Enriching lives through participation in music
Music Therapy Services of West Music
2022 Reflections
01/02/23
As 2022 draws to a close, our music therapy team has taken time to reflect on some memorable experiences shared with clients this year. Read some of these highlights below!
Did you have a powerful music therapy experience this year? Tell us about it!
One of my students did so well with his math skills this year in music therapy. Over the course of the year he mastered ordinal numbers, fractions and identifying key words for story problems. He’s now starting division. He quickly memorized songs and then applied them to his classroom work, mastering skills. His teacher has been really satisfied with how his music therapy work is generalizing, and he is very enthusiastic about his sessions.
I was working with an adaptive piano student who stuck to the same songs every week when I started with him. One week he brought in a new book his mom had bought him. He enjoyed learning songs out of this book, and it provided us to break away from his normal schedule and try something new in piano.
A hospice patient who had taught piano for many years shared that the music therapy visits were so wonderful and comforting to her. She said, "I'm so lucky, not many people get to be ushered into heaven like this." She often listened with a smile on her face or watching her granddaughter sing along, the epitome of serene joy amidst her pain from her terminal diagnosis. She knew she didn't have much time and requested I come every week. At the end of each visit she would always thank me and say, "We'll just have to play it by ear for next week," as she winked and smiled.
One adaptive lesson student with whom I work has really opened up over this past year. He continues to exceed expectations and picks up new chords and guitar concepts well. At the same time, the personality of this once reserved student has come shining through. At one recent lesson, he started experimenting with making up his own chord and finger picking patterns, adding his own endings to familiar songs!
It was amazing to return to in-person SoundReach choir for the first time post-covid restrictions. Having a turnout of over 50 choir members was more than we could have ever hoped for. Throughout the session, the group was enthusiastic, took direction well, and sang with gusto. At the concert, they were so excited to share what they had been working on, and it was such a festive and joyful celebration.
I worked with a hospice patient for over a year before he discharged from hospice services. At our final session together, he shared that he had been skeptical about music therapy and wasn't sure he wanted it when first starting services. But, as the weeks went on, he said that our music therapy visits were the bright spot of his week, and he and his partner would discuss whatever we had done in music therapy to give them a break from discussing medical things. He said that music therapy was the one consistently good thing throughout his time on hospice that he would miss.
In an adult mental health group, we discussed a song that was about the change of seasons and letting go of the things that we are tired of carrying around. We discussed that the trees let go of their leaves but still stand tall and strong throughout the winter. I brought some paper leaves to symbolically practice letting go of these things and as I passed out a leaf to each group member, one said, "Can I have 5? I have a lot that I need to let go of." I played a song and had the group members play a drum and then let go of their leaves. Afterwards the group member said that they felt lighter and that it was powerful to know that they could let go of things they no longer needed.
Each summer I facilitate music experiences at several “Retreat & Refresh Stroke Camps” – weekend getaways for stroke survivors and their caregivers. This summer I met an individual who was feeling very discouraged about his progress in recovering speech following his stroke and was no longer receiving speech therapy. However, he could sing several songs (including his favorite, “Amie” by Pure Prairie League) very clearly, so he and his wife recognized that music may be a helpful tool in his speech recovery. We spent some time working together to sing a familiar phrase that he would like to say, and within a very short time he was able to say the phrase. He and his wife both became emotional and agreed that music therapy may be the key to recovering his speech. I was able to get him in touch with a local music therapist who frequently works with stroke survivors, and I sincerely hope that he has been able to access these services.
Our Veterans Guitar Group has made major progress this year. We have 6 veterans who attend regularly and are all eager to learn. Since April, they have learned 12 songs from a genres including Rock n Roll, Country, Folk, and Holiday Tunes. The veterans shared interest in learning more playing styles and different strumming patterns. We have been working on a basic alternating guitar strum and they have all picked it up pretty quickly. A lot of the songs we learned featured chords that were new to the group. Throughout the year they have learned different ways to play and several new chords. In December three members and I preformed some Christmas tunes and other songs at the Veterans Center Holiday Open House. The guys did amazing as they performed for an audience, and they all had big smiles on their faces after successfully playing the songs.
Here's to many more positive music therapy experiences to come in 2023!
