As music therapists we are skilled at using various musical elements to systematically help us achieve or bring about a desired behavior.
In my work with children with autism and other special needs, I use the V7 chord to build anticipation and prompt a verbal response. (“It’s a….it’s a…..dog!”)
I use a 6/8 meter to facilitate swaying side to side.
I use a rhythmic, upbeat strum pattern to cue quick movement patterns like shaking the legs and arms.
However, I’ve come to find that one of the most powerful tools I have at my disposal is….
SILENCE.
That time you pause as you wait for a client to process the directions you’ve given. That space between the notes. The time you wait for your client to give you a verbal response….or eye contact…or another behavior you’re trying to elicit in your sessions.
This is something I used to struggle with. Every moment of every session was filled with sound. I was strumming the guitar…I was praising….I was singing…I was giving verbal directions. All of that can be incredibly over stimulating. Soon none of it stands out and it all becomes tuned out.
So I started slowly incorporating more silence into my sessions.
I would strum a V7 chord as I sang “Your name is……” and let the chord fade away into silence as I waited for the response.
Rather than prompting again by repeating the phrase or saying the client’s name hoping he would repeat, I would just wait.
I would listen to the silence and know that the client was processing what I was saying and formulating a response.
When I did this I began to see that my clients had much more to give than I was allowing them when I covered it up with sound and music and my talking.
They knew what I was asking and knew the response, they just needed time. And silence.
I’m curious to hear…have you experienced something similar in your practice? How has incorporating silence into your sessions improved your practice?
Leave a comment below…I’d love to know!
Image courtesy of [David Castillo] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Much of my work is group work with elders. When I introduce silence, usually a group member will break it. Allowing them that control can be important.
Silence was a particularly important aspect of music therapy with one client I have worked with. Not only was it important for me to leave space and silence in a way that meant her vocalisation or drum beat ‘completed’ the music, I also found after she had accomplished something new, leaving up to a minute of quiet gave her space to process what she had achieved and chance to ‘regroup’ herself before we moved on in the music.
I love that anecdote Rachel, thanks for sharing :)
I think silence is very important! I try and leave a lot of time for the client to respond if they have Autism or a similar diagnosis where it takes a while to process but sometimes I forget or don’t leave enough. Just in a session last week I had a client give me a number response to a question I’d asked after I had already moved on to the next intervention. At first I was confused at why he was shouting out “19” but then realized it was from a couple minutes prior and he was just getting to process what I had asked. I continually need to increase my patience and realize it is not awkward if parents or others are in the group, but important to wait.
Such a great story Mary, thanks for sharing :)
I always thought I used silence in my sessions (and I probably did to some *small* extent). The first time I really became cognizant of using silence was in a college teaching course. Learning to ask a question and count to 10 slowly before offering any sort of prompt to students (college students!). As soon as I recognized that silence as a motivating force, I used it in every aspect of a clinical and professional interaction as I could. I think of it like this: if I set the expectation that I’m going to jump in a “save” them from a challenge, they will only perform to that level. Raising the bar and the expectations, I saw more growth in every way. I realized I had taken some control and power from my clients/students and have learned to give it back.
Ginny, I could not agree with you more. I am teaching this year at University of Miami and I can completely relate to the importance of giving our students time to process and answer questions before supplying the answer for them. This allows them to work through things and talk through them without us giving them the answer. I appreciate your comments and they are a great reminder for me!
I certainly make a point of building “silence” into my interactive concerts for kids! So important for kids to experience silence as a part of the music :)
Yes I agree! Thanks for chiming in Maria.