I went to the music therapy center at Eastern
Michigan University few weeks ago. I had the privilege to observe a group music therapy
session by Emily and Dr. Stark. This group therapy group consists of Eastern
Michigan students with developmental disabilities who study in the special
education classrooms. These therapy sessions are made possible with
contributions of parents and guardians. Eastern uses a system called sliding
scale which means that the parents and guardians pay how much ever they can
pay- which I think is very thoughtful and generous of the facility!
The therapist has been working with this
particular group for three weeks. So, she said her main goal at the moment is
to assess on their cognitive, motor, and social skills. After the understanding
of their ability, she will be able to have more specific goals. The session
began with the hello song which is kind of an improvisation because they had to
put in different people’s names to say hello to them. I believe this hello song
does not only unite them but also help them feel welcomed. Feeling belonged to
something really helps them with their social skills.
Then they went onto their
composing project which is called SWAG project. This composition work seems to
focus on their goal in life and help them express and learn how to achieve
those goals. Then the third experience was to have them identify chords with arpeggios.
This experience really helps with cognitive and motor abilities of the client
because I could see that they were getting better at figuring out what chord
sounds are compared to arpeggios. After that, Dr. Stark initiated an experience
named rhythmic name. The group was divided into three groups by number of
syllables in their name. People with one syllable got a bass drum; people with
two got a drum and three a tambourine. This is a receptive experience because
clients play to the signals of syllables. Next activity was a fun one involving
movement. Two or more people danced to the song Cupid’s Shuffle while everyone
else was moving around the stretchers. Finally, there was a re-creative
experience in which the group played “lean on me” on hand chimes.
A lot of aspects of this
session followed the Bruscia Fundamentals which are a set of
“fundamentals” regarding music therapy. They are a handbook that current and
future music therapist should always look at and follow. The typical music therapy
sessions include use of improvising, recreating, composing, and listening to
music. Improvising is spontaneously creating music by creating a melody or a
rhythm. This kind of experience is for clients who need developing in
creativity, expression and sense of identity such as- OCD patients,
narcissistic personality patients, or patients who suffer from depression. Re-creating
of music involves learning how to reproduce a sound by singing or playing an
instrument which also requires learning to read musical notations. This
experience is used to improve clients who need to develop sensory motor
ability, adaptive behaviors, reality orientating and speech. It was cool to
know that playing instrument can help with motor coordination, because I
remember my mom telling me that while I was playing the piano, many of my body
parts work together. While my eyes read the notes and my brain analyzes it, my
hands are playing the piano and my foot is pressing the pedal. Composing is
when clients are engaged in creating a song in which they help with lyrics
writing or making musical decisions like tempo, melody or mood. This helps with
clients who have hard time with decision making, expressing themselves, and
commitment. I was surprised to know that this experience can be used with
cancer patients. This gives them the time to think about life and death and
also can be a parting gift for their loved ones. It is so sad to think about
death, but by expressing and organizing their thoughts, I believe they are able
to be calmer when it comes to that topic. Last is listening. Listening to me,
is the most typical and daily use of music as therapeutic tool. Listening to
music stimulates ideas and imagination. It also helps with meditation and
relaxation
This
observation is my very first time seeing a music therapy session. It was
inspiring, impressive and touching. In the beginning of the session I was
focusing on getting the information down on my notebook. However, after some
time I had an urge to join in the fun. Especially when they were dancing to
Cupid’s Shuffle, I felt so happy and excited. It was such a shame I was sitting
in an isolated room; I just wanted to jump in and dance with them. I also
experienced heart crunching feeling when I heard “lean on me.” Sometimes I feel
that I need some place to lean on and they feel they need a place to lean on.
We can lean on each other, and that made my heart feel so warm. I cannot wait
to experience the session myself. This observation made me extremely passionate
and happy that I chose music therapy as my future.
Reference:
Brucisa,
K. (1989), Defining Music Therapy, Phonenixville, PA: Baralona Publishers.
National
Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) (1988), Code of Ethics, Music Therapy
Perspectives, 5, 5-9
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