My Music Therapy Session

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. – Victor Hugo


Yesterday, I had my second music therapy session at the hospital.  I have been working with inpatients with physical rehabilitation.  I really enjoy this because I am actually helping people rather than just practicing.  My first semester of practicum, I worked with the preschoolers every week and they were pretty high functioning so they didn't need that much extra help.  These people however really do benefit from what we put into the sessions.  They have a set of upper body and lower body exercises that they are required to do every week.  It is mine and my partners job to incorporate all of those movements with musical stimulus.  What we did yesterday was combine songs and instruments with the proper movements.  We used paddle drums and a mallet for each client to hit while I sang the song "I've Been Working on the Railroad".  Also, I played and sang the song "Hey Good Lookin" by Hank Williams Sr. while they did some arm movements holding jingle sticks.  After we did the upper body, I did a cognitive exercise with them.  I sang one song for each client and had them answer a question about the song.  This challened their memory especially.  An example would be singing the song "Yankee Doodle" and then asking the client what he stuck in his hat which of course is a feather.  Next, we worked on the lower body.  My partner led these exercises with some fun songs as well.  First, he gave each client a jingle stick aand had them do toe and heel taps to the song "Deep in the Heart of Texas".  Then, he worked on their knee kicks and marching by singing the song "Blue Suede Shoes".  The clients really enjoyed this one.  They were smiling and having fun doing the kicks at the different parts that required them.  Then close to the end of the session, there was a relaxation period where my partner played some soothing music and instructed them with breathing exercises.  Overall I think the sessino went great and the clients really got a lot out of it.  I partly believe that music therapists make such an impact because they break up the monotony of doing the same motions over and over.  And for other populations, music of any kind is always a treat to a person stuck in a hospital or other setting.  That is all for now, stay tuned for more updates.  ;)


Ashley @ SHSU


Music is well said to be the speech of angels. – Thomas Carlyle