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Hannah

Friday 5: Holiday parodies and song insights

Hello music therapy nerds and friends! It's Friday again! Holiday parties abound and students and professionals scramble to finish up their work before getting a well-deserved break. Recharge with some new music, information, and laughs - this is what we used this week: Song Clearest Blue by CHVRCHES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpFXXPruuqU Podcast Song Exploder Get in deep to a song with this podcast. Artists talk about their lyrics, musical decisions and why they made them. Typically done with newer, lesser known music. Check out the episode for the above CHVRCHES song. Tool…
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Friday 5: Embracing chaos and your to-do list

Happy Friday! As usual, here are the things we've been reading, using, and enjoying this week with a Bonus Item from one of our weekly subscribers. Check it out :) Song Feliz Navidad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtc2pM1boE Intervention Idea Use the song “Feliz Navidad” to work on focus of attention, inhibition control, or motor control. During instrument play, try prompting clients stop at the end of each phrase of the song(or at the end of every A or B section). For those who need more processing time, you can use a count down,…
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Friday 5! Shake it up with tunes and happy trails

Happy December, music friends! The Friday 5 is here with gear and music therapy ideas. If you like what you see and want to get these resources in your inbox every Friday, enter your email and hit "subscribe" in the grey side bar (or at the bottom of the page if you're a mobile user). Enjoy! Song Happy Trails as done by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans  Great closing song for older adults. In the past, I’ve substituted names and different ways of saying good bye. For example: "Happy trails to _______,…
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Friday 5

Happy Black Friday 5! As always, here are the things we've been using and thinking about this week. Feel free to read through, take a listen, and comment if you find anything helpful!   Song In My Mind by Amanda Palmer. I would recommend playing this live (with edits if needed) and doing a lyric discussion or songwriting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9WZtxRWieM Product Mi-T Mist Mouthpiece Sanitizer. A client-friendly, non-toxic sanitizer. I still use this every day! Time-Saver HTML5 Video Speed Control. A Chrome (web browser) extension that lets you watch YouTube content…
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3 People Who Changed Careers for Music Therapy: When You Lose the Music

Welcome to the final segment in our three-part series! This week, Angie Biehl has been generous enough to share her very personal journey and her music with us. We are honored to post it here - it is an incredible story worth sharing. *** When asked what was going through her head when she heard about music therapy, Angie Biehl answered, “I was honestly thinking, 'How have I never heard of this before?!' "I had gone to school for music education and I was an educator. I always had trouble with the fact…
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3 People Who Changed Careers for Music Therapy: I Can Wait

This story is a part of our series "3 People Who Changed Careers for Music Therapy", where we interviewed music therapists about their unique journeys to music therapy. (Here is the first story if you missed it.) Welcome to the second segment, and enjoy! *** When Rhonda Miller heard about music therapy, she was a junior in high school. She shadowed a music therapist and brought the idea to her parents, who “didn’t know any music therapists and had never heard of music therapy before. It didn’t seem like a…
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3 People Who Changed Careers for Music Therapy: It’s Never Too Late

3 People Who Changed Careers for Music Therapy People have been using music in healthcare for thousands of years. However, the profession of music therapy as we know it today is much newer. As music therapy comes more and more into the public eye, more people learn about the amazing power it can have. But what if someone learns about music therapy later in life? What if they already have a career in something else? Is it too late? To answer your questions, we talked with three people who made…
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3 Traits You Have to Have to Be a Music Therapist

Not all music therapists are the same – that goes without saying. However, there are definitely some characteristics that lend themselves to being a great music therapist. Here are some we think are really important. And just a note, this is definitely not an exhaustive list! Empathy It seems obvious, but it’s actually not that simple. In being empathetic, we are trying to experience what our clients experience, but remain separate at the same time. To put it another way, we try to inhabit their world for a time, but…
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