[Shannon Kiley]

Agreed! I’d like to highlight the “therapist” part of music therapist– we have the training in psychology and in development to target growth with a precision that non-MTs lack. Other mommy & me music groups are certainly fun, and certainly the music is good and is good for growth, but it’s like fishing with a net versus fishing with a bait targeted to the fish. Additionally, the training of a therapist allows us to bring our whole self to a group, utilizing our vast training and offering it to the group to foster growth with a foundation of patience and calm. I also like what Toni said about being able to see red flags– again, MT training!

[Shannon Kiley]

Though I typically use all four experiences in every session, not every session has a defined “first A, then B, then C” structure. (Although I’m starting to think that maybe I should lean more that way!) Most of my PreK sessions now go something like:

Hello – Greeting/Social Song – Movement – Singing – Instruments – Cool Down/Lullaby – Goodbye

Since the start of the course, the main change that I have made structurally is incorporating a bit of silence between activities, since I now know about the importance of silence for processing! I’ve also made some changes in how I run activities; with my increased awareness of stages of development, I am better able to spot which responses are developmentally appropriate explorations versus deliberate boundary-testing, which is always an element of PreK groups!

[Shannon Kiley]

Singing:<br />
Awareness: Looks at source of singing.<br />
Trust: Vocalizes purposeful sounds.<br />
Independence: Sings words in familiar songs.<br />
Control: Sings phrases of songs with contour approximations.<br />
Responsibility: Able to sing loud or soft, beginning dynamics.<br /></p>
<p>Playing:<br />
Awareness: Tracks the sound of an instrument with eyes.<br />
Trust: Explores instrument with hands.<br />
Independence: Transfers instrument from one hand to the other hand.<br />
Control: Adjusts dynamics and/or tempos in response to music.<br />
Responsibility: Maintains internal beat.<br /></p>
<p>Moving:<br />
Awareness: Sucks rhythmically.<br />
Trust: Moves hand back and forth in response to music.<br />
Independence: Isolates body parts to move to music.<br />
Control: Can freeze whole body when music stops.<br />
Responsibility: Can freeze whole body while others are moving.<br /></p>
<p>Listening:<br />
Awareness: Alters position in response to music and/or silence.<br />
Trust: Locates music at a distance.<br />
Independence: Demonstrates preferences of music.<br />
Control: Anticipates beginning or end of music.<br />
Responsibility: Transitions between musical activities in session.<br />

[Shannon Kiley]

My main musical experiences in my home growing up were the music that I learned in church, (hymns and such), and the music that my father was currently listening to. He went through several phases but I mostly remember his country phase and (my favorite) his Motown phase. I remember hearing “Stop In The Name Of Love” on the radio when I was young and I think that’s when I started paying attention to music.

CT is a strange area for music; like most places, everybody has their specific preferences. Most people are more defined musically by the culture of their specific group that they associate with, which may or may not be related to the geographic region here. If I was to try to pinpoint a specific preference of the area, I guess I’d have to look at “what do the cover bands play here?”, because they are catering to the community’s preferences. That would be a lot of classic rock, interesting renditions of 90’s tunes, Springsteen as Coleen mentioned, and a bit of widely-palatable hip-hop.

[Shannon Kiley]

I’ve been using the “Good mo–rning!, Good mo–rning!” greeting tune with the octave jumps, as my very first greeting when I walk into a classroom or am putting my things down to start a group in a classroom. This in-between time has always been slightly awkward, from the time that the teacher says “Miss Shannon is here!” to the time that I actually start the hello song. This transitional tune has really helped both me and the children to transition into music time while I am getting my guitar out and keeps their attention from wandering. Some of the kids even have begun to greet *me* with the song when I come in!!

[Shannon Kiley]

It’s interesting how children move through these stages; in thinking of my little honeys, especially since I have few typically-developing clients, many of them show responses in several levels based on their individual abilities and limitations. One of the little ones I work with is incredibly physically weak due to her illnesses; she can locate sounds, can turn toward or away from music or people, and generally most vocal responses seem to fit in the Awareness & Trust stages (although this seems to be somewhat of a matter of the strength required for vocalizing). However, instrumentally, she has some maracas that she shakes as prompted, grasps them and transfers them from hand to hand, and uses them to play other instruments like a drum; these responses fit pretty squarely in the Independence stage. Overall I would place her somewhere between Trust & Independence. One of my other little guys is definitely in the Control stage; he loves to spontaneously sing his favorite songs, loves to play rhythms on his desk for short periods of time, and will reliably clap/stomp/”Hooray” to “Happy and You Know It” (but always in that order regardless of the prompt!).

[Shannon Kiley]

We as music therapists have such a unique skill set, and thusly I think the most important thing that I bring is twofold: firstly, my training as a MT with the knowledge of what children need at particular times… secondly, my presence as a cheerful and patient navigator of the terrain. When I think about what separates a good early childhood professional from an unsuccessful one, (being given that the professionals have the appropriate information about early childhood), I keep returning to the sense of joy, relaxation, and patience in this work. These kids and their parents will challenge you and keep you on your toes and it’s so important to have a sense of relaxation and fun! This gives everyone else permission to relax and have fun, and combining that with our MT training and the information we are learning in this course, that seems a surefire recipe for success to me.

[Shannon Kiley]

I’m a little late to the party, but this last week’s content has been so useful to review and learn again, especially now that I am out working in the “real world” of music therapy, rather than just studying it in text, as Keeley mentioned… Several times this week as some of my clients were not “getting” what I was trying to get them to do, I had to step back and ask myself whether my expectations were appropriate, and I realized that I was asking them to do something beyond their developmental level! Can’t wait to integrate this information into next week’s (this week’s) music development content.

[Shannon Kiley]

Hi everyone! My name is Shannon Kiley and I am a music therapist working in private practice in Connecticut since last year. I graduated from FSU last summer 2012 and have been board-certified since fall 2011. A large chunk of my work is with people with disabilities, and out of that chunk, most of my clients are early intervention. I hope to develop a more complete framework of knowledge in music and development (especially now that I have gotten my feet wet in the field), to become more comfortable as an “expert” in this area, and to expand my repertoire of evidence-based interventions for my clients! I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone better through this course!

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