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Music therapy
I noticed a few posts related to this topic, so I thought I'd create a separate thread for it. I'm interested in it, since I'm starting an in-home care business (a bit of a departure after being in satellite communications for 30 years), and I've heard a good bit on the benefits of music to those who suffer from dementia (check out the movie Alive Inside to see a great documentary on it.)
I'm just hoping to pick up more info/tips on the subject.
Comments
I recently spoke with a psychiatrist who informed me that music composition is a wonderful substitute for meditation therapy, for those so inclined. Not sure this person would go on record, but was enthusiastic and it is a professional's opinion, FWIW.
Meditation or medication? Just wondering if autocorrect was at play since it was a psychiatrist who said it.
I'm not a music therapist, but did an internship in it a while ago. My experience (but I'll defer to the actual music therapist on the board) is that music is used as a means of delivering therapeutic treatment, which can take on many forms. The music therapists I worked with were in a school for people with physical disabilities, and I saw piano and other instruments being used for motion, composition being used to teach many concepts, music being used as a way to relieve stress, music used as a way to enable problem solving between two people having a disagreement, and a million other things. What is cool to see is how each therapist approached things differently.
The conversation thing was really eye opening for me back then. The therapist was working with two teenage roommates who were constantly arguing and beginning to really dislike each other. He set them each up with a drum, had one play while the other listened, then had the other play while the other listened, and gradually worked them using statements to each other in conjunction with the playing. I thought that was very cool.
The same therapist worked with a guy who had very limited mobility and controlled his powered wheelchair by using head switches to steer. The student was also a huge guns n roses and Metallica fan (this was a while ago), so the therapist unhooked his switches from his chair (once he was where he needed to be of course!) and hooked them to the trigger inputs of a drum machine. Then the student would drum along to Metallica, etc using his head. Although it was, on the surface, a fun activity, there was a lot of benefit to the student by enabling him to play just as someone with no mobility issue might sit with their drum kit for a while to blow off steam, enjoy playing after a day's work, etc.
I would have made a bad music therapist had I pursued it back then (I was 21) because I didn't get the therapy part yet, just the music. I do use things like this sometimes now in social work when it's appropriate.
@funjunkie27
I can absolutely see music having a benefit for individuals with dementia. I also think that you thinking about that and asking that kind of question means you will make a great home care business because you obviously put emphasis on the whole person and not only the care that's needed.
@mrufino1 Meditation, haha. Meditation was suggested as something I should look into, until I mentioned I'm a musician and write/record music, when it was summarily dropped
Great anecdotes and thoughtful observations, BTW. It's called the universal language with good reason, I suspect.
Thanks @mrufino1. I'm hoping to put together something I'll be proud of and that can be more than a paycheck.
I would imagine listening to music would be a valuable therapy, but I suspect that playing it would have even more rewards. With some of the iOS apps out there, I think that even novices might be more inclined to try and could benefit from that experience tremendously.
@funjunkie27 Good on ya for reaching for an admirable goal beyond the paycheck.
My wife works for an Autism education tools company and I've already suggested a few music apps for her to feature as "apps of the week" for her newsletter. Trying to remember which ones but it was longer ago than yesterday and, well, Synthmaster.
I had 30 years of working for a paycheck. I guess I'm due for something more meaningful.
I'd love to hear app recommendations. I imagine many of the synth apps that allow you to set a scale could be useful along with apps lie Soundprism, Orphion, etc.
Also, if I were to load up iPods with music from the generation of my clients....30s and 40s, are there any public domain sites that people would recommend for that? Most of what I've seen is mostly classical music from the 1800s and earlier. I can't afford to come out of pocket too much at this point, as we're just getting started.
Thicket by Interval Studios
https://appsto.re/us/EXIHB.i
Toc And Roll by minimúsica-Sones
https://appsto.re/us/g5xnV.i (Doug reviewed this one)
Fingertip Midi, 3D Piano, Drums XD free version, Garageband with all its smart instruments ...
I've worked with many different people using music (I'm not a trained therapist though). At the moment this is combined with someone who uses movement and stuff (bubble wrap, balloons, yoga balls, but we sometimes combine this with lights and projections etc). I occasionally work with adults but mostly children, usually with complex needs. Occasionally they interact with an app (Thumbjam is good), but sometimes I think the music is the language in the room when there is no other common means of communication. It can calm disturbed people, rhythm can be calming for some, certain instruments are popular (guitar, strings, drums...). It can also have a social element. People can play or dance together who maybe don't ever talk to each other.
Thanks for all the ideas (Thumbjam is a definite) and experiences guys.
As I mentioned before, watch Alive Inside (it was on Netflix a few months ago, so it might still be there.) I watched it with my wife, son, brother, and mother, and I expected several of them would lose interest quickly. I was delightfully surprised that everyone was glued to it throughout and were very touched by it. I can easily imagine that it could have that effect on me, if I ever develop some form of dementia, giver the positive influence and power it has had in my life already.
@Fitz
"...sometimes I think the music is the language in the room when there is no other common means of communication."
Love this.
See, like I said in the other thread, context makes all the difference, Psychiatrist being a good context for medication. However, when you gave more context, it makes total sense!
Actually, I work for a doctor and I found out a few years ago that he was an art major as an undergrad and he paints for relaxation. He also was a cabinet maker after graduating from medical school early- I'm not sure I understood that circumstance but he is brilliant. Now he's going to be farming apples to make hard cider when he retires. I think having an artistic side is very important in human services, no matter what type of art. But I think it helps to understand people better.
@funjunkie27, one of the other things I remember them using back then was a soundbeam, which is a midi controller that works by interrupting a light beam, sort of theremin- ish. They would hook it into a sound canvas (which is what I think of when I hear about that app!). It was able to be programmed for various distances, so someone with almost no movement could run through many notes with very little motion. I used to like to set it the longest setting and run back and forth across the room playing scales. That was just me being silly, but now I can think of tons of therapeutic uses for it.
And yes, working for a paycheck is a dead end. Earning a paycheck doing something you love is awesome. Too bad the people funding human services don't think so! I wouldn't trade what I do for anything else though, and I feel very lucky to have found my calling, even if it took me a little while to get there. Plus, my second and third jobs are both in music, as a bassist and sound person, so it's very rare I don't enjoy doing something that is also paying my bills. I am very very thankful for that. I wish you the best with your business, it is very badly needed.
Re. sound beam, have you checked AUMI. It can used in a similar way, and has midi out.
As you probably already know @funjunkie27 I am a music therapist. It has been already mentioned and I concur that MT has very different faces depending on the client group, background and type of therapist personality-wise.
I've graduated last year and have some experience in mental health, dementia, autism and PMLD (profound and multiple learning disability).
Mental health sessions are run mostly in groups and promote expression through music and words. It could be group songwriting to a chosen important to all theme or improvising to then discuss what happened during the impro bringing up how this or that musical interaction made one feel and try to find real-life parallels. There's research out there proving mt's effectiveness especially with depression but don't ask me as my memory sucks big time.
Work in Autism is all about communication and social interaction and managing one's dislikes/obsessions. So taking turns playing instruments, singing songs together etc. This goes along numeracy and literacy with song choice dependant on the mental age of the participants.
Work with Dementia often evolves around making a person comfortable within the safe space of music of their past. It is mostly to maintain person's dignity and maintaining sense of self that in dementia gets lost. The loss of one's identity goes often together with confusion, violent and explicit behaviours. According to some research these behaviours seem to diminish when music therapy is present.
I'm working a lot with PMLD now. It often revolves around enabling people to have more control of their lives. Here's where soundbeam shines with its ability to detect movement and produce sound I.e. beam is set to respond to paralysed person's eye lash movement. To a certain extent iPad could be used here with things like irings or airvox, however iOS based technology can be very clunky in practice with note mistriggering etc. IPad also removes the tactile element so I often prefer to offer a real open-tuned guitar or Autoharp rather than thumbjam.
Drumming and rhythm has apparently been linked with rebalancing of brain waves and mental order. Daniel Stern wrote some stuff about this but it just was too scientific for me and I don't want to sound airy fairy. As mentioned before music has the power to change lives and I think we're all affected. And yes @Flo26 I often think that music has saved my life.
Yes, I was aware of that @supadom, but only because I saw it in a different thread earlier today. Thanks for the insight. That gives me plenty to think about. I was more hopeful that the iPad could play a role, but what you're saying makes sense.
In the group setting, could...or should that include family members? I imagine there will be many instances where clients can't easily leave their homes, so getting a group environment is likely to be a challenge.
Well, iPad can play a role, but it will depend on what you're trying to do. If you need tactile then probably not, but many others uses. My wife is a speech therapist and uses the iPad constantly.
As for music sources, if you're using it for people with dementia to hear music for memory, a spotify subscription would be a good investment.
@funjunkie27 - Interesting carreer move! Good luck!
Thanks for the hope with the iPad and Spotify recommendation. That might do the trick,
Thanks @Marcel. My wife was a CNA for 10 years and is half owner, so it's not entirely uncharted.
I first heard of music therapy from a friend's gf years back. Before this, I had an aunt who was in a coma for several years who sadly passed away but I remember thinking once if she would still be able to hear music. And then sadly, a few months back, another aunt had a stroke and fell into a coma so this time I was prepared. I asked my cousins what her favorite music was growing up (she was in her nineties) so when I visited her in the hospital, I played one of the songs from her past. At the time nothing seemed to happen but the next day, she was moving a bit more so inside my head, I had a little bit of hope that that small "hit" of music had something to do with her recovery. Sadly a few weeks later she passed away as the damage to her brain from the stroke was too much but who knows what would've happened had someone played music to her everyday. I know for myself that if I don't hear or much less play music I get in a grumpy mood.
@funjunkie - I'm in a somewhat similar situation to you where I've been doing some hardcore planning to change everything in my life.
Sorry for double post as I'm typing from my phone and it won't let me scroll down. But I rented to leave two links that I found very helpful when I became very serious about planning something new in my life:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2014/06/07/the-top-8-reasons-youre-going-broke-pursuing-your-passion/
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2011/09/29/8-steps-to-getting-what-you-want-without-formal-credentials/
Thanks for sharing your experiences @gjcyrus. Sorry to hear about your aunts though.
I've been in a bit of a slump lately, but yesterday I went to a blues festival and was amazed at how that helped me. The scientific reasons are interesting, but in the end, it just works....at least it does for me.
A complete 180 in life might be what both of us need, but getting there can be tough. My biggest concern is running out of money before we can make a go of it. I've been unemployed for over a year and a half now and just drawing down the retirement, so it's scary and stressful, but I don't ever want to be another layoff statistic, so I think this is the best course, and it will have the added benefit of helping people who really need help. The stress is yet another reason to keep music in my life!
Thanks for the links too. I haven't gotten all the way through both, but they've been quite interesting and hit home in many ways. I can't recall the last job I got as a result of responding to a job posting....they've practically all been through networking.
You may find that there are grants that can get you started. My company still exists right now because of two major Medicaid grants. Now that they're ending I hope it's sustainable.
Keep in mind I advise that having nothing to do with the grants...the doc I work for also has an MBA which is helpful when he figures out how to keep the company afloat. And he's apparently very good at getting grants.
@funjunkie27. Good luck with the career change, most likely will be enjoyable and rewarding. I have played around with some ipad apps with a few indivdiuals with developmental (learning) disabilities. As someone mentioned above Thicket is great. Depends alot on the individual's physical and mental abilities but other good options: Bebot, TC11, Loopseque/Loopseque kids, Garageband (Smart instruments), blisspad, figure, nodebeat, ikaossilator
I've known Occupational Therapist who use some of these apps to work on fine motor skills also.
@funjunkie27. You might integrate sound treatments with singing bowls, gongs, mono chords. There are great results in dementia. Especially the bowls are very powerful. I like peterhessacademyusa.com among others. Good Luck
I didn't mean to discredit iPad's usefulness in music therapy it's just I didn't use it much. My colleague uses one with garage band very frequently during 1 to 1 songwriting sessions with autistic kids. Also it could be used in PMLD instead of soundbeam.
One serious issue I find is that iPad after all is a computer/screen. This at times introduces another entity in the room. Autistic kids tend to associate screens with YouTube or games. I've also tried it on mental health setting and me and my client both ended up staring at the screen rather the facing each other. He had social anxiety issues I therefore had to exclude iPad from the session.
I guess it is a question of judgement and keeping in mind what are the important bits that aid therapy and what hinders it.
Same situation...I m planning to move away from a "9-18 job", and do something more meaningful.
First step it was to get a Handpan, which harmonics are tested to have positive effects on brains.
At the moment, I m getting deeply trained in Electronic Music Production with emphasis toward ChillOut / Ambient genre.
Next step would be to follow a course for Music Massage using Singing/Tibetan bowls.
For the iPad, actually, I m using Thumbjam and Lunchpad!
Thanks again all. Plenty of interesting ideas, including apps, grants, and instruments. Some of my clients are likely to suffer from dementia or other neurological conditions, recovering from surgery, in cancer treatment, etc. while some just want a companion so they don't hurt themselves due to weakened bones....and just getting older in general, so there will be a broad range of consideration when determining how music might best help each one.
Have you heard of this
https://musicandmemory.org
They supply Alzheimer's and dementia patients with iPods with music.
My mom is in a nursing home with severe dementia. I visit often and play Frank Sinatra over headphones for her and it's the one thing that she can enjoy. Her memory is gone but she remembers the songs, the words and the phrasing, she just can't reproduce it. I think a lot more of the residents can benefit from personalized music therapy.
Yes, I'm aware of M&M...that's how I found the movie Alive Inside. Sorry to hear about your Mom @dougdi, but it's great that you visit her with music in hand!
@dougdi that's terrific. I admire you.