Sunday, September 13, 2009
Tony Melendez: Guitarist Extraordinaire!
Wow! I am currently teaching three sections of beginning class guitar so this kind of video really hits home. I love inspirational stories like this!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Research: Review: The Use of Music with Young Children to Improve Sustained Attention
The Spring issue of the Journal of Music Therapy had some interesting research about music and attention for school children. This research was nice because it helps in confirming common sense thinking that information provided during a song is more memorable. The abstract for the research can be found here.
The study presented the same educational material in different conditions: music without distractions, music with distractions, spoken without distractions and spoken with distractions. The most important thing that the researchers found was that there was a significant difference between music with distractions and spoken with distractions. This finding has positive implications for teaching and therapy in the classroom. The distractions were the sound of sirens, people talking or a phone ringing. Unfortunately, these are all common distractions that occur everyday in the classroom, so trying to teach through these distractions is very important.
This study was done with 76 well children who were not classified with disabilities or illness. The sample is relatively small and the study will have to be repeated across multiple sites or with a much larger population sample to increase robustness of the findings. The study will also have to be recreated using different populations with disabilities to see if the significant results are maintained. The subjects in this experiment were wearing headphones that precisely controlled the music and verbal instruction as well as the distracting noises. It will be interesting to discover if the significant findings in this research can be maintained under free field testing conditions or when the music is live and not recorded. This study is a great milestone and foundational resource for further investigation!
The study presented the same educational material in different conditions: music without distractions, music with distractions, spoken without distractions and spoken with distractions. The most important thing that the researchers found was that there was a significant difference between music with distractions and spoken with distractions. This finding has positive implications for teaching and therapy in the classroom. The distractions were the sound of sirens, people talking or a phone ringing. Unfortunately, these are all common distractions that occur everyday in the classroom, so trying to teach through these distractions is very important.
This study was done with 76 well children who were not classified with disabilities or illness. The sample is relatively small and the study will have to be repeated across multiple sites or with a much larger population sample to increase robustness of the findings. The study will also have to be recreated using different populations with disabilities to see if the significant results are maintained. The subjects in this experiment were wearing headphones that precisely controlled the music and verbal instruction as well as the distracting noises. It will be interesting to discover if the significant findings in this research can be maintained under free field testing conditions or when the music is live and not recorded. This study is a great milestone and foundational resource for further investigation!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Broadcast Live! Recorded for Future Programming.
Music therapists can often get into a lively discussion about the appropriate use of recorded music in therapy. I know many music therapists who prefer only to use live music when working with clients. Live music is powerful because of the subtle changes in pitch, dynamics, tempo, etc., that make a truly unique product each time a song is played or sung. Live music can also be rapidly changed to fit a situation to meet a client's needs. The music therapist also offers live music because that is usually one of the special tools they bring to a situation that at teacher or health care provider cannot provide. In general, this is a good standard, but I think there are compelling situations where recorded music may be used very successfully.
One of the most important ways recorded music can facilitate therapy is to provide musical accompaniment so that the therapist can have hands free of playing the guitar or piano. I like to provide a recorded song that has accompanying motions so that I can use some hand over hand prompts with certain clients to help them do the motions. This is also the case in dancing or movement to music activities where the therapist needs to demonstrate the gross motor movements. I often use recorded music to facilitate relaxation. Modeling deep breathing, stretching and relaxed posture are much easier when I am not playing the piano or guitar!
Another great possibility for recorded music is using it for lyric analysis. It is possible to play a song on the guitar and discuss the lyrics, but sometimes it is more effective to listen to the original song and then have a discussion about what the song is saying. The recorded music usually has more emotional connection with individuals and prompts more verbal participation. I have successfully used music in this way to facilitate art activities where the music and lyrics inspire drawing and coloring in a group setting.
Overall, I think recorded music should be used sparingly by music therapists. If recorded music will help meet the needs of the client, then its use is warranted. The therapeutic application of recorded music is preceded by careful selection of the music to present the proper tempo, style, lyric content, timbre and focus for a specific activity. The knowledgeable music therapist uses their musical and therapeutic expertise in choosing the music and implementing its use for a stated objective.
These thoughts brought to you live by Music Makes Sense!
One of the most important ways recorded music can facilitate therapy is to provide musical accompaniment so that the therapist can have hands free of playing the guitar or piano. I like to provide a recorded song that has accompanying motions so that I can use some hand over hand prompts with certain clients to help them do the motions. This is also the case in dancing or movement to music activities where the therapist needs to demonstrate the gross motor movements. I often use recorded music to facilitate relaxation. Modeling deep breathing, stretching and relaxed posture are much easier when I am not playing the piano or guitar!
Another great possibility for recorded music is using it for lyric analysis. It is possible to play a song on the guitar and discuss the lyrics, but sometimes it is more effective to listen to the original song and then have a discussion about what the song is saying. The recorded music usually has more emotional connection with individuals and prompts more verbal participation. I have successfully used music in this way to facilitate art activities where the music and lyrics inspire drawing and coloring in a group setting.
Overall, I think recorded music should be used sparingly by music therapists. If recorded music will help meet the needs of the client, then its use is warranted. The therapeutic application of recorded music is preceded by careful selection of the music to present the proper tempo, style, lyric content, timbre and focus for a specific activity. The knowledgeable music therapist uses their musical and therapeutic expertise in choosing the music and implementing its use for a stated objective.
These thoughts brought to you live by Music Makes Sense!
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