The Music Therapist Company

How to easily incorporate music into your daily life

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:08:00 GMT

Sheila explains how she uses music in her daily life using a music subscription service.

Care to Do a Two-Step?

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:56:00 GMT

Music provides a life ring to the brain. When a person has Parkinson's stiffness sets in, uncontrolled tremors happen, balance is impaired, and the person has trouble initiating movements - in other words, they get stuck. Watch as this man is able to mentally grab the life ring of music and begin to two-step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDjQ7lKmH3s

Getting your words back

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:54:00 GMT

When the brain loses its ability to find or create language, Music Therapy is an effective tool to help the brain connect and help speech find new pathways.

Enjoy this beautiful video that shows the power of music to recover language.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKqYLFUK968

#aphasia #braininjury #stroke

A Day in the Life of Dementia

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:52:00 GMT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJObR8TqBIM

The major theme running through these stories is "How did it make you feel?" "I will remember the feeling when I don't remember anything else."

Music Therapy helps bring the person back to remembering the details, even if it is just for the moment. It is really very powerful!

Learn from these dear people.

Helping those with Autism

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:50:00 GMT

Autism affects so many families. It crosses all socio-economic boundaries. Here are some exciting approaches using Music Therapy with those afflicted with Autism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P14eZZEG64

What is Music Therapy Used For?

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:46:00 GMT

Before we dive into what and who Music Therapy can help, let’s talk briefly about what Music Therapy is. Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved Music Therapy program.

Music Therapy can benefit a number of different people including children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly in a number of different ways. It can help with mental health needs, as well as developmental and learning disabilities.

Music Therapy has also been proven to benefit those with Alzheimer’s disease and other aging related conditions, substance abuse problems, brain injuries, physical disabilities, and acute and chronic pain. But, healthy individuals can use Music Therapy for stress reduction by actively making/playing music as well as by passively listening to music for relaxation. Because music is processed in all areas of the brain, it has the ability to access and stimulate areas of the brain that may not otherwise be accessible through other methods.

Before beginning with a new client, a Music Therapist will assess emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, and cognitive skills through musical responses and then design music related sessions for them based on their needs. This might include music improvisation, receptive music listening, song writing, lyric discussion, music and imagery, learning through music and more. The Music Therapist will then assess their progress through ongoing evaluation and follow up. When individualized music experiences are designed by the Music Therapist to fit functional abilities and needs, responses may be immediate and readily apparent.

Music Therapists use music related strategies, both instrumental and vocal, which are designed to facilitate changes that are non-musical in nature. Music selections and certain active music making activities are modified for client preferences and individualized needs, so song selection and music will vary from person to person to ensure the experience is enjoyable and beneficial!

If you believe you or someone you know could benefit from Music Therapy, please contact us at 715-514-1978. Or click the contact us link and reach out that way. We look forward to sharing the healing power of music with you!

Be sure to bookmark our blog and follow us on Facebook for more information like this! We’d love to connect with you!

Sources:

https://www.musictherapy.org

http://neurorhythm.com/files/9714/2524/6924/Music_Therapy_Science.pdf

https://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/7/MT_Mental_Health_2006.pdf

#dementia #braininjury #musictherapy #stress #children #adolescents #adults #elderly #alzheimersdisease #physicaldisabilities #pain

Self Development & Music Therapy - Part 1

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:43:00 GMT

“I will be honest, before starting the interview I had little idea of what Music Therapy was. I wasn’t sure what to expect in my conversation with Sheila. During our conversation, it blew me away with everything I learned. The topic is fascinating, and I loved having this opportunity to learn about Music Therapy. Sheila Wall has had an amazing, story-filled career as a Music Therapist. Today we talked about what exactly it is, how it helps people, and more technical details behind the practice.” - show description by host, Kenny Aronson

Kenny: “Tell us a little bit about yourself, Sheila.”

I’m a board Certified Music Therapist. I’ve been in the long term care industry for over 30 years and working at personal development for past 10 years. The crash in 2008 really caused me to look deeper into who I am as a person and work on what the best business model would be for my life and business.

Kenny: “What is Music Therapy?”

I’m a therapist that uses music as a tool to bring about the changes you’d like to see happen in your life. I work with people of all ages. When I see children, we are looking at developmental milestones and trying to enhance those. With teens, we are sometimes dealing with trauma, self esteem, and self image. When working with young adults we are looking at who they are now and what that looks like and where they would like to go with their life. Middle aged clients bring life changes to the table and we work with how to work through those changes. Maybe they want to be physically fit using music or mentally more alert or adept. Elderly patients bring more memory problems and experience music as a mental life ring.

The unique characteristic that music has is that it engages the entire brain. The brain’s goal is to keep you safe, happy, healthy and nourished. For example, if you are blind your hearing get better. The same thing happens in the brain. When your brain is traumatized, it’s trying to compensate for this damage and it struggles to see healthy neural pathways. So, when the whole brain is engaged the pathways light up, so they see each other, which allows the brain the ability to find a new pathway through music which becomes the life ring. With today’s technology, we are now able to see, without cutting the brain open, how this works!

It’s been known since the beginning of time that we are musical beings. Music is known to be healing. We talk about medicine men and shamans; music, rhythms, pitches, and those kinds of things have been used throughout history to therapeutically interact with the human body for healing. Since we use it in society now as a social medium we don’t realize the medicinal qualities, or the damaging qualities, it can have. For example, when someone is constantly listening to chaotic music, the brain also becomes chaotic. If a person listens to music that is more organized and orderly, the brain will be able to organize better.

I always like to say that music is alive. Even though it’s not a breathing person, it’s alive because it interacts with the emotions, the mind, the body; these characteristics make it alive and we must be mindful of what we are using for music. It’s always interesting to see the responses in people. Every single session elicits responses that, even though it’s been over 30 years using music as a tool, that still amaze me.

Kenny: “Can you give us some examples or success stories of yours?”

I had an 11 year old boy who struggles with vision and balance and who has some autistic characteristics. His mother was concerned because he couldn’t recreate without her help or even write. He told me he wanted to be a professional piano player because he “didn’t want his mama to work so hard forever” and that broke my heart. He said, “I want to be able to read music like everyone else.” He can’t because his vision is impaired, but we were able to find a YouTube video of a step by step guide so he could take it home with him and practice.

Instead of having written music to practice with in front of him, he would have the audio and video. I’ve seen him for about once a week for four months now. With a small amount of direction, and lots of encouragement, he went from not being able to make one finger move at a time on the keys (not that he was physically disabled, but his brain could not figure out how to make his hands listen to his brain - there was a disconnect there somehow) he was able to do a five note scale using the music as a tool. He then discovered Fur Elise by Beethoven. Using the audio step by step, live weekly coaching and video, he’s now able to play the whole song, as written!

The brain wants to compensate. He’s a very intelligent kid. He also discovered that he was left handed! I encouraged him to use his left hand and no one had done that before. Now he can write his name and his homework. He’s now self recreating for about 30-40 minutes at a time and he and his mom is so thankful! Now, he’s even learning to play the trombone and ukulele because music has now become a viable rewarding creative outlet and allowed his brain to compensate!

There are so many other examples I could share with you! I have a lady that had dementia and is in the hospice program. She’s nonverbal, but in my very first session with her, we went to the piano and I started to sing a little Christmas song - and she started to sing! She has a beautiful singing voice and she sang all of the words. Her daughter sobbed because she hasn’t heard her mother sing in so long. It was amazing to see! Then all of a sudden, she was alert and noticed her daughter there. She said, “Oh, hello! When did you get here?” That’s the power of music. Having a therapist who has the skills to manipulate the music in the situation appropriately is amazing.

Part two to follow! If you’d like to jump right into it or if you would prefer to listen, you can access the podcast at this link:

#children #adults #dementia #adolescents #podcast

Self Development & Music Therapy - Part 2

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:40:00 GMT

Self Development & Music Therapy - a 4-Part series

Part 2

Music can be detrimental to a person so we have to use it with caution. Most people think that it’s just music, but no, it’s more than that! I’m sure you can think of a genre of music that you don’t like or that makes you cringe a little. The structure and frequency of the music is important. Sound waves are set up in hertz. Throughout history, in Western music, we tune the ‘A’ note to the 440 hertz which is “4 clicks” low. It needs to be just a little bit higher in pitch to be 444 hertz instead in order to be truly therapeutic. It’s interesting because the 440 is just a little bit off and it makes music just a little bit chaotic. It’s not that it’s wrong or bad, but it’s just that it’s not as therapeutic.

Back in the Georgian era they used chants to heal people because they used the frequencies and they understood what that meant. But, Pope Gregory decided that was “too holy” and they needed to stop it because the ‘common man’ was not holy enough to experience it properly. He pulled all the chants out of circulation and locked them up in the Vatican and didn’t allow the public to have access to them. After that, music started to change. It’s interesting when you start to examine what happened in those years.

When we talk about how music can be detrimental to a person I think we can all relate to this example. When I’m driving and come to a stop light, sometimes I can hear the bass of the car next to me. When you listen to the lyrics and they are usually derogatory, hate filled, and chaotic. People will say, “Yeah, it’s nothing but noise.” But, it really does resonate with some people that are hurting because all they can think of is their pain. When they listen to that hate filled music, they think they are feeling better because that person that they’re singing about is feeling worse than they are. Then, you focus on that and activate the reticular activating system. This is the term for the thing that happens when you focus on something. For example, if you wanted to buy a red Toyota and you haven’t ever seen one before but you looked in a catalog and saw one. Then, all of a sudden you are seeing them all over the place. Another example would be if you are talking to someone in a crowded, noisy room and you can hardly hear each other. But then, someone says your name from across the room and you can hear that as clear as day. Your reticular activating system is important because it keeps you alive and focused, so when you use music that is hate filled and derogatory it becomes what you focus on. Your brain is grabbing onto that thinking that’s what you want to think about and focus on - making it hard to see the positive, the good, and the upright.

I have sessions with some kids that are in a juvenile detention center. I asked them each to give me some songs they liked so I could screen and use them. I was shocked at the music and the lyrics they listen to and know. The brain uses it as a therapeutic tool, so it grabs on to music first because it’s easy and it activates both parts of the brain so it thinks it’s an important thing.

There are some people that when they are working on something they need the room absolutely quiet and others need something going on or they cannot focus. It’s so interesting because everyone is unique and different. That’s why it’s important to have a Music Therapist when you are working through troubles, so you have someone to help guide you. My advice to people who need noise when they are working is to be careful about what you are listening to. Even though you might not notice what the background TV show or song is saying, your brain is hearing that. Instead, I would recommend turning on some instrumental music in the background. You can choose music to match the task at hand. For example, if you are cleaning your house, you might want something that is faster paced and upbeat.

Kenny says, “I don’t usually have this problem, but sometimes I feel a little down or unmotivated and need to get some things done. What would you suggest?”

The Iso Principle is a Music Therapy term that means taking a person from where they are to where they want to be. So if your mind is feeling hectic, maybe you’d like to start with music that represents that but then move and transition to something that is calmer to get you to that state. My advice to Kenny was to put on some slower music and allow himself to feel that way for a song or two. It’s important to acknowledge and allow yourself to feel a certain way. It’s healthy when you recognize that, but then the next song you listen to you’ll pick the rhythm up a little bit and then even a little more for the song after that. Give yourself permission to feel how you feel and know that emotions do not dictate who we are as human beings, but are merely a piece of who we are. Emotions are given to us so that we can have compassion and awareness of one another because we are herd animals, so we need to be social. We are designed to be with each other.

Kenny: “Tell us a little about how and why you became a Music Therapist.”

To become a Music Therapist you need a five year degree in college as well as six months of a full time internship under a board certified therapist. Then, we need to pass a national board certification exam that takes about six hours. It’s a very rigorous training program but there are many that go back for their masters degree or a doctorate degree. There are some different groups of study for the different advanced degrees as well.

When I was very small my father was killed in a car accident. My mother was a music teacher and when I was 18 she died of a heart attack. I knew I wanted to go into music education after that. I went to school for about a year but did not like it. I got married and moved to Eau Claire, WI and took a class at the university. That’s where I first heard about Music Therapy. I sat down with one of my professors to learn more about it and found it would be an excellent fit!

I knew I didn’t want to be a music teacher because I’m not a performer. When I was younger, I wanted to be a psychologist. Music Therapy was such a good marriage of my skill set. At the time, the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire had the #3 program in the country for Musi

c Therapy and had just built its own state of the art facility. I got my degree in 1986 and in 1990 the American Music Therapy Association was formed and from there the board certification exam was created. I was one of the first few people to sit for that exam. Over the last 30 years or so, Music Therapy has become much more mainstream and there are many more jobs available now for Music Therapists. For example, in the United Kingdom, many of the nursing homes have MP3 players with prescribed music on them to give to the people there which has also dramatically decreased the amount of medications that they have to give to those people. Music and Memory programs have become more popular in nursing homes as a therapeutic tool and it’s been very exciting to see that process.

Kenny says, “It sounds like we are making huge strides in the field but it sounds like we still have a lot of room to improve. I think it’s a much better alternative to using medications because it’s something natural that relies on the way the brain is structured and communicates with itself - and there are no side effects!”

This concludes the first half of The Davinci Mindset Podcast. Be sure to sign up to our mailing list to be notified when the second half of that podcast comes out! Kenny and I will be discussing the journey to self development in the second half and I think there are some wonderful action items you can implement right away!

If you’d like to jump right into it or if you would prefer to listen, you can access the podcast at this link: https://spoti.fi/2MrZZ5V.

#podcast #musictherapy

Self Development & Music Therapy - Part 3

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:37:00 GMT

Kenny: “How has self development impacted your life?”

I spent the first 35 years of my life bumbling through and not understanding what it meant to become better. Through a series of events, I have had to go through some counseling and through the network marketing company that I belong to, I discovered self development. I found out that I have to work on me. One of the things that Jim Rohn always says is, “Don’t wish the situation was better, wish that you were better. Change you and the world changes.” My first intro into personal development was through Jim. I’ve also gone to Tony Robbins “Release the Power Within”, were you walk on hot coals.

The weekend before we went to that seminar, I fractured my foot. I was determined to go because we had spent all this money. So I went and decided I just wouldn’t walk on the hot coals with my splint on. But we went and talked about mindset and how your brain works, how you can focus, and how you can transform you life by what you focus on. When the time came that we were going to walk on the coals, I actually took my splint off. I thought I would hobble across the coals. By the time I walked across the coals, there was a burning in the one spot where I had fractured my foot. It had healed it. I didn’t have to wear my splint the rest of the weekend. It didn’t hurt, the swelling was gone and I thought, “There has to be something to this.”

It’s the whole proverbial thing about putting your own oxygen mask on first. If you become better and stay healthy, you can help everyone around you! If you don’t pay attention to yourself and you abuse yourself you can’t help any one. You wind up in a hole. In order to help someone else out of a hole you have to stay grounded and don’t just get in the hole with them!

The other wonderful thing I’ve learned is that you become like the five closest people to you. I took a look around and thought I needed to make some changes. My favorite story ever is about a breed of crab that can get out of anything you put them in. But, they have one human characteristic that we all have. That is their need to have what the other one has. So, what people do is they’ll put food in the bottom of the crab trap. One will jump in to eat the food and the others think they need that food so they all jump in as well. Pretty soon the food is gone and so one crab will try to climb out. But, the others say “No you don’t.” They grab him and bring him back down again and again. Now people are no different. You can get stuck around people that are negative or self degrading and they reach to try to bring you down as well. In order for themselves to feel better they have to make you feel bad. Think of maybe some bad bosses in your life who maybe single you out to bring you down.

When I was in college I was a waitress and we had a terrible trainer. She was so negative and derogatory. I didn't understand at the time what she was doing to all of us. It didn’t take very long and that restaurant went out of business because they didn’t see what she was doing to the business.

It’s been interesting to work past all this and to understand that the mind is like a computer. It’s like a blank slate. It will produce what you put into it. If you put garbage in, you are going to get garbage out. If you put good things in, you get good things out. Your mind does what you program it to do. There are some exceptions for example, people with mental illnesses. I’m not talking about those things. But by and large, the person that is without those circumstances, most of us have a brain that will allow us to program it to do what we want it to do. That’s the whole point of personal development, to program your brain to do what you want it to do. We are intelligent human beings.

I had one lady that I was seeing as a friend over coffee. I asked her how she talks to herself when she’s alone and no one else is around - and she started to cry. I asked her “Would you say the stuff you say to yourself to anyone else? No? Then why are you saying that to yourself?”

We are so good at finding faults in ourselves. We are our own worst enemies. If you were raised in a house where you had critical parents or siblings, it’s incredible what you have to get over.

Our personalities are formed by the time we are 6 and 7 years old. We get the most of our personalities between the ages of 3 and 5. The Bible talks about teaching a child when they are small the ways in which they must go because when they are old they will not depart from those ways. I know that when I think about myself I still have to fight the things that were taught or told to me when I was young.

When this woman and I were talking, she talked about her 5th grade teacher. She’s still carrying that. We don’t realize people do that. You may not even realize that you are doing that. Unless you are mindful of that, you can’t turn it off. It’s there and in your brain forever. So if you look at or watch terrible things, you are going to remember that. You can’t unsee that.

I always tell people, your secretary is the most important piece of your mind. The people that have dementia, their secretary is on vacation. So the new information coming in does not stick. But if you talked to them about something that happened when they were small, they remember that.

This concludes Part 3 of The Davinci Mindset Podcast. Be sure to sign up to our mailing list to be notified when Part 4, the final part, of this podcast comes out! Kenny and I will be further discussing the journey to self development and I think there are some wonderful take-aways!

If you’d like to jump right into it or if you would prefer to listen, you can access the podcast at this link: https://spoti.fi/2MrZZ5V.

#podcast #adults #selfdevelopment

Self Development & Music Therapy - Part 4

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:32:00 GMT

Kenny: “Let’s say we have someone out there that talks to themselves or see themselves is in a negative light. But they realize they want to move in a different direction. What would you recommend they do to start going in a positive direction?”

Start saying, “Thank you for…” They can think of one thing they are thankful for no matter how small (depending on where they are at in the process). If they are truly in a hole and they can’t see the light, start saying ‘thank you’ for something simple. Learning how to be grateful is what we start with. You don’t get very far in life without being grateful. That’s the simplest thing to change. Once you start doing that it starts to spill over into your life.

Be thankful your car starts, or that you have food to eat, that you can open your eyes… you can think of all sorts of little things. I try not to go to sleep each night without thinking of about 5 things I was thankful for before sleeping. There are times where it’s tough but it gets better! It’s not always easy but it makes all the difference in the world.

Kenny: “What are some next steps after this?”

Then think how you can make it better for someone else. Pick a few people or a situation to bring value or make it better. Try and help people and do something nice for someone and be kind and thoughtful to others. To think outside yourself is a huge step, too. Once you start doing that, the focus starts to come off yourself and your reticular activating system starts to come off yourself and your pain. After you’ve done this for a while, you can objectively look at yourself.

There’s a self healing process that I went through that involves speaking to the little one in your mind. Your child center that you have in your heart and mind. Say to that little one inside ‘thank you for being there for me and the stuff you’ve done for me’. Especially if you’ve had trauma as a child that you are carrying with you. Walking through and allowing that inner child or your “little one” to look inside and walk that child through that pain. Thank them for surviving that pain.

I had sexual abuse when I was little - not from a family member but from a neighbor. Then, I didn’t know and I thought it was normal. No one knew. So I had to work through that healing process and think of how I could allow my “little one” to heal. I have come through the alcoholism phase. I was an alcoholic by the time I was 12. I spent a lot of time trying to compensate in bad ways and didn’t understand the magnitude of the mind and how the mind will help you fix that. It’s been quite a journey to get to where I am today. It’s an amazing thing to learn how to control your mind because it can be your biggest enemy or your best friend. It’s all in how you control it. Your mind is your computer, it’s not your guide. Your personality comes from your mind of course and we all talk about emotions and all those other things that make us human beings. We also have a spiritual side. But to understand how to program your brain is the biggest tool people can give themselves because you don’t have to think that way. You were thinking a certain way because you didn’t understand that you don’t have to. You can change it. You have to change it.

It’s a purposeful thing. It’s like anything else you do. If you’re 100 pounds overweight, you didn’t get there overnight. You have to change the process a bit at a time. My oldest daughter has lost 75 pounds over the last 3 years by being mindful of her diet and activity. But it didn’t happen overnight. These changes take time.

If someone tells you you don’t have to work at it, they are lying and trying to sell you something. In matters of personal development, ‘work’ is almost a swear word to most people. For me it’s been a long, difficult journey, but it’s so very worth it. I spend about an hour every day in personal development. Whether I’m listening to podcasts, audible.com audiobooks, or something else. I fill my mind with solutions, peace, excitement, good, and gratitude. I’ve decided that’s the only way to live. I’ve spent too many years in a hole and I’ve decided I’m not doing it any more.

Kenny: “If you had to pick one thing. What would you say is the most important lesson you’ve learned?”

Love yourself. It took me 45 years to look in the mirror and say “I love you” and mean it. I couldn’t do it before. Now, every morning I say “I love you. You are my best friend.” That is the biggest key. You would not purposefully hurt your best friend. If you are truly in love you will spend time with that person. You will work to make that person’s life easier. So when you love yourself, you are careful about what you eat, how you treat yourself, say to yourself, and mindful of what you fill your mind with. When you do that, it radiates. Everyone sees it. It’s not arrogance.

You have to be careful. You are not better than everyone else. You are just deeply in love with yourself, so you take care of yourself. You sleep well, you eat well. You fill your mind with good so that you can do the things you need to do and you can make a change in the world around you. Everyone will be better because of it. You love yourself so much that you then look out for other people because you want them to love themselves too. In order to help them to that you need to show them how. They need to understand how to be thankful, how to be good to themselves and how to program your mind better.

My youngest daughter is a meth addict and she struggles. We fostered her as a 15 year old foster daughter. She’s been through hell and back. If you can think of any kind of abuse a person can go through, that girl went through it and I don’t know how she’s still alive. But, she’s 25 now and she’s still fighting. We work through this every day. It’s a heartbreak for me. I work very hard to show her she can love herself. But she thinks she can’t. She looks in the mirror and hates herself. That is her downfall right there. Self hatred and self loathing will destroy you and it can destroy people around you.

Kenny: “Are there any specific resources that you’d recommend?”

Dr. Ivan Misner of BNI is the king of “Givers Gain”. The goal of his company, BNI, is to refer business back and forth and to give business to the others in your group. So if you are giving business to the others of course you are going to get it back. He has podcasts and books that he’s written about this as well.

Another person is Darren Hardy. He’s one of my favorite authors and personal development experts. He’s very down to earth as far as business solutions and how to be a better person.

Jim Rohn is another one. He was doing personal development training before it was a thing.

Tony Robbins is another classic.

I love Brendon Burchard. He has a personal approach.

They each have a different feel and there are so many people out there. There are going to be people in that niche that you really resonate with so I recommend you try out listening or reading a from a few different people and then you can go deeper. You can learn a thousand things and only go and inch deep, but when it comes to things that really matter, I’ve learned that you are better off learning something an inch wide and six feet deep. If you have one book that you really resonate with, spend some time with it! If you find someone’s work that you resonate with, don’t feel bad about buying their books, going to their seminars, or anything else because you will learn something new every single time.

I’m a person of faith, so I go deep into my Bible, go to church, and talk to my pastor. Every day I try to spend about 20-30 minutes studying different parts of the scripture because it means that much to me. So, it’s all about finding stuff that you resonate with.

“If you could only leave the audience with one piece of actionable advice, what would that be?”

Be mindful. Think about things first. Really think it through. What am I putting in my brain? Why am I doing this? Be mindful.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I look forward to serving you. Please sign up for the updates. I promise, I won’t overload your inbox!

#selfdevelopment #podcast #adolescents #change

Children Need Music

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 23:11:00 GMT

Music brings organization to the brain. When used mindfully, music can help learn basic skills, develop intelligence, direct thoughts. Music activates the entire brain which is why the autistic child can stabilize when music is played or a Down's Syndrome child can learn to walk with music playing. The Music Therapist helps direct the child with goal driven music related activities that help that child grow and develop better than without the help that music gives.

Goal for parents: learn a new children's song and use it to help your child learn a new skill.

Need help? reach out and let us know, we can help.

Do you have a song or activity that you love?

Put it here and let's help each other learn new music and activity ideas. Kids love the time with their parents and music plays a major role in that.

Tip:

Add your tip for others to use here.

We are excited to see what you know!

This is our brand new blog, so help us grow!

Music Therapy works!

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 22:47:00 GMT

Habits help us function to our brains can do other things. Sometimes habits backfire. How do you find the habit that is the kingpin? The habit that changes it all? Most of the time it is a small seemingly insignificant habit that causes the most harm because it derails you on your wellness journey.

For example: think about your morning routine - what happens if that is interrupted? Have you ever driven to the office when you meant to go get the kids from an event? How does that happen? HABITS.

To change the habits, think about the music that is coupled with it. Is music a part of the routine? Should it be? Turn on the same tunes when you hop in the shower? Do you listen to podcasts on the way to the appointment? These are things that you need to be mindful of when changing things.

For tomorrow - pick one thing to change.

#Musictherapy #habits

When the Journey Gets Hard

Fri, 19 Jan 2018 03:11:00 GMT

I ran across this moving story of a lady named Sue from New Guinea. She was diagnosed with early onset Alzhemer's Disease and her story really spoke to me. I hope you find is as impactful as I did. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I79IUV1n_L4

How Does It Feel?

Thu, 28 Dec 2017 03:10:00 GMT

What does it really feel like? Watch and learn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_Gq7Shc-Y

Power Runs Deep

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 02:25:00 GMT

“When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be. And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be. For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see, there will be an answer. let it be. Let it be, let it be, ..... And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be. I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be, .....” ― Paul McCartney

Think of your favorite song when enjoying this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsyGSA2-qVg

Flash Mob - Singing!

Wed, 13 Dec 2017 03:08:00 GMT

There are so many times in the media, we see mobs that hurt, kill or maim. I am tired of seeing that all the time, so I have chosen not to have cable TV, satellite TV. or even "rabbit ears" TV. I grew up in the 70's when TV was just gaining popularity. Today, with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, "interwebs" as my daughter calls it...choosing what I watch has become much easier. Tonight I was perusing my favorite YouTube channels and came across this beautiful example of the wonderful freedoms we experience. Turn up your speakers and enjoy. Sing like no one is looking!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnt7euRF5Pg

Unique Leadership Insights

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 02:12:00 GMT

I came across this wonderful lesson on classical music that has so many lessons on leadership. Look for them here. He is powerful and fun.

By the way...NO person is tone deaf...

Make the eyes of your team shine.

Enjoy this wonderful set of lessons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE

New Old Favorites

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 02:57:00 GMT

Music is everywhere this time of year, more than any other time of the year. We love to celebrate and music is always a part of that. Christmas one of the few holidays that has had more songs written, played, recognized and hummed by more people than almost any other holiday.

My mother was an elementary vocal music teacher and fabulous church organist. Christmas was filled with rehearsals, practicing at home and singing until we were hoarse and could not sing any more. I loved that! On Christmas Eve, we would regularly go to the candle light service and my mother would play "O Holy Night". That songs still brings tears to my eyes. I love performing that song to this day.

One of my newly discovered favorite music groups The Piano Guys has discovered a gorgeous new way to present that familiar Christmas Carole in conjunction with Bach's Ave Maria. I love this and wanted to share this with you.

Enjoy #thepianoguys with #Lexiwalker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGHUmpUu7Gw

Music at Christmas

Mon, 27 Nov 2017 12:56:00 GMT

This time of year is filled with busyness. We run here and there. Social media, media at large, and retailers all scream to purchase gifts for everyone. Finding that special gift for that special someone can be challenging. It is my hope that you find the true meaning of Christmas. Perhaps the gift of music would be in order.

My favorite memories of Christmas include my mother's playing the piano and singing her favorite Christmas song - "Oh Holy Night". One of mom's favorite artists was Andy Williams. I decided to share this with you this morning to kick off the Christmas season with a smile.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-RAnkH8Jxc

Joy and Gratitude at Any Age

Sat, 25 Nov 2017 14:52:00 GMT

This dear sweet soul is 85. She demonstrates why we do what we do as Music Therapists. Enjoy Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSle_-5uB8A

Touch the Heart and Soul of the Person

Wed, 22 Nov 2017 03:39:00 GMT

Alive Inside trailer for your enjoyment -

Music is the most powerful natural tool for wellness and joy.

Working with people to bring joy and experience quality of life when none existed or was ebbing away is the greatest accomplishment one can attain.

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaB5Egej0TQ