Week Ten

Week Ten! The final week. The past few days have been really bittersweet. I've met so many incredible people and musicians. I'm glad I was given so many wonderful and unique opportunities.

Day 27:

On Monday, we had 4 preschool boys. One boy was new and the others had been here before. The new boy was very resistant. He wouldn't participate, cooperate, or speak clearly. He didn't want people in his personal space either. When one boy got too close to him, he pushed him over and started crying. He also whined a lot. It was reassuring when he wanted to play the small drum and the Q-chord. We could see that he did want to participate if it involved something he liked. He then threw a fit when he had to play the maraca instead by throwing it across the room and then hitting it out of my hand when I retrieved it for him. Another boy wanted to play the small drum that the new boy had, but part of the session involves knowing how to take turns. He also threw a fit with the maraca, but he knew he had to play with it if he wanted to play the small drum. So he very unhappily shook the maraca. The two other boys were very clingy with me during the session. They kept telling me to sit by them, or would hold my hand or arm and just look at me. Overall, the session was okay. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.

After music, we had a mini goodbye party for my last day. We had mini muffins and juice boxes. They also signed a card for me and it was really sweet. I've loved working with them every week, and it was hard to say goodbye.

Day 28:

I got a lot of visual aid things completed on Thursday! I was there for four and a half hours and finished off strongly. I made 4 song puzzles (2 with Go The Distance, 2 with Here Comes The Sun.) The goal of the song puzzles is to match the available pictures to the lyrics of the song. I also made 5 Mad Libs binders. I made definition cards for each binder for adjectives, verbs, and nouns. Each binder has songs with blank spaces and a set of markers in a pouch so the words the clients choose can be erased.

 
(The Song Puzzles)                                                                        (One Mad Libs Binder)

Day 29:

A lot of music therapy sessions involve things that aren't music. One game the participants with Alzheimer's played was passing around/mimicking animal motions and sounds, which led to singing. We sang a lot of happy songs. I noticed that the sillier the activity/song is, the happier the clients seem. I played Moonlight Sonata on the piano for the first group. The objectives for the groups (stated verbally) involve 5 domains: motor, communication, cognitive, affective/emotional, and social. There was a lot more singing in the second group this Friday.

We had a nice goodbye, too. I was given flowers and a balloon. Working with these men and women, hearing about their lives, and watching them progress has been a highlight of every week.

After this session, I went to the clinic and observed my final session with the first boy with Autism. Client 2 unfortunately wasn't able to make it on Friday. His mom told me that he was having a hard week, which would explain his behavior in the session. He was a lot more physical and would hit his head a lot. He seemed really down and would pout for parts of the session. He just wasn't feeling it today. He had a really bad moment during an activity and the MT had to hold hold his ears to calm him down. It was an interesting way to end my time observing because his sessions/behaviors have always been all over the place. I was able to thank his mother for letting me observe her son over the course of my project, and I even got to say goodbye to the boy.

Final Words:

And that would be the end of my internship! I have learned so much over the past 10 weeks and I'm excited to complete my project. I've loved being able to combine my love of music and psychology. And I also loved getting to share my piano playing with the elderly clients and the preschoolers. I've worked with people with ages ranging from 3 to 96, seeing both similarities and differences from each client. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!

Week Nine

Day 24:

On Monday, there were 5 preschool boys. Everyone seemed a little bit more down than usual. We had them sit on carpet tiles to limit unnecessary moving around the room and getting too close to each other. I played "I'm a Little Teapot," "If You're Happy and you Know It," and "Old MacDonald" on the piano. There was a lot more movement when they heard the piano. We sang a song called "Owie Owie Ouch" which is about owies and then we discussed owies that they have on the outside (like a scab or scrape) and owies they have on the inside (like a headache). During the goodbye song, one boy was very resistant to saying goodbye and through a fit.

Day 25: I wasn't able to make any visual aid folders on Thursday.

Day 26:

On Friday, the elderly participants sang really upbeat songs. There was a lot of involvement and movement. We played hot potato with an egg shaker to the song Dancing Queen and if the song stopped on them they had to recall a memory from their teenage years. I took notes for the second session on their participation. They played with maracas, drums, and egg shakers.

Client 1 didn't show up today. Client 2 had a very typical session. They did the same activities as usual. The session was overall very average and he participated/cooperated his normal amount.

Week Eight

Day 21:

On Monday, we had 6 preschool boys. I made a chart to rate each preschooler on their participation for each activity. I rated them on a scale of 1 to 5; 1 being sad or not talking, and 5 being happy or talking a lot. I played "I'm a Little Teapot" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" on the piano for them. The session was good today, but there were a lot of copycat responses. For example, the first boy may say he is sad, and 4 boys after him say they're sad as well, but will act happy during the session. This makes it difficult to tell what their actual moods are.

Day 22:

I worked on a few visual aid projects on Thursday, but I hope to do more next week. The main one included making a folder saying "I want to.....please" which will make it easier for non-verbal clients to choose the activity they want to do.

Day 23:

On Friday, I recorded data for all of the participants in the group for elderly people with Alzheimer's. I recorded: What amount of lyrics they sang correctly (estimated), whether they maintained a steady beat or not, and whether they provided lyrics in the activities that required it (or needed a little, to complete assistance from their caretakers). Everyone sang and participated a lot.

The boys who have Autism had pretty typical sessions, so I don't have a lot to say about them today. Client 1 kept putting all of the instruments in his mouth though, so they had to change activities a few times before finishing.

Week Seven

Day 18:

On Monday, we had 6 preschool boys in the session. There were things that we noticed like saying they were happy but would act sad, and vice versa. Most of them sang the whole time. One activity was drawing what they felt while a MT played a song. One boy showed signs of OCD in his drawings. They were getting a lot better at taking turns today. They were also a lot happier by the end of the session. I recorded moods for the session, and have been asked to find more recording devices/charts to analyze their progress. I will hopefully be playing piano for them during the next session.

Day 19: I wasn't able to make any visual aid folders on Thursday, but plan to make them next week.

Day 20:

I took more of a scribe role for the sessions with the participants with Alzheimer's on Friday. I recorded if they sang, what their feelings were, and how much they participated during each activity. Fun note: One couple brought their dogs so that was very fun!! :)

I also did more research on the behaviors of the children who have Autism. (Another fun fact: I learned that saying 'Autistic kids' is wrong and that it is better to say 'children with Autism' so they don't feel like they are defined by what they have). The clients cover their ears to block out sensory input and to lessen auditory input. It may also be because they feel anxious, scared, or uncomfortable. They have a tendency not to sit still and fidget because of sensory-motor challenges and/or difficulty with attending behaviors. They also tune out during the sessions because they feel overwhelmed. Overall, each session was good.

Week Six

Day 15:

On Monday, there were 7 preschool boys. Most of them wanted to participate towards the beginning, but they peaked during the middle of the session. They did a lot of activities like reading/singing story books, playing with a Q-chord (trouble taking turns), and playing with big drums. The goal of this session was to have 80% participation in their behavior. One boy threw a fit and had to leave the room.

Day 16:

I did a lot of stuff with the visual aid projects on Thursday! I finished the pop. song folders from last week. I completed one of the long term assignments called "My Sound Song" sets. I also adjusted a lot of the other folders to make everything fit (like: Down By The Bay & Purple People Eater). 

Day 17:

With the Alzheimer's clients, they described their feelings with colors. They did breathing and other exercises, too. They played with small musical chime boards and did a lot of singing. There were a lot of Irish songs because of St. Patrick's Day. They would also take turns singing verses in the songs by gender.

Both of the Autistic boys had really rough private sessions. I learned afterwards that it was most likely a mix of being a teenager and being on spring break. Client 1 cooperated a little more than client 2, but he was also distracted a lot. Client 2 actually had a really unproductive session because he just sat in the corner behind a chair for a majority of the session and the music therapist couldn't get him to cooperate at all. 

Week Five

Day 13:

On Thursday, I started new visual aid folders. This time I had to choose recent pop songs and print pictures to go along with the lyrics. The clients then make the song using the pictures in the folder. Here's one of them.

Day 14:

A new graduate student from ASU led the morning session with the elderly people. No one showed up to the 9:30am session, so we had to wait for the 10:30 am session to start. The student did things differently, she read all of her music from her phone, and even played the first song directly from her phone while doing relaxation and breathing exercises. She constantly sang songs after that with no real variety. So that must be her teaching style. The clients were really accepting of her and helpful considering she was new and English wasn't her first language.

I went to the clinic after this and was able to observe client 1 after a couple weeks. He is 13 years old with Autism, and his goals are communication and sensory skills. Compared to client 2, he doesn't listen or cooperate nearly as much. He had his fingers in his ears and would ignore the music therapist a lot. He would also get distracted a lot with the instruments rather than play them. He also started to kick her. So far, he doesn't seem to progress or get much out of the sessions. He just has a constant mood and behavior the whole time. She has to give more attention to his goals than the other client because it is harder for him to cooperate. I have also noticed that he is better at musical commands than physical commands. Client 2 had a good, productive session as usual.

Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory

One of the elderly people came up to me and told me about a documentary on Netflix called Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory. His wife and daughter also attend the session and have on multiple occasions told me how much they all love it. I watched it today and can tell you all how beautiful and honest this documentary is. It shows how music can be the only way some people connect. It really shows how much music can change moods. Even when they can't remember a lot about their lives, listening to a song from their childhood allows their minds to recall things and it brings them so much joy and memory. If you want to check it out, it is over an hour long, so if you don't want to watch all of it, then at least watch the first 5-8 minutes. It really gives you a taste of the reactions and emotions felt. I would recommend watching more though!!

Week Four

Day 10:

I wasn't able to attend the session with the preschoolers on Monday, and because of Spring break next week I won't be seeing them next Monday either. It'll be interesting to see the how the gap changes (or doesn't change) their progress.

Day 11:

On Thursday, I adjusted and added to the song binders for the elderly people. I'll be adding more to them next week as well. I also finished the visual aid folders I've been working on since my 2nd day.















I will no longer be attending the drum circle theory classes on Thursday nights. The facilitator and I decided I know enough about the theory of drum circles at this point, so now I'll be attending some actual drum circles led by him (Frank Thompson) and another facilitator.

Day 12:

At the music therapy session with the Alzheimer's clients, we placed their name tags on their chairs before they got there so there would be no problems with seating. There was a lot of exercising, mimicking, singing, and relaxing. There were also more visual aids today.

I then went back to the clinic and observed client 2 again. (Client 1 was sick and we'll have a double session for him next week to make up the time.) He had another really good session today. His main goal is still attention at task, and he's doing really well with taking turns and finishing an activity before they move on to the next one.

Week Three

Day 7:

This Monday, we had 5 preschool boys and 1 girl (who was probably a year or two older). The girl didn't want to participate most of the time, but warmed up over the session. They practiced asking and answering each other. I noticed speech delay in the grammar of one of the boys while asking a question. They played a shaker game and there was some trouble with sharing and passing them around. There was a lot of enthusiasm while singing songs that they knew well. With some songs, the kids had to add hand movements to show they understood and were listening. I made them name tags to sit in front of them, which became a distraction because as soon as one made an airplane out of theirs, more wanted to do the same. The session itself was very slow, which led to the kids being very unfocused by the end. They were also rolling around on the floor because their attention had been lost.

Side Note: On Tuesday, I met with a music therapist at the ASU Music building and we practiced songs (Hallelujah, Hey Jude, Morning) for the sessions with the elderly people on Friday morning. I played piano and he played classical guitar.

Day 8:

I continued working on the visual aid folders, which I plan to have done by next week.

I also went to an actual drum circle in Paradise Valley. A woman named Darcy Andelin inherited this group from my normal health rhythms facilitator Frank Thompson. There were 6 women and 1 man at this session, most being elderly. I saw the protocol I described in my last post represented in this class, and it was done well. I did notice there was a bit more teaching (which isn't normal in these classes) but that was probably just a technique to teach the newer people not to hurt themselves while playing the drums. There were 3 larger beats over the session, and everyone did their own thing, because nothing is right or wrong. Some people really got into it, while others just listened and enjoyed the other people playing. A safe place was established because people started to open up about their personal hardships when asked to share their feelings.

Day 9:

Today I learned that half of the elderly people in the sessions on Friday mornings have Alzheimer's. The group is made for married couples who have one with Alzheimer's, and their partner is their personal caretaker. So the session is really for both of them. It's a way to relax and let any stress out. We sang a lot of songs like Only One, Amazing Grace, Que Sera Sera, Love Me Tender, and Happy Trails. We did an exercise where each person does a motion or two and the group repeats it. They also learned the hand motions to Do, Mi, and So. One of the music therapists and I played Hallelujah, which was really nice because it allowed the listeners to imagine whatever they wanted. There was a lot more effort today trying to keep the session calm and flowing. The other music therapist student played a song by Bach on her violla, which was relaxing to listen to.

I then went to the music therapy clinic to observe. The first client didn't show up, so I was only able to observe one boy with Autism today. This has by far been the most productive and effective session I have observed. This boy's goals are attention at task and acknowledging that there is another person in the room. They sang hello to each other, took turns picking activities, and then sang goodbye to each other. They can only change activities once one has been completed first. Typically, there is a lot of waiting for him to focus on what the task is, but today there was barely any waiting. I could definitely see his improvement from last week, and the week before.

Week Two

Day 4:

On Monday, I helped one of the music therapist students run a session for the four preschool boys. I made them name tags, which they sat down with. Everyone had a name tag to show that we are all equal. We sang about the colors of food and other colors in the room. We also took turns playing with boomwhackers and acknowledging colors. To get their energy out, we shook, clapped, and jumped. One activity that was pretty interactive was reading a book by singing the words and having the boys count the frogs on each page. They guessed the names and sounds of instruments while facing away, too, which didn't go very well, but they certainly loved playing the little drum! We then sang goodbye to everyone in the room. Compared to last week, there was a lot of progress. The room was made a safe place from the moment they walked through the door. They were even comfortable sharing their emotions (one said he was sad). We sang an emotions song and acknowledged that it's okay to be happy, sad, or tired.

For the next few sessions, I'm preparing songs on the piano to accompany the music therapists.

Day 5:

For a few hours I continued making the visual aid folders.

I then went to the drum circle class. I learned more about the protocol of the Health Rhythms class.

They introduce the program to establish what will happen during the class, which is to relieve stress. The wellness exercise is to make yourself present in the environment. The students used healing metaphors to move from the wellness exercise to the ice breaker, which is supposed to establish a fun and safe place. The A-B-Cs of drumming are meant to remind you not to hurt yourself while drumming. Rhythmic naming is used to get more personal with the group. For example, someone can say they like chocolate and then drum something, and the class then repeats this. Entrainment building is drumming together as a group. Once the class gets to Inspirational Beats, the group can start sharing things because a level of trust and comfort has been established. Guided Imagery Drumming is using a lot of adjectives in sentences while drumming to make the listeners feel relaxed, as if they are experiencing what is being said. The next wellness exercise is to make sure everyone is okay again, and then they say goodbye.

On Thursday, I got to lead part of the circle and control the rhythms and dynamics, which I loved!

Day 6:

The elderly people used instruments to describe how they were feeling, and the group repeated the sound to acknowledge how each person is feeling. Like in the drumming class, the music therapy students used a technique known as call and response. The therapist sings something, and the group repeats it. They then sang a song about love, and held up the letters to spell the word. Next week, I'm going to play a song on the piano while one of the therapists plays it on the guitar! I'm super excited. 

I went back to the clinic and observed 2 boys with Autism. Last week, the first boy didn't cooperate, while the second boy did. This week they seemed to switch places. While the sessions are individual, both have 13 year old boys with Autism. It's interesting to watch how their behaviors still differ.

Week One

I have officially completed my first week!

Day 1:

On Monday, I worked with four preschool boys. The session consisted of a lot of enthusiasm and participation. The kids were allowed to go at their own paces and everyone was included. There was a lot of singing and movements. The music therapists would make the music, and the boys would dance or do the hand movements to go along with the song. One song was Hands, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. They seemed to get more comfortable participating over the session, which was nice to see. There was mostly guitar playing, along with some piano. The kids prefered the task of shaking the instruments that made jingle sounds because they got to do it on their own. The session had a lot of positive energy, which led to positive responses.

Day 2:

On Thursday, I helped make folders that help stimulate children with Autism. The folders were for "description songs," which allow the clients to make their own songs based on pictures in the folder. They answer questions in the folder with the pictures available, and this helps make the song. Children with Autism need to become more comfortable with change, so by making the shapes and colors of the pictures different, they are forced to accept the changes.

I also sat in on a drum circle class. The goal of this class is to establish trust in the group. There are goals in the class itself, which I'll be getting more into next week. Drum circles are meant to be a safe place for people to feel comfortable and to relieve stress.

Day 3:

On Friday morning, I helped with a music therapy session for elderly people with dementia and Alzheimer's. The music therapists would teach them a song and then we would all sing it together. There was a lot of improv and visualization based on the sounds heard. They made a point to take time to stretch their arms and legs so they weren't just sitting in the chairs the entire time.

I then observed four groups of clients with Autism at the clinic. Each session was unique to the individual's needs. Some of the goals were attention at task, sensory skills, sharing, taking turns, cognitive functions, motor skills, and communication skills. The therapist would pause during the songs a lot to redirect their attention to the task at hand so the client could focus again, and this was a main part of each session.

Project Goals and Prior Research

Hi everyone! For my project, I'll explain my goals:

I hope that my research will show the benefits of music therapy on people with different disabilities and disorders. Over time I want to be able to see how this type of therapy can affect the overall moods and behaviors of the clients. I plan to research and answer: Which instruments have more effects on the clients? Does how much each person participate affect their progress? Do different sounds and loudness factor into the progress? Does the age of the client change their effort?

I will be observing people at the Music Therapy clinic at ASU. Over the course of my project, I will record the progress of the people I observe without revealing any of their personal information.

Why I'm interested in this topic:

While I don't participate in music therapy itself, music has been an influence over my mood for years. I've played the piano for about 13 years, and I know how if you get into the zone, it can really affect your mood. I'm already interested in psychology, so I want to look into the psychological aspects of the therapy as well. I want to study psychology in college, and doing this project will give me access to other perspectives.

Prior Research:

Music therapy is a technique to accomplish individual goals through musical interactions. People become professionals in this by completing approved music therapy programs. This type of therapy helps people of all ages with multiple types of disabilities or disorders. It helps people with physical, social, and emotional problems and needs. The clients can create, sing, and listen to music based on their personal needs. Music therapy also helps with comunication skills when people have difficulties expressing themselves.

Drumming is another beneficial music therapy technique. When people play the drums, they have an increase in cell activity, which is important for fighting neuroendocrine and immunological disorders. Music therapy can also be for people who are just looking to explore themselves. Drumming specifically can help with anxiety, stress, chronic pain, and connectedness. It can also help with breathing skills. Sometimes people lose the ability to speak, but are still able to sing and use music therapy skills to their benefits.

There are also correlations between reduced depression in adolescence and the uses of music therapy. This form of therapy can help people who go through traumatic events, and can help reduce anxiety. Women that had gone through domestic violence showed decreased signs of anxiety after their music therapy, and were also able to sleep better. Music therapy helps improve people personally and can help channel anger and aggression through learned techniques.