safe space for the kiddos I am working with. One of my strengths as a therapist so far has also been my flexibility in adapting interventions as I have worked with many of different populations and adapted interventions to fit from session to session. Flexibility is something I have brought to sessions in my work with kiddos so far and it has been beneficial in meeting them where they are at! I am really excited to deepen my knowledge of early childhood and add more tools to my toolbox!
ParticipantHello all! My name is Sean FitzGerald and I have been working as a full time music therapist for roughly a year and a half. I graduated from Temple University in 2021 and after completing my internship in geriatrics. After graduating, I became board certified and worked at Infinity Music Therapy Services in Southington, CT for one year. There I worked mainly with individuals with a wide range of ages and developmental levels. I now have worked at Roman Music Therapy Services in Wakefield, MA for 6 months and I have enjoyed mainly working in schools with groups. I am also in graduate school for clinical mental health counseling at night which has been very fun so far. My hopes for this course are to help expand my “toolbox” and to deepen my knowledge of early childhood music therapy! I also look forward to reading everyone’s responses and collaborating over the course of this experience 🙂
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