Music Makes Sense

Sunday, July 3, 2011

The Daily Muse: A Mime "Speaks" about Music

Welcome to the Daily Muse feature of Music Makes Sense! This daily update brings you up to the minute news about music and music therapy as it relates to our professions, events and individual lives. You can follow the daily entries by subscribing to Music Makes Sense on Twitter or by "Liking" the Facebook page for Music Makes Sense. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

"Music and silence combine strongly because music is done with silence, and silence is full of music."
~ Marcel Marceau

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Saturday, July 2, 2011

The Daily Muse: News and Opinion Via the Uninformed

"Pied Pipers of Carolina." - Carolina Journal Online

I was definitely hot under the collar after reading this article! It is amazing that in this day and age music therapy is still such a novel concept for some people. The author of this opinion piece, John Hood, is obviously ignorant about the evidence-based practice of music therapy. His article title alone drips with disdain about our profession as do many of his remarks throughout the article. In fact, his report about the effort to obtain a state licensing law for music therapy in North Carolina is written with such sarcasm, that the merits of the case are completely glossed over. Personally I am not convinced that we should be seeking state by state licensing, but there may be no other way to proceed.

It is too bad that there are still people out there who feel like music therapy is not worth the time to consider. I point out this article not to unwittingly promote this pundit, but to bring him to our awareness. He should be vigorously refuted and educated about our profession and the benefits of music therapy. Perhaps he was just trying to be too clever and funny, but it was in poor taste to do that at the expense of an entire group of people that belong to a helping profession. Shame on Mr. Hood and too bad he does not have a link for comments on his page!

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Friday, July 1, 2011

The Daily Muse: How do you use Music as a Reward?

Here is my short list of considerations for using music listening as a reward. I have recently been working with a client who loves music listening, but the facility staff have had a difficult time using music as a reward for appropriate behavior. My advice to them in a nutshell included the 3 C's:

1. Contingent: Make sure that there are specific behaviors or tasks that must be accomplished in order to earn music listening.

2. Consistent: All staff members involved with a specific client should be versed in the contingencies and willing to follow through. The staff members must carry through with the established contingencies at all times. It only takes one person being soft on the contingencies to decrease the value of the music as a reward.

3. "Concrete": Use all means at your disposal to make the contingencies clear to the client. Visual charts, verbal reminders and frequent opportunities to earn the reward are the keys to this idea. The client should also be the one to choose the music for the reward.

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