On The Banks of the Shenandoah...

I'm Back!

Sorry for the long hiatus, but I finally managed to get my family moved to Virginia for the start of a grand new adventure!  This involved packing up a 27 foot trailer and sending it off into the unknown with only a tracking number in hand.  After a couple of months in Texas visiting family, we headed out for Virginia.  So the big news is...

I have officially started as a new music therapy professor at Shenandoah University!  I am very honored to be here with such a vibrant and well-respected music therapy program and I look forward to many great things to come!...(Now if I can only figure out how to use my new Macbook, things will be splendid!...)

The first order of business is that things will be changing here at Music Makes Sense.  The "Daily Muse" feature will be put on the back burner while I settle in here for my new gig.  That will leave room for 1-2 quality posts a week and time to correspond with all of you via comments, twitter and the Facebook page.  I hope you will continue to spend some time here each week and join in the conversation.

There should be much to talk about as I explore music therapy in this new part of the country!  And stay tuned for more information about the upcoming AMTA national conference!  I will be presenting a concurrent session as well as participating in the research poster session.  So don't miss out!  If you haven't already, subscribe to MMS by email or Like it on Facebook.  I hope everyone had  great summer and that you feel refreshed for the fall!

Let's go!

State License for Music Therapy in Georgia

The governor of Georgia finally signed into law the SB 414 providing a state license for music therapists!  


Here are the details form Kimberly Sena Moore (with the Certification Board for Music Therapists):




The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) are excited to announce that, on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia signed into law SB 414. This legislation creates a music therapy license in Georgia through the Secretary of State. Many thanks to the members of the Georgia Task Force (Rachel Coon-Arnott, Jamie George, Kirby Smith, Chelsey Mercado, Pat Coates, and Ellen Ritchey) and to all the music therapists in Georgia for their work, dedication, and advocacy for this legislation.


Great job!

Story Time: Can Be So Much More!

One of the most important things I have learned lately is that be you a teacher or therapist, it is imperative that you "teach for transfer."  


This means that we have to explain why we are doing something, (e.g., a song, instrument activity, etc.) and how it will help outside of the therapeutic setting or class.    


A new study just came out that showed how parents and teachers can significantly improve preschoolers' future reading abilities simply by pointing out features in print as they read the stories!  This might simply be showing the differences between capital and lowercase letters on the page or demonstrating how to read from left to right and top to bottom on a page.