To be a Music Therapist

Today I successfully put on a pig snout and a pair of ears and played the blues on the ukulele while singing about how I loved to rub mud on my ears and nose in front of about 100 5th graders at a local elementary school.  My group of 4 fellow students has been working for the last month to write a 30-minute musical from a children's book, and today we took it to the streets.  With great success, I might add.  We wrote a theme, jammed on some mud-lovin' blues, re-wrote the lyrics to Pop Goes the Weasel and then segged to chopsticks while we played leapfrog.  (Let's just say we had to get down real low to be jumped over... that game is a little more athletic for grown-ups.)  Three of us did body percussion and beatbox sounds while the Loon led the kids in the cha-cha slide, then we re-wrote the lyrics to Brahm's lullaby, all fell asleep, got woken up by an amped electric guitar, and ended with an epic rendition of the Journey song, Don't Stop Believin'.  Good times were had by all, but probably most of all by us!

Since last writing, I started school and just completed midterms.  It is crystal clear that I made the right decision and this is the field I should be in.  In case you're wondering, here's a little slice of what my weekly life is like:

a) dress up like a pig and play the blues on the ukulele for 100 5th graders
b) moderate a discussion on the effects of music therapy for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and discuss what the ramifications will be for the special ed field at-large
c) practice blues licks on the harmonica
d) pick apples
e) memorize the symptomologies and etiologies of common physical disabilities like cerebral palsy, muscular distrophy and spina bifida
f) attend a presentation on how music therapy is used in the NICU
g) create a session plan to address cognitive rehabilitation for a client with a traumatic brain injury
h) tab out a tune for the appalachian dulcimer
i) learn the names of every bone in the wrist and hand and be able to identify the muscles and nerves of the hand and forearm on one of six cadavers.  Also be able to indicate the muscle's origin, insertion, action, and innervation.
j) after reading various research articles, write a statement about how implicit memory of music affects our perception of music
k) wash dishes

As you can see, it's all over the map, and while it took some adjusting at first, I really like the variety.  When all is said and done I'll be prepared to handle anything they throw at me.  The fall colors are gorgeous here in Michigan, and before we know it the holidays will be upon us!  I usually don't wish away fall, but I can't WAIT to meet little Evelyn at Thanksgiving!

Until next time my pig outfit is available for birthday parties, bat mitzvahs, etc, but the ukulele would be an extra charge...