It is so encouraging to watch and read as more people find out about music therapy. This article examines the services provided at Maryland Music they work with children with developmental delays such as unbalanced translocation , Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, and more. A mother of one of the children remarks, "It seems silly because it's just music, but it's not just music." That gets right to the heart of it. What music therapists do is so much more.
Here's a great profile of a young music therapist making a difference in her home town. Katie Fitch has her bachelors in music therapy, and is studying for her masters. She wants to provide services in her underserved hometown, Peoria, Illinois. She offered a number of sessions, providing great help to a 5 year old stroke victim. Her clients are sad to see her go back to school, but are excited, as she will return one step closer to opening her own music therapy facility. Music therapists and Canada are struggling to have music therapy regulated by the government. Once the field is government regulated, insurance will be more likely to cover this crucial service. This is a good example of why more clinical research must be done in our field. Here's a great guide to refer to when interviewing for a music therapy position, including some questions the author has encountered: This is extremely helpful! "I discovered that she would change the pitch of her groans to match whatever musical key I was playing in." This story is a touching anecdote from a hospice music therapist who found herself treating her own mother. It was a truly painful experience, but amazingly, her mother remained musical until the end. Hospice music therapists play for many different reasons: life review, easing of pain and suffering, or even merely to maintain the connection between the dying and their loved ones. It is a horribly important application for music therapy, and the author is very brave for making it her occupation. "Entrainment is a physics term that is used to explain that two objects moving together use less energy than two objects moving in opposite directions." This blog post describes rhythmic entrainment and how it is used to help in physical therapy rehabilitation. This is also a great blog post to read if you want to get "Hava Nagila" stuck in your head. I know I do. This story is just so - wow! Autism is an expanding problem for children being born in the 21st century. There is hope, however. Nonverbal children can possibly learn to communicate. This is the case with Isaac. As a five year old, he spoke his first words to his mother: "I love you, Mummy." Give it a read. The article certainly gives me hope for a future in which we can reach more children with music. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/mums-joy-five-year-old-son-who-3340474 A new bill, that has been approved by the Rhode Island House of Representatives, will treat a state registry of music therapists. This means that after January 1, 2015, music therapists certified by the CBMT with at least a bachelors degree must register with the state to offer their services. This is important because it brings a new level of well deserved respect to the profession. A common misconception is that music played for people in need qualifies as music therapy. While well intentioned volunteers can provide a valuable service to suffering individuals, music therapy is specifically performed by a train music therapist. Only a professional, with the proper background and preparation, can produce the results attributed to music therapy. The Rhode Island music therapy registry will be a great victory for music therapy. This is exciting news indeed. http://www.warwickonline.com/stories/House-OKs-bill-to-create-state-registry-of-music-therapists,91094?category_id=4&content_class=1&town_id=1&sub_type=stories Today I witnessed a performance by the Alan Segal Quartet. They feature a vibraphone amongst their rhythm section of bass, drums, and piano. They played some great, and familiar jazz tunes for us. They also took the time to answer questions. Segal is the founder of the Jazz Sanctuary. His organization has a mission of jazz proliferation. His story is an interesting one. In 2006, after surgery for an aneurysm he experienced, Segal could do nothing but play bass. He could still read music but he couldn't speak or walk. He spent around six hours a day playing bass and now he wants to give back to the music that he says saved his life. He promotes jazz by performing for free with his quartet and quintet at local houses of worship. More information about his organization can be found here: |