Happy 4th of July everyone!

I am looking forward to some much needed R&R today, as well as fireworks at the Biltmore Hotel tonight! I hope you are spending your 4th of July in a relaxing way and that you’ll be enjoying it with family and friends. :)

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you most likely have seen me post about my *Music Therapy Gems*. These are moments where the children I work with do or say something that completely lights up my day. I absolutely love working with children – I love their energy, their capacity to give so much love, and their perspective on life.

Since it’s a holiday and a fun day, I thought I’d share with you some of the best of the best of my *Music Therapy Gems*

* One of my guitar students said the other day “That’s a quarter note, that’s a half note…and that’s a little lightning bolt!” (an interesting way of looking at a quarter rest!)

* Before a session one of my Kindergartens had a new watch she wanted to show me. I asked her “Wow, what time is it?” She looked at it and said “Music time!”

* One of the mom’s told me her son was given a little guitar by his cousin. He picked it up, put it in his lap, and said with conviction, “I Amy.”

* There’s no better feeling then when a teen says “That’s cool!” to one of your activities

* “I like playing on the black keys, they always sound good” said one of my piano students

* After I demonstrated how to play a piece on piano, my student said “Good job Miss Amy, 10 points for compliance.”

* A young piano student’s excuse for why he was too tired to continue playing: “My hands, Miss Amy, they lost their power.”

* On Graduation Day, one of the Kindergarteners asked me: “Can you come to my new school and be my music therapist?”

* There is nothing better than hearing a child say in music therapy “I’m happy.”

Going back through these I had a good laugh all over again. Some of the comments I had forgotten about and they definitely made me smile. :) Whatever client population you work with, make sure you keep your eyes and ears open for music therapy gems. They keep you motivated, remind you to not take things to seriously, and remind you that we have the best job in the world.

What are some of YOUR music therapy gems? Leave a comment below!

Image courtesy of [MR LIGHTMAN] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net