AWARENESS, CHALLENGE, EMPATHY - Why the Ice Bucket Challenge?

AWARENESS

Pouring ice over your head may create a sense of what it feels like to lose all control of your muscles as the ice shocks your body and leaves you temporarily out of control.  Just imagine what it might be like to live with that feeling every day, and with the knowledge that it will one day soon take your life.  That is what this challenge is about.  Raising awareness might be more important and leave a more lasting impression than raising money.

CHALLENGE

The Ice Bucket Challenge raises awareness on an experiential level of what it might be like to live with the symptoms of ALS, and it adds the element of a challenge.  People suffering with ALS are challenged every day to meet their basic needs and take control of their life.  They are encouraged to let it just be a part of their life, but not their whole life.  I encourage everyone to take control of their own life and to live it to its greatest.  Sure, you might choose to complete this Ice Bucket Challenge, but I want to encourage you to take it one step further….

EMPATHY

People often compliment me for the work I do with children in long term care, and say “I could never do that!”, “Isn’t it depressing?”, “I just can’t imagine”, or “that is so sad”.   My response to them is that my clients motivate me, inspire me, and bring me life more than anyone.  I work with several children with degenerative diseases and terminal illness, and while I have no ability to really truly understand what they are going through, our connection often grows stronger and deeper than ever as we simply just take time to get to know each other.  Spending time with these children is a gift, and the opportunity to share intimate moments through music is the most beautiful and powerful thing.  I encourage everyone to volunteer and take some time to visit someone dealing with the symptoms of a degenerative disease.  A visit with a stranger might become the moment that changes your life forever.

My recommendations for your visit:

-         Volunteer your time openly and visit with them, simply just hang out and have a good time.  Truthfully you won’t really understand what the person is going through, and you won’t necessarily know what it’s really like to be the mother of a child who lives in a hospital, but you can try to relate and find a connection in other ways. 

-         Note that they are not the disease/disability and they don’t want the disease to define who they are and what they talk about.  They like music, pop culture, being outside, playing games and watching cartoons – talk to them about these things.  It is so easy to find a connection on that level and share with them in the joy that life brings you by playing games and connecting through your mutual favorite TV series.

-         Do something or create something through activities and crafts.  Ask them what sports they play or what hobbies they take part in – join them in that sport/hobby/craft or whatever it might be. 

-        Laugh, Love, & Connect

Let me know if you need help finding a place to volunteer in your area.  My clients inspire me, and I’m sure they will inspire you. 

ABOUT ALS...

WHAT IS ALS?  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, is literally translated to “no muscle nourishment”.  It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that effects around 12,000-15,000 Americans (www.cdc.gov/als) and overtime causes motor neurons to die, which leads to loss of voluntary muscle control and oftentimes total paralysis before leading to death.   Other symptoms include:  muscle weakness and thinning, difficulty swallowing or breathing, and difficulty communicating with intelligible speech. (www.alsa.org).

 SOME RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

     Other Music Therapists Blogging about ALS: 

• Music Therapy & ALS (includes some interventions & recommendations):  http://embemusic.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/music-therapy-als/
• I’m thankful for my illness:  http://yumikomusictherapy.com/2014/06/01/im-thankful-for-my-illness-dying-with-als/

     Great Reads:  

• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom 
• Morrie in his Own Words by Morrie Schwartz

Tips of the Trade - Practice Makes Perfect

Are you/your students having trouble mustering up the motivation to practice?  Are they practicing the right things?  Is practice time focused on what's important?  Stop making excuses!  PRACTICE!  PRACTICE!  PRACTICE!

A recent post in a music therapy group inspired this one.  Thanks Amy Kalas for throwing the question out there!  And a special shout out to all the MT's that contributed their amazing ideas.  Every person is different, so if you have an idea that worked for you, please let us know!


TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

Practice Chart

• Set a time to practice. While mom's prepping dinner, before your evening snack, or as soon as you get home.  Make it part of your daily routine, and try to keep it consistent.  Instruments as Home Decor         

• Think about where it fits best in the days schedule, and what time of day is most productive.  Practice time should be convenient.

• Put your instrument in a convenient and comfortable location.  My double bass and piano both make beautiful living room decorations.

• Plan ahead for vacation time.  Your teacher can help give suggestions on how you can practice in the car, on the plane, or while in line at the DMV...those times do not need to be a waste.  You'll be surprised by what you accomplish without the instrument in front of you.

• Parents of young children should be involved in the process, and may need to help their child take ownership over their practice routine, and help their child establish good habits. Use reinforcements in lessons and at home.   

• Keep a Practice Journal.  Make it fun and easy to use. (check out these examples).  Journaling is a great way  to track progress and to remember what you need to practice.  

• Practice a little EVERY day, no matter what.  This is far more beneficial that one or two long practice sessions a week. Your brain and your muscles need the exercise to stay strong.  2 minutes of plunking around is better than 0 minutes.  And sometimes you'll surprise yourself and hang in a little longer than expected.  Often the hardest part is getting started. 

• So much to do, so little time?  Split your daily practice into smaller chunks (exercises and technical work in the morning &symphonies in the evening).

• Young children and adults benefit from shorter & more focused chunks of practice time.  10-minutes of dedicated and focused practice is better than doing a quick run through of the stuff you like. Quality is better than quantity.

Double Bass on the Run!

• Warm Up & Cool Down.  Begin & end your practice session on the easy/fun stuff.  This makes it success oriented and much more enjoyable.  Scales and arpeggios, Dozen-a-Day, Hanon, whatever it is that gets the chops ready, do it first. If you've mastered a piece, play it through at the end of your practice and show off your success. If you're still working on mastery of your current material, review old stuff that you enjoy playing.  

A final serenading performance for your loved one is a 

perfectly positively wonderful way to end the day!

• Teachers should assign easy material with the crazy stuff.  Don't stress your students out, and keep their confidence up.

• Improvising & Sight-Reading can also be great rewards to end a hard days work.  No need to worry about perfection, just enjoy and make some music, and finish on a high note.

• Enjoy the Music.  Practicing music does not have to be work.  If you're having a rough day, or you are stressed out, take it out on the instrument and focus on something positive. Music is meant for this sort of thing.  Instead of taking a day off of practice, take a day to enjoy your well honed skills, let your mood guide your practice sometimes.  And maybe you're having a great day, but you have too much energy to focus on practice?  Use the iso principle...Play something loud and crazy, and re-focus that energy before bringing it down.

• Quality Tools Make the Difference. A dull knife makes cutting slow, painful, and treacherous.  A dull knife drains your energy and takes away the pride from your finished product. A dull knife is no good.  The same holds true to a dull instrument.  Quality instruments want to be played and set the stage for success and pride.  

• Think about the Ultimate Goal.  Write down long term and short term goals, and refer to them regularly.  
• Teachers & parents can use these goals as motivators to practice. 

                   Teacher:  "If you play this every day, you'll be like Bieber in no time".   

                   Parent:  "Let's see Bieber play".  

                   Kid:  "It's Bieber time"

TIPS TO BE A PRO:

• Practicing should be FUN AND GOAL ORIENTED.  The student and teacher should know the specific goal and purpose of each exercise.  Music is naturally enjoyable, but the hard stuff sometimes takes that feeling away...don't let it!  Have fun and hide the hard stuff inside motivating material.  

• Motivating Material:  A favorite tune; A funny sound (beatboxing flute); Fun arrangements (The Piano Guys); Upbeat tempos; Variety is the spice of life (play it fast/slow, loud/soft, short/long, high/low, forwards/backwards)

• Play games:
• Need to practice rhythms?  Bounce a ball to the beat while counting the rhythm, then try to bounce the ball fast/slow to the rhythm.
• Need to practice phrasing?  Walk, skip, dance, and wave a scarf to the music. Then go show off your new dancing skills at the next school dance.

• Finger Exercises - Build up your dexterity and finger independence, then make a video of your finger dance...Finger Fitness Exercise

• Practice the hard bits – not just the bits you like...but Don’t practice mistakes or you will become very good at playing them. Stop and Start over, and over, and over...until you get it right.  It's fun to break a good habit, but bad habits are hard to break.

• Run-throughs should only be done after the kinks are worked out. 

• Break it up.  Learn each piece a phrase at a time. Practice each phrase SLOWLY until you have it and then move on.
• If you're a pianist, first practice the Right hand, then the Left hand, and then together.  If you play a wind or brass instrument, practice the fingerings, then the articulations & rhythms separately.  Put it all together after you break it up.

• Start at the end.  Starting at the beginning of the piece and playing through to the end each time you practice is not an effective use of your time! You are merely practicing mistakes!

• Record yourself and listen carefully to it.  Listen to the pros play your pieces right, while following along with the sheet music, and then try to emulate them.

MOTIVATORS for Teachers / Parents:

USE REINFORCERS (Tangible & Intangible)
Change it up every now and then to keep it exciting..."HEY! Guess what?  You've graduated from stickers!!!"  All of these reinforcers may be used in lessons and at home.

• Stickers - put them on the pages that are mastered, or on the instrument case as a proud collection to show off, or use them in a token economy (eg: collect 10 stickers, earn a prize). Sometimes I send mom home with a sheet of stickers to reward practice.  If you're too cheap for stickers, try ink stamps!  

• One of my students just loves it when I use my big fat colorful markers and write A+++++.  And he will do anything for me to add extra +++.  Find what motivates them, and go with it!

• Token Economy - Collect a specified number of checks/stars/notes/etc. and earn a larger prize. 

• Music Sharing, Music Listening...to your favorite tunes, or check out the teachers music collection, and bring in your favorite CD to share.

• Verbal Reinforcers & Encouragement:  "Amazing", "I love how you...", "Oh that's beautiful", "WOW! your hard work paid off", "Keep it Up", "Keep going, almost there", "YES!"  Regular verbal praise is so important, but you need to make sure it reflects what the student is doing, and is genuine...change it up and keep it positive.

• Free Time - explore a different instrument for 5-minutes, play a music related computer game or video game, explore a box of rhythm instruments or some cool new music technology

• Play along with the teacher or perform with mom and dad (I bet mom and dad can play a really great kazoo harmony to accompany you). 
• Beginners can quickly learn a repetitive bass line to a popular tune (there is beauty in 3 chord songs!)  Or even just a rhythm to play along with on a drum.  Reward your students with a successful experience that is adapted to their ability.

• Perform and take on the spotlight...for family, friends, your goldfish, whoever will listen.  

• Put on an evening talent show for your family.  If you dare, let the judging panel vote for the best of America's Got Talent!

• Play in a recital, for a talent show, at church, for a wedding, at a remembrance ceremony.  Be part of a group and have a reason to perfect your work.

• Make a Recording. Work towards a larger project and involve the student in the process.  Create a Music CD or Video that can be shared with family and friends as holiday gifts.  The process of creating the project can be done throughout several lessons, letting the student do anything and everything from design, music editing, visuals, marketing, etc.  

• Make original compositions.  I use Sibelius to transcribe my students own compositions. They love seeing a polished product that they created.

And with that said...Music Therapist Heather Lantry put it right...


        "Don't Practice! 

                       Practicing Stinks! 

           Make music every day, 

                      because making music is FUN and 

         BEAUTIFUL and WONDERFUL and 
       
           POWERFUL and will FEED YOUR SOUL."

Reflection on Mental Health and Adam Lanza

Read this article:  I Was Adam Lanza ARTICLE

Though it's still unknown why Adam Lanza did what he did, and I think it's a bad idea to come to early conclusions, here is an article that anyone working with children who are at risk for violent outbreaks should read.  It's not easy work, and though you might be pushed away, you need to continue to stay strong and show that love towards the person.  They might not accept it now, but the hope is that someday they will.  This boy did.

This article and the article "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" have had me thinking about some of the people I have had the opportunity to work with. In the following reflection, some details are changed and individuals names are left out for their protection.

For a short time I held a nanny position for a child who was diagnosed with ASD and experiencing the tough changes of puberty.  Along with the many emotional changes he was experiencing, he was also a physically powerful young boy who had regular violent outbreaks.  Those outbreaks were often directed towards the people who were closest to him.  Those were the same people who gave him the most love, and wanted so badly for him to be able to control his behaviors. His family and teachers gave him so much love, but he was still missing the feeling of connection.  This difficulty in forming relationships and feeling affection is very common with children on the spectrum.  However, very few of these children exhibit violent outbreaks...so please don't make that assumption. The feeling of love and affection is a basic need for all of us, and the ability to accept it is a necessary coping mechanism that gets us through difficult times.  No matter how tough it sometimes is to give or accept love, it is necessary.  This boy did not want to let close relationships form.  But did he?  He pushed people away as soon as they began to form a relationship.  This included me.

(Disclaimer: Though I am a Music Therapist by trade, I was this boys nanny, not his therapist).

Because his outbursts were so violent, the cops were regularly at his home, and I would often find myself taking knives out of his hands, prying my hair out of his fingers, or being pushed to the floor. Although I was trained in crisis intervention techniques like SCIP-r and TCI, I was not always able to get out of the way quick enough to avoid danger, and my main concern was his safety. Restraints were not an option in this situation. We were always watching out for triggers of these behaviors, and I worked closely with his mother to find therapists and get him into programs that offered support.  But this was an ongoing battle for all of us to get him the help he needed, and this battle for help continues to this day for every parent and individual with special needs.

Unfortunately, because this boys outbursts were becoming more violent and directed towards me, I was unable to safely continue working with him in this setting.  It was very sad for me because he needed people to stay close to him and show that love.  He was in the habit of pushing everyone away. However, this was a time when my professional limits were exceeded and the environment was not right to continue.  I did what I could, while I could, and I do not regret a moment of it.

I am sharing this because I have worked with a number of violent individuals over the past few years, and it is very hard to really know every trigger, when and where they will happen, and why.  Every individual is different, and every day is different.  I am sharing this because several sources point to the idea that Adam Lanza may have been on the spectrum.  I am sharing this because I want people to know that every child on the spectrum DOES NOT exhibit violent behaviors.  I am sharing this because I care for the children, the mothers, and the teachers involved.  Please don't make assumptions, but do understand that there are millions of people suffering from isolation and the inability to experience and share love.  Tragic events like this should not happen, but please don't point the blame so harshly on the individuals involved.
So what can you do?  Give a little love to the people you are close with, and make sure they know you are there for them no matter what.  And if they push you away, continue to be there for them.
No matter how tough it sometimes is to give or accept love, it is necessary.  

Songwriting for Music Therapy (Part I: Research into Therapeutic Songwriting)

Every great idea starts as a seed, and as many seeds are planted among it, only a few break through the ground...As my husband and I get moving with developing a new web tool for music therapists, I have decided to revisit some of my past research related to the area.


A few years back I conducted a research study on therapeutic songwriting for music therapy.  At the time, I was focused on developing my own skills as a songwriter, and it sparked my interest in researching the topic.  I wondered how the pros did it. How do they got started in the creative thought process?  Now don't forget that music therapists must always keep therapeutic goals in the forefront, and writing songs for therapeutic use is a little different than just writing a song. So my research involved interviewing music therapists, and simply asking them about how they got started in the process of writing a therapeutic song.  For the purpose of this study, we focused on composing original songs with original text...no piggybacking, no fill-in-the-blanks, and no improvisational song writing...even though these activities often played a roll in the creative process. (Keep in Mind: Because it was a research project I had to really narrow my area of focus, and to add to the insult, it was being done by just "me-myself-and-I", with a $0 budget, very limited resources, and about a million constraints!)


So, before I launched my official research, I did my own pilot study, and I used nothing other than Facebook!  As a musician I happen to have a circle of friends who are into music, including: composers, music therapists, Broadway stars, music teachers, opera singers, and closet musicians of all levels and backgrounds.  So I messaged each and every one of them, asking for some input..."When composing an original song, how do you get started?"  (This turned out to be a great way to narrow my research questions and test the waters for appropriate prompts for my future research interviews.)  The question was purposefully vague, and got the variety of responses I was hoping for.  Of course there were some trends, and that is what I was interested in!  


So what were those trends??? Though I love the build up of tension and excitement, I won't make you wait 10 years for me to actually write it up for journal entry! (Blog writing is so much more fun :) If you're interested, please read on, and follow the series of posts that will continue after this one!


Seldom do we sit down with pen and paper in hand, and just write. In "Part I" of this blog series, we will list some of the many ways people get started in the creative process for songwriting. What gets them motivated? How do they set their focus?  How do they plant the seeds for something new, exciting, and different. This is what happens before the fine tuning and editing happens, and before a top hit is created.  This first list is all inclusive, and contains responses from people who are not professional music therapists...and not necessarily goal oriented (Because they have good ideas too!) Though a good song always considers its purpose and audience...It is a very different battle when creating a song for entertainment purposes, as opposed to creating a song for artistic purposes.


So...When composing an original song, how do you get started?


The Number 1 answer of all time...."I don't know!  I just do it!"
1.  Just do it!  It just comes to you, and there is not just 1 way it happens. Every time is different.
2.  Improvise on your primary instrument, and it all flows from there. Or get away from the instrument, which might distract your focus, and improvise with your voice...then let it flow. Play/Sing...and then write!  Of course you'll have to be good at transcribing...or you might be able to enlist some help.  You can always make a recording of it, then transcribe from there.
3.  Improvise with CHORD PROGRESSIONS on the Piano/Guitar - other than your primary instrument....If you're a beginner musician, you might even want to consider using a q-chord or harpsichord when playing around with chord progressions. That way you don't even have to think about how to play the chords...you just simply push a button and change it to Major/minor/7th/etc.  Find what sounds good and go from there. Play some chords, and then play around with a melody line above the chords, searching for something that fits. Improvise over chord progressions in a variety of styles. 
4. "Noodle around" and challenge yourself with new techniques, forms, structures, instrumentation, or sound qualities. For learning purposes, you can start here, but don't expect to always play everything in 4/4, key DM, I-IV-V progressions.  It gets old fast! If you want to create something new, then don't do what's already been done.
5.  Start with a melodic line/motif.  Make up a melody (hum, sing, play), and then find the chords that fit that melody. Change it as you go. Often times this first melody will become your chorus or bridge.  Think about how you can make those verses related, but different, both musically and lyrically.  
6.  Lyrics first.  Write out the lyrics, decide on a feel/mood/setting, and make some music to fit the phrase and structure of the lyrics.  Music may speak louder than words, but the words can also be the foundation of a song.  The wonderful thing about music, is that it brings out the meaning and substance behind the words.  If you have a very specific behavioral purpose for your song, you might consider writing the lyrics first. (Eg:  A hello song might start with the words "Hello, Hello, Hello, to all my friends...").  
7.  Start simple with I-IV-V.  Pull out those I-IV-V chords and sing along, then add in some other stuff and develop it...adding, subtracting, and sometimes multiplying. (Check out that Circle of 5ths!).
8.  Set a goal and purpose.  Think about your audience, your ultimate goal, and build upon what tends to work. Are you creating a song for entertainment purposes?...if so, you might want to make it catchy, simple, and repetitive...think audience involvement!  If you're creating something new and artistic (ars nova), or experimental, then you probably want to go away from the ordinary.  Think John Cage, Jacob Druckman, Tom Johnson, or Greg Pattillo.  If you're writing for a specific music therapy group, consider their needs. (Eg:  A group of developmentally delayed adults may require repetition, simple structure, familiarity. A geriatric client with motor delays may require a slower tempo, with upbeat rhythms for exercise.)  
9.  Play Play Play. Get out some of those old dusty music books and play...the improvisation will eventually take hold, a jam session will begin to flow, a song will come out of it, and then you write it down.
10.  Immerse Yourself & Wait till Inspiration strikes...and you just know it! Use that inspiration and "juice it". It might come to you on a walk, or late at night as your mind wanders into space. Maybe the entire song will be composed in your dream. Close your eyes and imagine it.  Immerse yourself in the creative world, and look at/make some art, listen to songs, and dance.  Create opportunities for inspiration before sitting at your instrument.
11.  Develop Structure. Establish a musical structure by deciding on the mood, feeling, message, and then develop the parameters for the lyrics to fit into.
12.  Use Electronics.  Play around with variations of a scale or chord or motif...develop it electronically, by varying the rhythm, timbre, pitch, delay, etc.  Through trial and error of a small idea, something comes out of it. Take a seed of inspiration and develop it...you might just discover something new and unique as you explore the possibilities.  Always ask yourself, "What if I did this?"
13.  Write it down. Keep a book of your ideas...combine all those post-its and notes into one book, then reference it when you want to make something new.
14.  Warm-up.  Use an existing song and make a game/rhyme out of it. (Thanks Mom for teaching me Tinkle Tinkle!)  See what other ideas come from there.  


...Songwriting can be intimidating, but don't let it be!
When I conducted the actual research I tried to find patterns for best practices.  Like, what comes first (after the goal has been defined)...is it the melody, the lyrics, the harmonic structure, or something else? You'll come to find that everyone finds their own method, and most struggle to clearly define the creative process. (It's creative after all!)  Some change up their technique, and others are very clear about the process structure. As a beginning songwriter (as I still consider myself), you will want to know some of the techniques and tricks...and that is what we will reveal more of in the coming weeks...and I'll be helping you to write your own original hello/goodbye song in no time!

Keeping up with technology...I'm years behind!!

So here I am, just starting out, and it's already so hard to keep up!!!  I already follow other professional blogs, find music therapists on Twitter, network on Facebook and LinkedIn, respond to advertising quotes via email and my FREE google voice number (also: thumbtack, vistaprint, google adwords, etc.). I attend conferences and meetings (when I can afford to), then I visit meetup to see if there are any small business meetings happening in my area.  And here I am...still lost...more lost than before!  Even though my husband does all the web design and programming, I still feel like I'm sooo far behind.

How do all these music therapists find time to do sessions, run a business, network online and in person, do special projects, and update their blogs, all while staying connected and always moving forward with something new.  I'm amazed by the success of the MT's who have started the MT roundtable....http://musictherapyroundtable.com/about.  They're able to do it all, and still get to enjoy the part of being clinical MT's.  Oh yeah...did I mention keeping up certification with CBMT and maintaining membership dues with the AMTA, all while balancing a guitar on your nose, playing the didgeridoo upside down, and well...it's all like the Cat in the Hat.  But seriously....a MT has to be able to do it all, while still keeping sane and balancing the act of business and clinical work.

I could go on forever...but, instead I would like to say that I am proud to be taking baby steps forward, and learning my way through the technology!  I'm overwhelmed, but amazed. And, I'm loving the potential of growth in the field of MT through technology.  I am predicting that "online networking" (or something of the sorts) will be added to the MT curriculum in just a few years. (too bad I missed that class).

So as I learn how to run a business and develop my practice, I will be staying connected to the world of MT through this screen of information.  If you are in my boat, or have been, or wish to be, please do let us all know....start a blog, start a facebook group, and get tweeting.  It doesn't take much know-how to figure out the basics of it all...just lots of time at first :/ Oh yeah, it's also all FREE! You don't have to invest any money, and your business won't start out in a financial ditch.  And if time is of the essence...there are better ways to manage it all...even link them all up...(dear fellow MT bloggers:  How do you manage it all?)  Well...I know there are ways, but I'm still learning! Right now, my personal focus is all about starting a quality business, changing the world through MT, and figuring out how the heck I'm supposed to do that!

Got started, ran away, and now I'm back...

Okay...so I get it, this blog thing...but it's very time consuming and I'm not sure it's what I need to spend my time on right now.  So sorry I disappeared for a bit there.  It sort of rolled off the priority list.  I'll come check in here and there, but I won't be posting daily...that's for sure!  I've got my facebook page rolling, and the business side of stuff is all coming together now.  I guess I know more than I thought...but the more you know, the more you realize you have to learn.  So I shall keep reading up, and just trucking along. I'm thinking I should also start using that AMTA membership due, and cashing in...they say they can help, so lets see what they have for me.  Tomorrow is for more businessy stuff, then a break from work with a healthy run in the park.

Day 2 and I came back...

So I did it...I came back, updated a few things and I'm playing around a bit more.  I'm not a huge fan of the design thus far, so I'm going to start taking some pictures of my own and creating images.  I just want it all to be so perfect, but it seems like so much work for what it's worth.  And that, my friends, leads me to why I'm doing this in the first place...

This blog is all part of a business plan for The Music Moment studios....Back in October my husband was offered a job in this lovely town of Summit, NJ.  We decided it was a nice place to live, and being near NYC would open up the job opportunities for me...or so I thought.  However, the economy is still horrible here and there really isn't much work in my field, at least not full-time.  I did get a part time job doing music therapy in White Plains, NY (over 1 hour drive, 2-3 hours in NYC rush hour traffic).   But it still just isn't enough...it doesn't pay the bills and it doesn't fill my craving to stay busy and do music everyday.  

So I continue my search...considering all the options available. And after all the research, travel, interviews for jobs I didn't really want, and days spent searching for the perfect job...I've finally realized it is time to do what I dreamed 6 years ago, when I began the process of becoming a certified music therapist.  I'm going to create a music studio and run my own business.  I'll do it the way I want, and give myself the freedom of being my own boss, and I will create my own work.  So I'm diving in head first and hoping for the best. 

I realize it is a HUGE undertaking, and have to admit that I have no clue where to start.  So I'm just starting.   I'm getting a webpage set up, I've designed a logo, and I'm creating a business plan.  This blog is all part of that plan. Once I figure it out, I plan to add a blog on my website.  I will use it for music therapy advocacy and outreach.  And I'll use it to keep people involved in my ventures.  I've even seen blogs used as a networking tool.  Keeping connected and up to date is so important to me, so maybe this blog will also keep me accountable to reading current research and news.   

Once upon a time I was totally against live journals and blogging...I thought they were a waste of time and that too many people shared too much information about themselves and their personal drama.  But here it is...my very own blog...

Thank you for reading! 

(I can't get this line out of my head..."If you build it, they will come."  Fingers crossed, hopefully that is true for building my clientele.) 

Day 1 of Blogging

So it's day # 1 of blogging, and I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I'm doing it.  I feel like technology is way too far ahead of me and I can't keep up.  John recommended word press, but that just scared me away immediately. So that led me to this!  Now, what am I doing here???  Well, I don't know yet, but I sure hope to figure it out soon.  Right now, I'm just going to write some thoughts as I test out this blog thing.  I feel like my grandmother.  Ugh!