So, a teacher from the psychology department at UGA came to my music therapy teacher to ask if we would be willing to help them with a study that wishes to test the preventative effects of piano lessons on mild Alzheimer’s patients.  Me and one of my peers, Ellen, have volunteered to be the piano teachers.

This is exciting for a lot of reasons.  The obvious one is that if this really works, that’s a pretty big break in the world of medicine!  Others include the fact that I could get research credit for this, which looks great on graduate school applications, and the study has the potential to be published in big-name music therapy journals.  But those are a little selfish.  Back to the important stuff…there have been countless research experiments in the field of music therapy, but I haven’t heard of any that test the PREVENTATIVE effects.  The studies I have read about have all only been treatments, or improving certain things.

So, I’m really excited to be able to participate in such a big thing.  The study could mean a lot for music therapy and medicine when it comes to Alzheimer’s patients.  And who knows, if it works on Alzheimer’s, it could work on other mental diseases that affect memory loss, etc.

I can’t wait to tell you all about the research once it gets started next month!  Wish us luck!

Music can often make or break a day. It can change your mood, amp you up for exercise, and help you recover from injury. But how does it work exactly, and how can you use it to your advantage? Photo by JT Theriot. Recently, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords used music therapy to help her learn to…

So…I didn’t really have time to update this after every one of my sessions, but I really want to give an overview of my semester in my clinical:

This was my first experience as an actual music therapist, and it was absolutely incredible!  It was amazing seeing this kids improve in areas that we wanted them to.

My co-therapists and I had some goals of improving direction-following skills, motor skills, rhythm skills, various cognitive skills, and self-discipline.  We catered activities to work on these things, such as playing percussion instruments, singing songs about colors or days of the week, dancing, etc.  I think that one of the main things that helped us achieve our goals was our constant praise for those that were doing what they were supposed to.  This lead to people staying in their seats when told, raising their hand, understanding directions better, and so on.  This is a HUGE improvement from when we began, when kids would act out or not listen to directions.

Rhythm improved a lot this semester, too.  In the beginning of the semester, the kids couldn’t follow simple quarter note or eighth note rhythms, but by the end, they were able to do both!  Even some of the kids who aren’t very mobile were able to follow rhythms.

Kids’ memories improved, as they were able to sing back lines of songs that they had only heard once.  In the beginning of the semester, kids wouldn’t sing for the whole acitivity.

Seeing these kids improve makes the job totally worth it, because it lets you know that you’re actually doing something great for their lives.  They will actually have a better life after music therapy.  It makes me so happy to see that!

So I was really impressed with how this session went!  I feel like the music is really helping them become focused and more responsive to directions.  Here’s what we did.

1. Hello song - The same one as last week because we want to instill repetition with them.  A lot of them know the words now!

2. “Egg Shakin’ Song” - In this activity, all the students got an egg shaker and I sang this song that I found in a kids’ book, and it gave them different directions on how to shake the egg, for example, up, down, slow, fast, soft, loud, etc.

3. Old McDonald - Basically just a sing-a-long.  They were so enthusiastic about doing different animal sounds.  This can definitely be considered a cognitive activity because the children are matching certain animals to certain sounds.

4. Color song - I’m going to post a video of the color song later, which my wonderful roommate Jordan Godwin wrote.  Basically it’s a song that asks them to identify various colors around the room.  They all did a really good job of finding the correct ones!

5. “The Freeze Song” - This is another children’s song that we played on guitar and sang that asks them to dance at some points and freeze at others.  Some of them need some work with this!

6. Drum Circle - They all got hand drums and were asked to follow a very, very simple beat.  I think rhythm is where these clients need to improve the most.

7. Goodbye song - Everyone said goodbye when it was their turn and some are learning the words!

Notice how the guy doesn’t really tell the audience much, but they catch on anyway. Pretty sweet!

So my first clinical-leading experience was quite an experience!  It was incredible being able to help these awesome kids!

We had a pretty solid session plan, and it goes as follows:

1. Hello song (we are using the same song as the last session to instill repetition in the kids’ minds, and have them hopefully sing along).  The hello song is pretty much a song where we are able to say hello to each kid individually and give them a chance to say hello back.  All of them love this opportunity to be recognized and have so much fun doing it!
2. Percussion circle!  This was my activity.  I handed out three different instruments - maracas, rhythm sticks, and hand drums.  I then had them all play a really simple rhythm and cued them to play louder, softer, faster, and slower, and then had them all stop on cue, and to my surprise, almost everyone did!  The point of this activity was to help the kids with hand-eye coordination by having them watch me and mimic my rhythm, as well as improve their direction-following and motor skills.
3. My fellow therapy student lead “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”  He gave them the different directions (i.e.: clap your hands, stop your feet, shout hooray, do all three), and they all followed very well!  This was also to help the kids’ direction-following skills, as well as give them a chance to move around and have fun.
4. Dance activity!  One of my teachers showed us this children’s song called “The Freeze Song,” where every time the music stops the kids have to freeze from dancing.  They all had a lot of fun doing this, too, and I think everyone participated.  This song was to help improve reflex skills most of all, tied in with some motor and direction-following skills.
5. Color song!  We basically made up words to the tune of “BINGO” asking the kids who are wearing certain colors to stand up.  All of the kids knew their colors pretty well.  It was sort of limiting, though, because as of this year, the kids have to wear a uniform of either blue, yellow, white, or khaki.  But basically, this activity helps with cognitive skills.
6. We realized we had more time than expected, so my fellow student lead “The Hokey Pokey,” just as a direction-following, motor skills reinforcer.
7. Goodbye song!  At the end of every session, we do the opposite of a hello song and sing a goodbye song (again, usually the same song at every session).  This gives each kid a chance to be recognized again and to personally say goodbye.  The point of these hello/goodbye songs is to help them establish and remember a routine, which is part of almost everyone’s daily lives.

So there you have it!  I think the kids definitely need work in following rhythms, and hopefully by the end they will be able to have three separate rhythms going at the same time!

I really can’t wait to keep working with these awesome kids!

Starting next week, me and two other music therapy students will be leading a clinical at Oglethorpe Elementary school, working with kids with special needs…which means I am going to update all of you on all the activities I do and all about the wonderful kids I’ll be working with!  Stay tuned…!