Birthday Song Secrets Revealed!

I received just a few renditions of the Birthday song today!  It made me think about how useful the song is in music therapy.  Not only is it a very well-known song, even used in France and other countries, but it is full of very clear and motivating cadences.  


A cadence is a musical term describing the resolution of a series of chords.  Basically, it is the way a musical phrase comes to a close or resting point.  This can be very useful in a music therapy assessment to evaluate music skill and music interest that could be important in music therapy activities.


As we all know, the Birthday song goes like this:


Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to _________, 
Happy birthday to __________.  


By leaving blanks in the song at the end of phrases, it is possible to find out if a client is motivated to fill in the blanks.  Ending the last phrase on the word "to" leaves the musical feeling in suspense, with an urge to resolve to the tonic chord.  Then, if the client is inclined to sing a response, is it the correct pitch?  


If a client responds to blanks in this song, it is likely that other songs and activities may be similarly successful.  Target information can be placed in key parts of a song to help a client learn.  The motivation to complete a musical phrase can also be used to improve expressive communication skills.


Now, just for fun...go sing the song to someone and stop before you sing the last "you."  How long does it take for them to fill in the blank?  Did you find anyone that it didn't bother?      

Repeat Signs: 7 Great Posts from the Past!

Rachel Rambach over at Listen & Learn Music recently took up a challenge by ProBlogger to publish a list of 7 links to posts that you and others have written that respond to 7 specific categories. I took up Rachel's challenge to continue the effort first started by Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger. Here are the seven categories:

1. Your first post.

2. A post you enjoyed writing the most.

3. A post which had a great discussion.

4. A post on someone else's blog that you wish you had written.

5. Your most helpful post.

6. A post with a title that you are proud of.

7. A post that you wish more people had read.

1. My first post was Schoolhouse Strategy: Counting Using Music. I wrote this on October 30, 2007! I can't believe it was that long ago! This blog was inspired by my work with teachers in special education. While I was doing music therapy in the school system I would often get asked similar questions by different teachers. I wanted a place where I could write down my answers and ideas so that I could provide teachers with a reference after we talked. The blog has become so much more than that over the years, but I love my roots in special education!

2. I enjoy writing my blog so this was a hard call! I loved writing about the gathering drum because it was a "staple" in my bag of tricks as I merrily went from school to school doing music therapy. I wrote a post about ten great ways to use the gathering drum: Schoolhouse Rock: Ten Great Ways to Use the Gathering Drum. I really enjoy writing posts that provide ideas that teachers and other therapists can use.

3. I think parents and sometimes teachers feel that there is a little mystery surrounding music therapy assessments and recommendations. Often people do not understand why a child is or is not recommended for music therapy services as part of an Individual Education Plan. I wrote a brief outline of what happens in a music therapy assessment to try and provide some information about the logistics and process for a music therapy assessment: FAQ: What Happens in a Music Therapy Assessment? I received several comments on this post from a wide range of people and enjoyed writing back to them.

4. Rachel listed one of Kat Fulton's blogposts as one that she wished she would have written. I must do the same! Kat is a wonderful writer and blogs about a variety of subjects. She wrote a great post about the differences between Music Therapists and Drum Circle Facilitators. She has some great insight into the subtle differences between drum circles led by these different facilitators and there is also a great video about "Bongo" Barry Bernstein at the end of the post. Drum Circle Facilitation and Music Therapy.

5. My most helpful post would have to be the one I wrote about music and memory. This post gets almost as many hits as my post about using a parachute or my post about music in a spin class. This post has also been part of a class reading list assignment for an online university music class. Memory Booster! Using Music to Memorize Lists and Facts.

6. Post titles are sometimes difficult to get just right. You are supposed to include pertinent information that is easy for search engines to find, but you don't want all the titles to be the same boring format. I like my Schoolhouse Story series and especially this one: Schoolhouse Story: Scooby Doo Meets His Match! This post talks about a client who has autism and the title doesn't exactly spell that out for search traffic, but I like the title anyway.

7. I have many posts that I wish more people had read, but I think that is how every blogger feels! I would like to introduce more people to Carly, a blogger who has autism. I think that her story opens up all of us to the possibilities that may occur with our clients, friends, and family who have disabilities. So many people discount them for their disabilities, but sometimes it is just a matter of engaging with them or providing a certain facilitation device or strategy that unlocks their interaction with the world. Carly definitely helps us understand more about autism! Carly Fleischmann: Blogger Extraordinaire!

Thanks for offering up the challenge Rachel! This was a fun post to think about!

Self-Assessment Inventory For Using Drumming In The School Setting

Self-assessment is always a valuable tool since we don't always have trusted and expert people around to help evaluate our activities. Here is a list of some things to think about after you decide to implement some kind of a drumming strategy in a special education setting. This assessment tool might be used by a music therapist, music teacher or teacher in the special education classroom. I have included some comments about each topic to help explain each one. You may want to grade yourself using a sliding scale or simply with a "yes" or "no." It may also be interesting and enlightening to take the self-test after several different occasions of using a drumming activity and then see how you have improved!

• _____ Used clear hand signals

Regardless of the type of drumming activity, the facilitator should practice using clear and consistent gestures. Examples of this would be asking for changes in volume or indicating that a certain individual or group of individuals should play or stop.

• _____ Provided clear verbal instructions

Attention should be given to the arrangement and seating of the group so that spoken instructions are always provided while facing the intended communication partner. Verbal instructions should be spoken with enough volume in order to be heard above the drumming or else stop the drumming before speaking.

• _____ Provided a clear start/stop signal

Start and stop signals can be done verbally or with any number of different hand gestures. Choose something and be consistent and remember that large gestures for start and stop are preferred. Counting off, "1, 2, ready, play!" and "4, 3, 2, 1, stop!" can be very effective when combined with a gesture.

• _____ Demonstrated a useful intervention for a targeted goal/objective.

How did the activity go? Did the intervention appropriately address the student's IEP objectives?

• _____ Incorporated an adaptation or a strategy for the education setting into the drumming activity.

How well did you facilitate students with disabilities to be successful in the group? Visual aids, adapted instruments or instrument holders and careful selection of peer models/helpers are all important parts of a successful drumming activity.

• _____ Exhibited overall confidence/preparedness

Confidence and comfort level in leading a drumming activity can be one of the most important elements of a successful activity. Excitement is contagious! Did you have a plan for a sequence of events during the drumming so that there was not too much "dead" time?

• _____ Provided verbal or gestural praise to participants when appropriate

Teachers and therapists should always be reviewing their use of positive reinforcement. Drumming activities usually provide many opportunities for giving out both verbal and non-verbal praise. A simple smile or thumbs up to an individual is appropriate for the situation during drumming when verbal praise might not be clearly heard. Practice providing both individual and group praise.

• _____ Used appropriate level of rhythm complexity, drum technique and age appropriate activity for targeted population

Modeling some sample drum rhythms and keeping the rhythms short will help everyone to feel confident and successful. Be discrete in using instruments, especially in the upper grade levels. Some students may not want to play on a kid's djembe that has a childish fabric finish, even if it sounds good!

• _____ Established a clear transfer of idea(s) between the activity and the group discussion

Take the time to point out a topic or idea that can be related to the activity. Sometimes a key word like, "teamwork," or "complimentary," spontaneously presents itself during an activity and can be used to transition from the instrument activity to a discussion.

• _____ Successfully demonstrated a drum skill or therapeutic strategy (i.e., adapted instrument strategy, behavior management, modeling leadership skills, etc.)

Were you looking for opportunities to help someone play an instrument correctly or encourage peer leadership? Drumming activities are a great motivator for behavior management programs. Did you include the drumming as a reward and use good judgment in handling inappropriate behaviors during the activity?

Labeling: Stepping Into a Minefield In Special Education

I recently held a brainstorming session with a teacher regarding how to approach a parent about a child who is showing significant delays across many educational areas. This teacher had just experienced the fury of the parent after remarking to the parent that the child was exhibiting some behaviors consistent with those in some autism spectrum disorders. My teacher friend walked right into the "lion's den" of controversy. Currently, autism is a highly charged topic among parent networking groups, researchers and the media. It is not, however, the only word or disability that sparks instant debate or carries with it certain connotations, myths, and mental images. I have worked with many cases where parents are also concerned about using language like "mental retardation," or "Down Syndrome." The discussion I had with the teacher made me reflect on several strategies and conversational protocols that I use to help facilitate exploration of the educational issues in the world of special education.

1. Take vocabulary cues from your conversation partner ~ Defer all references to labels, disabilities, diseases, syndromes, etc. to the parent until he or she has mentioned one. If the parent names a disability first, then you can feel free to discuss the behaviors and attributes that might be common for that condition.

2. Use specific examples of behavior ~ Instead of comparing the actions and abilities of a student to those of a child with a disability, simply express your remarks as quantifiable measures of progress. One example of this could be that a student frequently echoes words or phrases but does not initiate appropriate verbal interaction. Describe this behavior through a numerical comparison between how many times, on average, the other children in class initiate conversations and how many times the child in question initiates verbal interaction. In this way, a teacher should use many specific examples to express concern to a parent without generating emotions that may be triggered by key words like Autism or Attention Deficit Disorder.

3. Talk to an administrator ~ The appropriate time to speak about a student and use labels referring to disabilities is when discussing a child's progress with the principal, educational diagnostician or school psychologist. I have often had conversations with teachers and other professionals on the educational team about my clients and explored possible disabilities that should by looked at through an assessment process. The administrators should listen to these observations and proceed to contact the parent about assessing for specifically named disabilities.

4. Check the student files ~ I am called upon to evaluate some students to find out if they will benefit educationally from specially developed music strategies. The assessment process includes speaking with parents about their child's reactions to music stimuli outside of school. I routinely audit the student's files for information about what assessments have previously been completed and for the official reasons the student is already receiving special services through an Individual Education Plan. The IEP will list things like, MR for mental retardation, AU for autism, SI for speech impaired and so on. When I speak to the parent about the music therapy assessment and/or progress of their child, I only use the labels that have already been assigned in the student's record unless the parent uses another label.

As a music therapist who travels around to different classrooms and schools everyday, I have observed many different children with a wide range of disabilities. It is often easy for me to quickly come to a conclusion about the nature of a child's disability after only a short time of observation and interaction. I am trained to find out if music activities can benefit a student in achieving educational objectives, but I am not trained to assess and determine disabilities or disease. This limitation is the guiding factor when discussing a student and using specific labels too freely. There are many cases where a child exhibits classic behaviors from the autism spectrum, for example, but the origin of the behaviors is actually traced directly back to a seizure disorder or mental retardation due to trauma at birth. The child will technically be labeled with speech impairment, mental retardation or as other health impaired. Therefore, it is understandable how a parent can be quite upset if an educator is talking about autism and using terminology associated with that spectrum of disorders.

Educators must find a way to address the needs of every child regardless of parents who are understandably wary of believing that anything is wrong with their child. By using care in speaking with labels, educators can keep the dialogue open without creating an adversarial relationship with parents. Most teachers care a great deal about the welfare of their students. Let's all work together and take care of those kids!

Teacher Resource Page: Music Strategies for the Classroom

*This page is actively updated*

Music Therapy:

• American Music Therapy Association - The official site for music therapy as a profession. This site includes a very informative FAQ section describing music therapy and its applications.
• Prelude Music Therapy - Kathleen Coleman and Betsey King have developed many useful materials for use in music therapy. Kathleen is a pioneer in music therapy in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and offers helpful information about music therapy in the public school setting.
  
• What Happens in a Music Therapy Assessment - This article answers many questions that I regularly receive from teachers as I prepare to evaluate a student in their classes.
  
• BEFORE Asking for a Music Therapy Assessment - A guide to screening your students before presenting a case at the ARD meeting. Much time will be saved by paying attention to the right kinds of reactions a student has to music before proceeding with a full music therapy evaluation.
  

Music Strategies:

• Using a Gathering Drum - The children's gathering drum is a great way to gain a lot of "bang for your buck!" This is a list of 10 ways to use the drum in music activities.
• Drum Circles - Tips and guidance for doing drum circles in a special education setting. Drum circles are very fun and motivating for students and can be very successful with the right planning!
• Music Activities for Children with Visual Impairments - Children with visual impairments have special awareness of musical sounds. This article is a guide for using music more effectively with this population.
• Try Out the Suzuki Q-Chord! - The Q-chord is an amazingly versatile instrument that many teachers find easy enough to learn how to play. You don't have to play the piano or guitar to facilitate music with your students!
• Stress Management and Relaxation - Take some time to benefit from music assisted relaxation. Both you and your students can benefit from these useful strategies.
• Parachute Activities - Useful ideas for incorporating goals and objectives into parachute activities using music.
• Tuned in to Learning - This music and learning curriculum was developed by a music therapist and an autism specialist.
  

Tools on the Web:

• Teacherxpress.com - An amazing collection of links to reference sites that are useful of teachers. Check it out and don't forget to bookmark it!
• Songs for Teaching - This very useful site has educational songs grouped by category and subject. Visitors to the website can listen to music samples and view song lyrics.
  
• Music Makes Sense store at Amazon - A collection of books, music and instruments that I use in music therapy activities or that I recommend for use by teachers and parents.
• West Music - West music is a full-line music store with a very nice catalog and internet website. They have most of the musical instruments that would be used in a classroom setting. I have met many of the West music employees while working at conventions and highly recommend their services and products.
  
• Ablenet - The home of the Bigmak! A site full of switches, adaptive communication devices, and functional skills curriculum helps.
• LifeSounds - Chris Brewer is a musician with advanced training in Guided Imagery and Music. She also specializes in integrating music into the classroom. Here is a link to a great book about how to use music more effectively in the classroom!
• Kangarooboo - I love the musical instruments available here! Many of them are designed as animals or characters and are great for stories and songs with themes!
  

What To Do and Not Do When Requesting a Music Therapy Assessment

I am frequently asked how to determine whether or not a student should be recommended for a music therapy evaluation. I will focus this discussion on assessment requests in the public education setting, but many of the ideas may be applicable across other settings such as working with clients in the home or in facilities like hospitals or nursing homes.

Teachers, parents, diagnosticians and other staff who would like to recommend a student for a music therapy evaluation should first realize that music therapy is a related service. As a related service, a school district is not required to provide music therapy unless there is sufficient evidence that music therapy will be a significant factor in the educational progress of the student. In other words, the student would experience slower or less pronounced success in meeting educational goals and objectives without the implementation of specially developed music activities.

Educators should understand that the key words to keep in mind are, "significant," and "unique." These ideas will help provide a framework for discussion about individual clients who seem to have responses to music. Here are some do's and don'ts while observing students before recommending them for music therapy assessments.

Don't think that your student needs to have music therapy just because he likes to watch children's cartoons like Bob the Builder or Blue's Clues. Television is often a powerful visual medium that most children enjoy, but their interest in the programs is not necessarily a result of the music in the shows.

Don't recommend your student for a music therapy assessment after observing that he frequently sings to himself. In my experience, this is often a stereotypic behavior and not an indication that singing could successfully be used to help the student make progress on educational objectives.

Don't suggest that a student needs an evaluation because parents have reported that he likes to listen to the radio in the car or seems to get excited about music stimuli.

Most children have an affinity for music and enjoy music-based activities. Music is often a powerful and effective way to complement regular teaching methods and should be used as long as it is effective. Establishing music therapy services as part of an Individual Education Plan or IEP, however, should be done with great care.

Do consider asking for a music therapy assessment if you have observed music stimuli or activities to be a unique and effective motivator. Many children with disabilities require consistent and concrete motivators in order to make an effort at working on educational goals. For some children, music is one of the few motivators that works with these students. I have provided therapy for several children who only responded to food rewards and music. Music stimuli and activities became very important when the food rewards were faded over time for health reasons.

Do make notes of unique instances where music activities and stimuli seem to increase appropriate verbalizations and vocalizations with students. Many students who qualify for music therapy will sing words they will not speak and will also provide verbalizations in response to music, but do not verbalize in the regular classroom setting when given non-musical prompts.

Do think about using music to help students who significantly increase there attention to music stimuli and provide more focus and attention to task during music activities. I have found that children who can focus better during music activities often decrease inappropriate behaviors and have a better chance for learning information.

Do record examples of students remembering academic concepts better when it is paired effectively with music. Music is often used in regular education to help teach skills and improve memory. For some children with disabilities, music is indispensable as a mnemonic hook for targeted academic information.

Preparing a decision to recommend a student for a music therapy evaluation should be undertaken as a team effort. I advise educators to independently record significant or unique instances where music seems to be a key element in a student's success. All of the observations can then be compared together to determine if there are enough instances of music being a prime factor in the progress of a student that an official assessment should be proposed. I have only listed a few examples of things to look for when considering a music therapy assessment recommendation, but they should help to make sense of the correct procedure. Further examples of how music significantly assisted various clients can be found in Schoolhouse Stories.

Schoolhouse Story: Scooby Doo Meets His Match!

A story about the power of live music and singing to help a boy with autism do his work.

Ricki is eight years old and spends most of his day in a classroom set up for children who have autism. He had been observed spending much of his time singing to himself, but also paying attention to songs and music activities that were part of the regular classroom instruction. His teacher requested a music therapy assessment to evaluate the potential to help Ricki make better progress on his academic and communication objectives.

The music therapy assessment included time observing Ricki in his classroom working without music as a stimulus as well as time spent participating in specially developed music activities. After the music therapy assessment activities were completed, I observed Ricki working on a math exercise in which he was supposed to trace the numerals 1-5 on a worksheet. After he had traced only one number he began singing about Scooby Doo. He turned his paper over and started writing the words, "Scooby Doo," repeatedly on the back of the paper. Ricki's teacher said that this was a common occurrence and that it was very difficult to refocus his attention back to the assignment.

I tried verbal encouragement and reinforced my verbal requests with visual gestures and even gentle physical elbow and shoulder prompts to try and gain Ricki's attention. Ricki provided some eye contact, but continued his self-made Scooby Doo activity instead of returning to his work assignment. In addition, Ricki began pacing the room.

During the music therapy activities that were conducted before Ricki's work assignment, I had observed that he quickly learned new songs and seemed to enjoy singing. He was also very interested in strumming the guitar and playing other instruments such as shakers and drums. Based on these observations, I felt that I could use music to help Ricki refocus his attention.

I began by singing an improvised song about sitting back down and counting pictures. Unfortunately, Ricki just continued singing and verbalizing about Scooby Doo and ignored my singing. I picked up my guitar and added guitar accompaniment to my improvised song and started walking to match Ricki's pacing around the room. I immediately seemed to gain his attention and sang about Ricki sitting back down in his chair. Ricki followed the instructions of the song and continued by counting the pictures and tracing the numbers as the song directed.

I found it significant that Ricki only responded to singing that included instrumental accompaniment. I believe that it was also important that I was able to move around the room with Ricki while playing the guitar and singing. The power of music and this specific intervention are clearly evident, but this example also provides some reminders about why music as therapy is so powerful when a trained music therapist is involved in the process.

Most of the teachers I work with do not consider themselves singers and definitely don't play the guitar. They can use some recorded music and simple instruments like drums or even small keyboards to help them employ songs in the classroom, but there are limitations to what they can do. Improvisation in music is a skill and a talent that is often a key strategy in using music to help children with autism make progress on goals and objectives. I encourage the teachers I work with to explore different options and help them practice using music in their classrooms, but I am glad that I am also there to meet the needs of clients who require specially developed music strategies on the spot!

Scooby Doo, we've got some work to do now!

Schoolhouse Story: Wendy and the Power of Melody

I am often called upon to conduct assessments to see if a student will qualify for music therapy as a related service. "Wendy" was referred for a music therapy assessment after her teacher observed that Wendy significantly increased her focus of attention during songs at circle time activities. Wendy has mild to moderate mental retardation and speech impairments. As part of the music therapy assessment process I observed Wendy working in the classroom during various group activities as well as some individual work.

Wendy was observed to provide very short attention to her teacher unless given direct verbal prompts. When she was prompted, she was able to maintain her eye gaze focus to the teacher or task for less than one minute for most tasks. I watched Wendy become very focused, however, during familiar songs that employed accompanying gross motor movements. Wendy began singing the songs and performing all the motions without prompts. Wendy had not verbalized any other words throughout the activities until the singing activity except for saying some numbers during a counting exercise. One of the songs the group sang used the melody from Skip to my Lou. Wendy performed motions in the air as if she was drawing each number from one through four. The lyrics to the song described the motions for the number four as, "down, across, one more down...that is the numeral four."

After the group activities, Wendy was tracing the numeral 4 with a pencil for one of her assignments. Her teacher used hand over hand prompts to help Wendy focus her attention and trace the numbers. Wendy's teacher was verbalizing the same instructions as repeated in the lyrics of the song, but Wendy was not paying attention to the verbal instructions. I suggested that the teacher try to sing the melody along with the instructions. The teacher tried this and immediately gained Wendy's attention to the task, although she was still required to provide hand over hand guidance for Wendy's tracing.

I wanted to build on the progress that the teacher made simply by adding the melody back to the instructions for writing the number four. I had observed that Wendy was successful with larger gross motor movements and so suggested that we use a white board to write the number as we sang the song. Wendy was able to sing and draw the number 4 several times on the white board as I sang along with her. Her numbers were messy since she did not have reference points to trace over, but she clearly drew the number 4 without assistance and was fully engaged in the activity.

In Wendy's case, melody and scale were the key elements to enabling her success. She had been observed to respond to some elements of rhythm during chanting and counting activities in group activities, but she was unable to resist singing and moving to music when the melody was added during songs. I believe that by starting out with her drawing large numbers and gradually decreasing the size of her motions to write smaller characters that she will be successful in writing numbers with her pencil on paper. Singing may further enhance this process if the singing is louder for the large drawing on the white board and gradually softer for writing smaller characters.

Sing...sing...sing for success!

FAQ: What happens in a music therapy assessment?

I am often asked this question several times a month by teachers and parents. They have children in school with disabilities who have been recommended for a music therapy evaluation, but many of them have not been exposed to music therapy and sometimes do not even know that it exists, especially in their school district. I have always been happy to give them a brief description of what I do when I come to see their child for the music therapy assessment.

Music therapy assessments take many different forms and may include different elements depending on the therapeutic setting. Music therapy in the public schools, for example, is partially governed by state and federal guidelines. It is considered a related service and a music therapist is part of a team of teachers and therapists who work with a student according to an Individual Education Plan (IEP). An Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee must obtain consent from the parent or guardian to ask for a music therapy assessment in order to begin the process.

Music therapy assessment procedures will vary between types of client populations, but there are several key areas that should be considered when conducting any music therapy assessment. An assessment should include a review of the client history, including origin of disabilities, medical or psychosocial issues, current therapeutic strategies and existing goals. The assessment will also gather remarks and observations from teachers, staff, and parents about how they have seen the student respond to music at school or at home. The majority of an assessment should be comprised of a comparison between client responses during music and during regular activities that do not normally include music.

Music therapy assessments in the public school setting require that the evaluator look for significant or unique differences in client performance on specific objectives as described in their IEP. I explain to teachers and parents that the assessment should take place in the client's main classroom or wherever therapy would be conducted. The assessment process including consulting with staff, observation of the client in the classroom, and music activities usually takes from one to two hours. In order to accurately assess a client's responses to the specially developed music activities, the therapist will choose several specific areas of need as described by teachers, parents and the IEP objectives to address during the assessment.

The music therapist should try and observe the client working in the classroom through several different activities. During this time, the therapist can obtain an overall sense of how the client participates with peers and interacts with teachers and work tasks. The therapist will be looking for patterns in expressive and receptive communication, general ability to focus attention and follow directions, and some indication of academic abilities. The client should also be observed working on specific IEP objectives so that data may be collected and used for comparison with data gathered from work during music therapy activities.

The music therapist will conduct a music therapy session with the client that will last twenty to thirty minutes. During this time, the therapist will typically use an acoustic guitar as the primary accompaniment instrument unless a piano or other client preferred instrument are available and more appropriate. Other instruments such as hand drums, shakers, and bells are used throughout the session as both accompaniment and for active engagement with the client. Age appropriate songs and music activities with supportive visual aids will be used to address specific IEP objectives. The music therapy session may be structured similarly to other music therapy sessions which include an opening and closing song along with the specific music activities that were chosen to address the student's IEP objectives. A comparison will be made between the student's behavior and performance in the non-musical setting and the structured music activities. The comparison of data will then determine the significance and/or uniqueness of music strategies in helping the student to make progress on targeted IEP objectives.

This outlines a music therapy assessment process for a child in the public school. The conclusion of the assessment will result in an official recommendation to the ARD committee explaining how the client does or does not require music therapy services in order to make adequate progress on IEP objectives. The ARD committee must take the recommendation under consideration and decide upon the implementation of services and, if approving music therapy, determine the amount of time the student will receive therapy.

Shoptalk: Assessment of Music Skills and Responses

The process for music therapy assessments has not been standardized, although it includes certain basic elements. One of the basic elements in a music therapy assessment is to try and ascertain if a client has certain unprompted responses to musical elements. Some assessment procedures also include levels of response to music based on the number and type of verbal, visual and physical prompts. This information is helpful since many clients do not have many unprompted behaviors and so may qualify for music therapy services based on a difference in the number of prompts or self-initiated behaviors between music activities and non-music activities. I feel that it is important, however, to evaluate the power of music without prompts so that it can be argued very clearly that music stimuli alone is having an effect.

Music therapy in the public school setting, for example, requires that in order for a client to receive music therapy there must be a demonstrated effect of music to help the client achieve educational objectives. Over time, I have adapted from other assessment templates some groupings of music that I consider when evaluating a client for music therapy services. For each song or activity, I record my observations with a simple "yes" or "no" if the client exhibited responses without non-musical prompts.

Song/Activity:	Code		Code
Singing Vocalizes by:		Listening
Humming		Alerts to sound
Whispering		Attends to sound
Speaking		Responds/differentiates to dynamics
Singing on Sounds/Syllables		Responds/differentiates to timbres
Imitates		Follows one step lyric directions
Sings on Pitch		Follows two step lyric directions
Sings off pitch, but follows melodic pitch contour.		Responses to Musical Structure
Sings 2(+) note melodic phrases		Takes turns in call and response exchanges
Indicates song preferences		Responds to pauses in songs
Melody		Uses rhyming words
Motivated to complete melody		Motivated to complete chord/rhythmic cadence
Sings up/down a musical scale		Starts and stops to sound cues
Remembers lyrics with melody		Responds to 7th chords, suspensions to resolutions
Rhythm		Supplies sequential information
Maintains basic beat		Social Skills
Imitates 2 beat rhythm		Engages with adult during musical play
Responds to changes in tempo		Engages with peers during musical play
Moves body to rhythm		Maintains appropriate eye contact
Completes rhythmic sequence		Imitates gestures
Instrument Playing
Indicates instrument preference
Plays instruments appropriately
Plays instruments in rhythm with accompaniment

After each activity is scored, the data may be compiled for all the activities to give an idea of what music elements are most effective. The more unprompted responses, the greater likelihood that the client will respond to specially developed music activities. The unprompted responses also indicate that certain music stimuli are unique in aiding the function of the client. My template is still a work in progress, but I invite other therapists to comment about the idea.