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Last week I found a fun post on imamomtoo titled ABC’s of Me, Without Prompts. What a fun way to provide information! So, here we go:

A – Alzheimer’s and other dementia This is one of my areas of interest. Research indicates music therapy can be a meaningful treatment for those diagnosed with various forms of dementia.

B- Beat There is a beat, a rhythm to much of life and the world. It is a component of music.

C- Creative Music therapist often draw on their own creative spirit and those of their clients in creating music.

D- Drum Circle Whether for socialization, for therapy, or for fun drum circles can be amazing experiences for many people.

E- Evidenced Based Practice  The ultimate goal of EBP is the best outcome for a client based upon clinical expertise; client values, needs, and expectations; and best external evidence. We as music therapist try to provide this.

F-Function I ask a lot of questions involving this word: Is this skill one the client needs to function at their best? Will this song serve the function of ____? What instrument or instruments will function best for this song/setting/goal?

G-Guitar This is one of my go to instruments as it is easy to use, travels well, and is familiar to most.

H- Hospice An area of service that interests me. There are many music therapist providing services through hospice groups.

I-Intergenerational One of my most favorite groups. Being able to enjoy and appreciate others  for who they are, no matter the age is important stuff in my book.

J- Journal of Music Therapy This publication is released quarterly, filled with research related to our field of work.

K- Kinesthetic I think we learn so much by doing. “I hear and I forget. I see and I understand. I do and I remember.” – Confucius

L- Love My desire wo work as a music therapist comes out of my love for music and for people.

M-Music Do I really need to explain this one?

N- News As a music therapist, it has been amazing to see as many articles on music therapy as there have been in the past 12 months.

O- Openness  I try to be open to many styles of music, many types of people, many types of responses.

P-Practice What I have spent much of my musical life doing. One of the things we say in Sigma Alpha Iota is “to study & practice the goodness of life, the meaning of art, the meaning of music.” Living life takes practice.

Q- Quality Providing the best quality experience I can for my clients is my desire.

R- Rehabilitation Music therapy is utilized in some rehab centers. There was has been a lot of press on music therapy and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation this year.

S- Sing-along I often call my sessions in assisted living facilities singalongs as that is a term my residents find familiar and non-threatening.

T- Theme I love building off themes for my sessions, for a month, for a day, … It gives me structure while also challenging me to grow.

U- Unique I believe what music therapy offers is unique even though our goals may overlap other disciplines.

V- Varied approaches There is no single song, instrument, activity that we employ. It isn’t “listen to this concerto and call me if your heartache goes away”.

W- Wellness A major focus of my business, helping people live the best quality of life they can.

X- Xylophones A fun instrument!

Y-You the client, that is who we are here to serve. It is your needs and interests upon which we build.

Z- Zany Thank you Kat Fulton for this perfect word. There is a zany, play side to music therapist or at least for me. I am often the “crazy music lady” in the description of clients.

I hope this has provided some thoughts on music therapy and my practice. What would you add to this list?

Related articles

• Finding My Career Path in Music Therapy (jordanenterpriseinmusic.com)
• Music Therapy And The Sounds Of Our Lives (musicsparks.wordpress.com)
• Music therapy quells pain in people with cancer (cbc.ca)