Life has been pretty darn exciting lately!

Wholesome Harmonies is offering a number of summer music therapy groups including: Kids Rock and children and tween music therapy groups through the Down Syndrome Association of Miami.

At UCP, we are in full presentation-preparation mode: the debut of our musical Little Red Riding Hood happens next week! Also, I am busy preparing the two UCP preschools for their graduation performances: a musical rendition of the book “Caps for Sale!” Whew!

Lately, I’ve been getting lots of requests for music therapy intervention ideas for clients with severe and profound intellectual disability. With these individuals, I like to take a sensory approach to my activity planning. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities!

Last year, I created a resource called Sensational Songs & Activities: Sensory-Based Ideas for Music Therapy. This E-Book is designed to make your life easier and jump start your creativity when it comes to session planning for sensory-based learners.

This E-Book is appropriate for music therapists who work with individuals with developmental delays, those with severe and profound intellectual disability, and those with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I have also received great feedback on how these ideas when been used with older adults with Alzheimer’s and dementia! The ideas can be adapted to fit the population you’re working with.

Want to find out more? Click here to read a complete description of what you’ll find inside the e-pages of Sensational Songs & Activities!

Here’s what others are saying about this E-Book:

“The most useful part {of the E-Book} was the six themed session ideas.  I provide MT groups one time per week for a school based special needs population and I used the “Fun in the Sun” and “Trip to the Farm” already this year. I love the concept of using all of the senses and the kids loved the variety. {This E-Book} has helped by saving planning time with a theme already to go. It has also helped inspire my own themes such as “Fall Hayride” using the senses. I was surprised at how much the kids loved the bubbles!  They also enjoy tasting different foods within the session, which I had not tried before.”
- Amy Pearson, MT-BC // State of the Heart

“{The most useful parts of Sensational Songs & Activities} were the themed session plans and the multi-sensory combination. I found this E-Book useful…to add more ideas to the pot of complete sensory stimulation ideas. I don’t often use olfactory (smell) in therapy sessions, but this E-Book encouraged me to look beyond what is traditional multi-sensory stimulation (auditory, tactile, visual) and add even smell into the equation.”
- Kristin Veteto, MT-BC // KNV Music Therapy

“I purchased your sensory book and love using it with a patient of mine who has brain trauma due to seizures. I love it and appreciate your work.”
- Tiffanie Hingle, MT-BC

Ready to be inspired too? Click here to purchase YOUR copy!

We are in full showtime preparation mode here at UCP’s Early Beginning Academy!

I have to say, that’s one of my favorite modes to be in. In the past, we have prepared many performances that involved singing (watch an adorable video here) and playing instruments. Recently, I have started adding musicals to our program agendas and the children are loving it!

In November 2011, the children wrote their very own musical entitled “In the Woods.” They came up with the storyline, created the characters, and made the background scenery, tickets, and programs!

In December 2012, we prepared a musical based on the popular Christmas story, the Nutcracker. We took the children on a field trip to see the play (they were mesmerized!), then we acted out scenes and dances from the play to create our own musical.

Now, we are working on Little Red Riding Hood, which I adapted into a musical. The performance will be in two weeks, on May 29th and I could not be more excited to see the final result!

The children have been working very hard. Here was our process to prepare this musical:

- I read the children the story “Little Red Riding Hood.” I used a book with beautiful illustrations.

- I held “auditions” for each child to show how they would play the Big Bad Wolf (who can roar the loudest and scariest?) or Little Red Riding Hood (who can skip across the room?)

- I assigned various roles for the musical:

• I assigned one child to each main character role: the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, the mother, the grandmother, and the woodcutter.
• One class is our orchestra: they play sound effects like the birds singing in the woods (canary stick), the leaves crunching (cabasa), and the wind blowing (chimes). They also play sound effects for each main character (thunder tube for the Big Bad Wolf!)
• Two classes are the leaves and flowers in the forest (they have a special song and dance!)
• One class plays the animals that Little Red Riding Hood sees in the woods.
• One child is the narrator and another is our scene changer by pushing a voice output device that says “Act 1,” “Act 2,” or “Act 3.”

- Practice, practice, practice!

It takes a lot of work to coordinate all the different parts in the musical – the children have lines to learn, positions to learn, and songs to learn. But it will all be worth it when the final show is ready!

Have YOU prepared a musical with the children you work with? I would love to hear what the musical was and how you prepared the children. Leave a comment below to share your ideas!

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Things have been a bit of a whirlwind here at Wholesome Harmonies!

I have a few big projects in the works and some other exciting announcements, so stay tuned to the blog.

At UCP, we are in full preparation mode for our Spring Musical, Little Red Riding Hood. I am so excited about this performance! I’ll be sharing how I put that together in the next few blog posts.

So things have been going just swimmingly. In addition to my group, individual, and co-treatment sessions at UCP, I also supervise interns and practicums. One of the main things I work on with my students is developing their own original and creative songs and interventions.

I wrote a post on why writing original songs is important – click here to read that article.

I know some students get stuck on how to write original songs and how to make their songs sound different. As someone how has written over 400 original songs (holy cow!!) I have some tips and ideas to share on how to make your songs sound unique and different:

Use different meters
I have to admit the majority of my songs are in 4/4. Changing your songs to 3/4 or 6/8 meter can completely change the feel of a song – AND can be quite effective for rocking or swaying songs.

Use different keys
This sounds obvious, but those of us who play guitar know that we are probably not going to write a song in Bb major or G# minor (at least not without a capo nearby!) I tell my students: look at your session plan from top to bottom – you don’t want to have three songs in a row in A major. Make sure your entire session plan has songs in a variety of keys.

Write songs with a different starting pitch
Simply starting your song on ‘so’ or ‘me’ can completely change the direction of your song. Try it!

Use different modes
Why not explore the Lydian, Dorian, or Mixolydian modes? They can completely change the feel of a song.

Use different chords
I love exploring jazz chords. Here is one of my favorite resources: Jazz Guitar Lessons.net.

Use different chord progressions
Break free from the I, IV, V, I progression! I like to listen to popular songs and figure out the chord progressions that I like. Then I can write songs using modifications of those chords progressions.

Use different styles of music
The blues are a very popular musical style to use in music therapy. What about reggae? Or Latin? Hip hop? Gospel? I love to use auto accompaniment on my keyboard to really capture the feel of these musical styles (steel drum for my reggae song? Yes please!)

I absolutely LOVE writing original songs. Check out my collection here – you can purchase sheet music!

Even if you don’t work with children with special needs, original songs can be utilized with many different populations.

Join the conversation – leave a comment below and let me know how you make your original songs sound different and unique.

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Winner winner chicken dinner!

We have a winner!

If you are a Wholesome Harmonies newsletter subscriber (it’s free), you know that someone on the list had a chance to win a *FREE* copy of Tuneful Teens 1. I asked those who were interested to post on Facebook about where they are most ‘stuck’ when it comes to working with teens during music therapy. I also asked to hear what they would most like to see in Tuneful Teens 2 (yes it’s coming!!)

Thank you to those of you entered and gave some great ideas!

Drumroll please….the winner is…..

DIANE POWELL!

Yay!! Diane wrote:

“I would love to see your ideas for age-appropriate songs & strategies for lower functioning students (teens-young adults) in ‘Tuneful Teens 2′! It seems like that is the area that can be the hardest to find appropriate intervention ideas for.”

I absolutely loved this idea. In fact, I had just gotten an email from another Tuneful Teens ‘purchaser’ who suggested the same thing for Tuneful Teens 2! Already I have some ideas brewing…..

Want to have a say in what goes into Tuneful Teens 2? Leave a comment and let me know…where are you ‘stuck’ when working with teen populations? What would you most like to see in TT2?

If you want more resources, sheet music, and ideas that I only share with my list, become a subscriber today - it’s free!

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I am so excited to celebrate the one year anniversary of Tuneful Teens. Be sure to read this entire post to find out how you can win a *FREE* copy!

I cannot believe it has been one year since Tuneful Teens: Creative Ideas for Engaging Adolescents was launched. I remember coming up with the idea to put together this E-Book and it feels like just yesterday I was emailing my newsletter subscribers to tell them about the big news.

The music therapy community has been so supportive. I have loved hearing the success stories and adaptations that have come from the ideas in this book. So far…

* It has sold over 200 copies!

* It is being used in 12 different countries around the world…including Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada, and Poland!

How cool is that?

In addition to the musical games, instrument jam ideas, auditory perception & listening activities, social skills interventions, sheet music, and game templates, I have also included a Pop Song Hot List in Tuneful Teens!

Because the songs that are considered “cool” and “in” are constantly changing, this list is updated every six months. Everyone who purchases Tuneful Teens receives one free update! All you have to do is follow Wholesome Harmonies on Facebook or Twitter to see when updates come out.

Click here to find out more about Tuneful Teens or to purchase your copy.

Here’s what others are saying about Tuneful Teens:

“When I first started out as a new music therapist, the population that intimidated me the most was the tween and teen crowd. That’s why I was so excited when my friend and fellow music therapist Amy Kalas launched her E-book, Tuneful Teens. Amy provides everything you need — step by step procedures, templates, sheet music, etc. — to implement the interventions in your music therapy sessions. I highly recommend Amy’s book!”
- Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC

“I received both E-Books–thank you!  I love the ideas, and am going to adapt the games for teens with my senior population.  These are really nice resources; thank you again! I was thrilled to find such valuable resources!”
- Melanie McWreath

I am finally back in the swing of things after a wonderful whilrwind of wedding festivities!

(By the way, my favorite discussion so far with my preschoolers went like this: One child: “Amy got married!” Another: “She graduated!” I love how their minds work.)

Today, I am sharing a video that goes along with this blog post: Fun with File Folder Games. This post generated a lot of positive feedback and I’m glad people found this resource as cool as I did.

Here is a video clip of an individual music therapy session where I mix cupcakes, music, and math to work on a concept that is in many of the children’s IEPs: matching numeral and quantity. I use the cupcake file folder game along with an original song I wrote to work on this math concept.

It doesn’t hurt that I absolutley love cupcakes. Check out the song and activity here:

Leave a commnet below and let me know how YOU address math skills in your music therapy sessions!

Mommy & Me at the Library: A Music Group for Babies & Toddlers

Join board-certified music therapist Claire Gentry as she leads an energetic and fun music group for babies  and toddlers. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to join in the fun!

Throughout the session, babies and toddlers will be moving and grooving to music, playing instruments, waving scarves, and participating in song stories using books from the library.

These age- and -stage-appropriate musical experiences are designed to work on motor skills, facilitate communication, encourage socialization, and develop early literacy skills. Mark your calendars and we look forward to seeing you there!

When: Friday, April 19, 2013 10:30-11:10am
Where: Key Biscayne Library ~ 299 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne 33149
Who: This session is for babies, toddlers and their mommies and daddies!
Cost: FREE

Click here for more details! 

Kids Rock

Get ready to rock and roll and see your child grow! Kids Rock is a music therapy group open to children of all abilities, including those with special needs.

During music therapy, fun music-based interventions (such as singing, movement to music, and instrument playing) are used to engage children and work on goals that are non-musical (such as increasing expressive language or improving social skills). We’ll be shaking maracas to samba beats, playing gathering drums and rocking ocean drums, singing blues songs, waving scarves to music, learning songs about social skills, and dancing in groups to reggae music.

Music therapy sessions are unique in that the music therapist uses live music on guitar, keyboard, and ukulele and writes all original songs that are upbeat, rhythmic, and fun!

Sessions are led by board-certified music therapist, Amy Kalas, MM, MT-BC, director of Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Session: April 21 – June 2, 2013
When: Sundays 12:30-1:15pm
Where: Pinecrest Community Center ~ 5855 Killian Drive, Pinecrest, FL
Who: Children ages 3-7 of all abilities

Click here for more details or to reserve your spot!  

Seniors Rock

Get ready for some musical fun in our group Seniors Rock! This group is specifically designed for older adults and focuses on providing a musical and social outlet in a fun and exciting environment.

We’ll be reminiscing while singing your favorite oldies songs, playing music trivia games to keep your mind sharp, making music with instruments and possibly learning new songs as well! There is no need for musical training to take part in this group.

Sessions are led by board-certified music therapist, Claire Gentry, MT-BC, who uses live music on guitar and keyboard to engage participants. We guarantee you’ll be singing along and tapping your toes in no time!

Session: April 19 – May 31, 2013
When: Fridays 11:45am-12:45pm
Where: Pinecrest Community Center ~ 5855 Killian Drive, Pinecrest, FL
Who: Older adults who are young at heart

Click here for more details or to reserve your spot!

I think I waited longer than most for my edition of the Journal of Music Therapy to arrive. Maybe it’s because I’m all the way down in Miami?

Regardless of the reason, I was thrilled to receive my copy. The reason? My master’s thesis Joint Attention Responses of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Simple Versus Complex Music was published in that copy!

This is the culmination of four years of work: formulating an idea, recruiting participants, collecting data, running statistical tests, analyzing data, researching neuroanatomy, writing, writing, writing, writing, rewriting, writing, writing, rewriting…..and writing some more.

I am thrilled because I finally get to share this information and the results with the music therapy community and with parents.

If you are interested in reading the study or finding out the results, contact me and I would be more than happy to email you a copy of the Journal of Music Therapy article (condensed version in PDF format) or a copy of my entire thesis (complete with neuroanatomy and more detail on related literature).

Next week I’ll be honeymooning in Disney, but I will try to respond to any and all emails as soon as I can!

Last week, I shared some ideas on how to improve your practice with children with ASD. You can read that post here.

Here are some more tips and suggestions of things that I have learned along the way that have completely changed my sessions with children with ASD (in a good way!):

4. Bring down the key you’re singing in -

High sounds can at times be over stimulating for children on the autism spectrum. I have found that if I simply bring the key down a few half steps, it can be much more tolerable than when I sing in a high range.

5. Don’t forget to use other accompaniment instruments -

In my sessions with children who are in the severe range of functioning, there are times when I never pick up the guitar to accompany myself. The sound of the strings can seem to be extremely overwhelming to them (as evidenced by them holding their hands over their ears when I start to play).

This has led me to explore the use of the drum, maraca, glockenspeil, and even kokoriko to accompany myself. Or sometimes singing a cappella can be just as effective.

6. Go in without a session plan -

I am a planner and organizer. I love session planning. So to go into a session with no set plan was a challenge for me. But I have seen some incredible results when I go into a session with no set plan and I simply follow the child’s responses and adapt accordingly.

I’m sure in a few weeks or months I will have more to add to this list.

For now, what can YOU share? Leave a comment below and let us know some things that have helped improve your practice with children with ASD.

Happy Wednesday!

My master’s thesis, Joint Attention Responses to Simple Versus Complex Music of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) JUST came out in the most recent issue of the Journal of Music Therapy! Yay! It has not yet arrived in Miami, so I am eagerly checking the mailbox to see if the little brown book is in there.

In the meantime, I want to share with you some things I have learned through my eight years of working with children on the autism spectrum (some of which have been informed by the results of my study). Children with ASD make up a large part of my caseload both at United Cerebral Palsy and in my private practice. Along the way I have tried things in my music therapy sessions that have been successful and things that have been…not so successful. (Can you relate?)

Here are some things I have learned along the way that have enhanced my practice and brought about significant changes in the behaviors of the children I work with:

1. Let children look through your bag of tricks -

I go into all my music therapy assessments knowing that each child has unique needs and sensitivities. Rather than coming in with a set session plan, I simply set out my bag (the one that holds all my instruments and props) and see what interests the child. Or if the child comes to my music room for sessions, I’ll let them walk around for a bit to see what they like.

Do they gravitate towards the kokoriko? Are they fascinated by the feel of the scarves? By observing what the child is interested in, I can use that to engage them and begin to asses different areas.

2. Start with sensory -

Children with ASD have differing sensory needs. They might be hyper sensitive or hypo sensitive (sensory seeking). You can talk with the child’s occupational therapist to learn about their sensory needs. Once needs are determined, we can provide them with appropriate experiences during music therapy or co-treatment sessions (my favorite!)

If the child is sensory seeking, you can start your sessions with bouncing on a therapy call to a rhythmic beat or jumping on a trampoline to a rhythmic beat. If the child is overstimulated and needs to be calmed, you can provide light tactile stimulation with feathers or cotton balls as you sing.

(More on this in a few weeks! I am in the process of creating a series (with video!) on how music therapists can use sensory integration techniques in their sessions with children with ASD. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite topics.)

3. Use silence as much as you use musical sounds -

Can you relate to this scenario:

Therapist: “What color is the ball? What color is the ball? Blue. Blue…the ball is blue!”

If you’re like me, you sometimes forget to leave a space for SILENCE. I am great at prompting, but when I leave space for silence, it can provide moments for incredible responses. This also helps so the child doesn’t provide an echolalic response and simply repeat back the answer that you say.

Some food for thought on your Wednesday. Stay tuned for Part 2 next Wednesday, where I share more ways to improve your practice with children with ASD.

Please remember that each child with ASD is unique and the suggestions above may or may not be effective for the children you work with. Try new things, experiment, notice responses, and you will come up with your own things…and I hope you’ll share in the comments section below!

For now, I’ll be checking my mailbox…

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