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Rainbow Mountain, Peru

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If I were to play a C and a C# right next to each other, it’ll probably sound like those notes clash. But if I take the C up an octave and play the C# and the C again, all of a sudden it sounds beautiful. The same two notes. That C becomes a major 7th to the C# which is a key element that makes a chord almost too beautiful. Too nice sounding. So how can these same two notes sound bad and clashing in one instance and beautiful in another? When we see something horrible or awful in life, maybe we’re just viewing it in the wrong octave. Maybe we can change our perspective and find a way to change our viewpoint, or in musical terms, change our octave.

Victor Wooten (via itsjennyjenjen)

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3 Things About Being A Music Therapist That Others Don’t Tell You About

1) It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to become a board-certified music therapist. 

“The education of a music therapist is unique among college degree programs because it not only allows a thorough study of music, but encourages examination of one’s self as well as others.” -American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). 

Although the required coursework vary from school to school, completing my music therapy requirements at Berklee College of Music was challenging. Every semester I had an average of 8 courses/semester (Berklee goes by semesters, not years) and each class consisted of 1-2 credits, at most 3. These classes included music theory, arranging, conducting, ear training, music technology, psychology, private lessons, ensemble, music therapy, development seminars, electives, and general studies. Courses specific to music therapy included 5 levels of supervised practicum fieldwork in facilities that served individuals with disabilities in the community. I was assigned to work at a school setting with children diagnosed with cerebral palsy for my first practicum, and this was my first direct hands-on client experience with music therapy. I was then placed at a nursing home for my second practicum that focused on geriatrics in which I served groups of elderly who were diagnosed with depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Then I got to work with homeless women in my next practicum, adults with developmental disabilities in the one after that, and children and babies in intensive care units during my final practicum at Boston Children’s Hospital. Courses in addition to each practicum focused on specific areas, such as P1 (practicum 1) in Special Education, P2 in Geriatrics, P3 in Research, P4 in Psychiatry, and P5 in Medicine. Although you’re required to work for about 7-8 weeks at your chosen facility (1-2hrs once a week) and that may not seem like much, having to balance studying, completing research, doing homework assignments, practicing instruments, preparing for concert recitals, recording music, attending meetings, memorizing songs, and overall figuring out my life as both a musician and a music therapist was very challenging. Although my main focus was music therapy, I still needed to focus on vocal performance as I was graded for my musical skills, not just for my clinical work. There are numerous amounts of documentation and clinical writing involved as well, and each practicum is paired with courses related to what you’re learning and dealing with in that specific practicum. Music therapy courses at Berklee require not only sitting at your desk listening to lectures, finishing up tasks and passing exams, but they require active participation such as public speaking, group work, role playing, advocating, and playing instruments. In other words, it’s about practicing and developing skill through action than just having mere knowledge about each course. Meditation and self-care practices are also taken place inside classrooms where you get to be in an open and vulnerable space with others, tap into your own personal thoughts, emotions and feelings, and focus on self-awareness and awareness of others. There is a lot of individual attention that you get from professors who have high expectations of their students (Berklee’s student-teacher ratio- 11:1), and because I got to learn in such small, inclusive classroom environments with direct patient contact at fieldwork, I grew massively in my musical and clinical knowledge and abilities. Because I was pushed to actively participate and throw myself into uncomfortable situations, I’ve grown immensely through my learning. It’s great that we get to apply what we learned in class directly into practice at our practicum sites and receive feedback from our supervisors on site who are also professional music therapists. Classrooms feel like workshops, and practicums feel like small unpaid internships. It’s challenging to be seen and trained as a musician, professional, and therapist inside classrooms when we’re still students and sometimes don’t feel mature enough to handle the ups and downs of social and emotional experiences throughout the whole process. But real growth happens when you’re out of your comfort zone and that’s how Berklee was like for me and for many others who are currently music therapy students. We are constantly pushed to feel uncomfortable in our learning. 

Then after you’ve completed all of your training at school which usually takes about 4.5-5 years, you graduate (hurray!) and then go search for an internship to receive your degree. This is the last step you need to complete before receiving your official diploma and becoming a professional music therapist. My internship took place at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in which I worked 40 hours/week, unpaid, for 6 months. Although there are some paid music therapy internships, most are not and require you to work 6-9 months depending on the site. Then once you complete your internship, you are finally eligible to sit in for the certification exam. Once you pass the exam, you are finally acquired the credential Music Therapist-Board Certified (MT-BC). 

2) Therapy > Music. 

I say music therapy is 70% therapy and 30% music. We are using music as a tool to reach non-musical goals. So it’s not just about performing and entertaining patients/clients and wowing them through your musical skills, it’s about using music purposefully and intentionally through the connection and relationship you build with your patients/clients to help them reach their goals. We do music WITH the patient, not just TO the patient. It doesn’t mean you have them to follow you, you adapt yourself to follow them. This is also the main difference between music education and music therapy- while music education focuses on musical knowledge and skills that follows a standard, rigid curriculum with no adaptations to meet the patient’s specific needs, music therapy adapts the music to meet each patient’s specific goals and needs. Music therapists are trained to see the needs of patients with disabilities and special needs on a deeper level, and therefore know how to use effective strategies to target those specific needs through music. Here is an example I can provide from my internship- I’ve worked with several cancer patients at CHOC and at the time, many were undergoing stem cell transplants and chemotherapy. Going through treatment can be extremely stressful and scary for kids, especially when their family isn’t around to keep them company through challenging times. Kids need to be in supportive environments where there is structure, autonomy/independence, and relationship support. In order to target these three elements, my main goals for music therapy were to provide structured and predictable environments, increase their autonomy and control, and build rapport. To provide structure, I used familiar music for predictability and songwriting scripts; for autonomy support, I allowed patients to make their own choices about lyrics, melody, how they wanted the song to sound like; and for relationship support, I focused on building rapport through discussing about the content of the song, brainstorming ideas together, and interacting throughout the overall songwriting process. Providing specific music interventions that are tailored to their experiences helps create a safe space and allows them to drive benefit from music and be successful in therapy. So music therapy isn’t just focusing on the musical elements- rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, pitch, dynamics- but it’s focusing on the musical elements to be used clinically in purposeful ways. It’s more about the interaction, the connection with the patient/client rather than the music itself. Because our main focus is therapy, music therapists utilize a variety of methods and don’t necessarily have a traditional, fixed way of doing things when providing music and playing instruments. I’ve used the back of my guitar as a drum once, the side of my guitar as a slide for stuffed animals, boomwhackers to slide eggs through the tube rather than whacking them on hard surfaces to make sounds (which is how you would “normally” play it), the back of a floor drum as a pot to cook pretend soup with kids, xylophone blocks as cake for dessert, a drum mallet to strum the guitar, and I can name other ways where I’ve used music creatively, thinking outside the box for patients. You have to think what are the GOALS you’re trying to reach, and how are you using music as a TOOL to reach those goals? Music therapists use music both traditionally and non-traditionally to reach non-musical goals. Unlike a traditional music educator who plays guitar to teach students how to strum and has everyone to follow, music therapists could use a guitar to teach how to strum, use it for play using toys, move it around in different positions and be flexible with the overall use of the instrument that follows the patient and their response to music. Music therapists are aware of how to utilize music to engage and target specific needs of individuals from the moment-to-moment experience. 

3) You never know what to expect as a music therapist. 

There are no fixed answers to anything. We need to let go of expectations and assumptions about various situations and circumstances, especially during sessions. I remember my supervisor who is a board-certified music therapist with almost 20 years of experience with music therapy, telling me he still gets nervous to this day walking into patient rooms, because it is a new experience for him each time. It is crucial that we remain open to whatever happens, to lean onto discomfort, to let go of the need to control and to simply go with the flow. I had one patient at CHOC where, when I went to check-in to ask if he was in the mood for some music, he responded with an enthusiastic “yes!” and gave me a huge smile. He seemed to be feeling a lot better than the last time I saw him when he was undergoing chemotherapy, so I got excited and started thinking to myself what songs would be good for him and which instruments I could use for those songs. I told him I’d be right back with my instruments which only took 5 minutes and walked right back to his room, only to see he was now crying after his mom refused to feed him chicken nuggets. He was not allowed to eat before his procedure, and he looked at me and shook his head. I had no choice but to put aside the session plan I had for him and adjust myself fully to that moment. I decided to pull out an ocean drum and strum relaxing chords on my guitar to provide relaxation and calm his emotions, and matched my humming to my guitar. I had no idea how the session was going to go after that and what to expect out of it, but I trusted my gut in that moment and decided that that was what was best for him. Then the next day, I walked into his room again to see he was feeling a lot better and was bursting with energy throughout the session so I matched myself to his energy level and provided that high stim he needed. Being a music therapist means you’re constantly having to deal with fluctuations (fluctuating referral calls, fluctuating moods of patients and families, fluctuating health conditions) and overall spontaneity- so it’s crucial that music therapists are flexible, open-minded, and adaptable to various circumstances. The only things to expect as music therapists are to expect the unexpected, expect discomfort, and expect the unknown. 

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Song Ideas for Pediatric Rehabilitation - Part 3

Here listed are effective songs to play using the egg shakers, chiquitas, and maracas! 

“I’m In The Mood” - Raffi

“Shake My Sillies Out” - Raffi

“Shake Shake Boogie Woogie Oogie” 

“Wheels On The Bus”

“Five Green and Speckled Frogs”

“I’m In The Mood” - Raffi

I’m in the mood for ___~ Hey, how ‘bout you? (ex: singing, dancing, strumming, smiling, drumming, shaking, reaching, standing, clapping, tapping, kneeling, swinging, etc. you can fill in the blank with whichever is appropriate) 

I’m in the mood for ___~ Hey, how ‘bout you  

I’m in the mood for ___~ ___ along with you 

Hey hey whadda ya say

I’m in the mood for that today

Hey hey whadda ya say

I’m in the mood for that! 

This is my go-to song for music therapy, because it is repetitive and flexible to use in various circumstances to target specific goal areas. You can also play this song using other instruments besides the shakers, or without the use of instruments at all. I just happened to play this song most frequently using the shakers which did great at reaching various goals, such as standing, reaching, walking, running, jumping, etc. both in individual and group sessions. 

This song is also a great song to fall back on when you’re blanking out on what song to play next. Because you can easily switch lyrics that are tailored to the patient’s needs, it’s a song that can be used purposefully in so many ways. With individualizing group music therapy for example- If you’re working with a group that consists of five kiddos let’s say, and each child has different target goals with various functioning levels and needs, you can simultaneously attend to each child that focuses on his/her goals by acknowledging their specific needs. For example, I’ve worked with a toddler whose main goal was standing throughout the session, while another baby in the same group focused on sitting balance. Another patient who was a lot older than both focused on reaching up using both arms while the last patient in the group focused on kneeling and practiced bending his legs to reach down. In cases like these, it is not easy to target all of their goals at the same time while taking into account each one of his/her needs. This song is perfect to use as you can just go around in a circle and acknowledge each patient’s goals by singing and making eye contact with them. Ex: “I’m in the mood for standing~ Hey how ‘bout you? (child 1) I’m in the mood for sitting~ Hey how ‘bout you? (child 2) And I’m in the mood for reaching, reaching up and down with you! (child 3), etc...” This way, everyone in the group feels included as you’re providing individual attention in a group context. 

“Shake My Sillies Out” - Raffi

(shakers)

I’m gonna shake shake shake my sillies out

Shake shake! Shake my sillies out

Shake shake, shake my sillies out

Wiggle my waggles away 

(movement)

We’re gonna clap clap clap our hands together

Clap clap! Clap our hands together

Clap clap, clap our hands together

Wiggle my waggles away

(guitar)

We’re gonna strum strum strum the guitar now

Strum strum! Strum the guitar now

Strum strum, strum the guitar now

Wiggle my waggles away...

This song is another one of those songs that you can use to tailor and adjust to the patient’s goals and needs. It can be played using any instrument, but again, I’ve used it most often with the shakers. On the part where I sing “wiggle,” I like to gently tap the patient’s arm and then slide the shaker down the arm to provide sensory stimulation, and then do the same thing on the opposite arm when singing “waggles.” I do this to make things more intimate and interactive using gentle touch. I’ve also used my guitar with this song to focus on reaching goals. For example, I’ll encourage the patient to strum my guitar and wait until they reach out their hands to do so. Then I’ll match my singing speed to their strumming, and then slowly move my guitar up for them to reach up and stay in that position. It’s important that you do your best to sustain the child’s attention using your tone of voice, facial affect, body gestures, etc (ex: I like to flip my guitar over and then knock on the back of my guitar and ask “where did the strings go?” and then flip it back to the front- kids will usually try to search for the strings, tap on the guitar, or smile). Sustaining attention is important especially for young children, because they will get distracted easily and may start getting tired after being pushed to stay in a fixed position for a long time in which their bodies feel challenged to do. It’s the placement of instruments that plays a crucial part in music therapy and does a lot to meet patients’ goals.  

Here are a few ways you can place shakers on some of the most common equipment used for physical therapy and rehabilitation:

1. Balance beam

Possible goals: Walking forward, walking backwards, walking sideways, changing directions as they’re walking on the beam, etc. 

If you and the PT are trying to get a toddler to walk forward by placing one foot over the other and the patient seems uninterested or not motivated enough to keep going, you can use egg shakers to quickly engage them by placing an egg on top of the beam towards where the patient is headed. By placing an egg shaker in the middle of the balance beam, you can get them to walk towards it to tap with their foot or gently kick to knock it off the beam. Once they do so, place a different colored egg even further that is closer to the edge of the beam to have the patient to walk towards it again. This can motivate them to reach down and grab it with their hands, then stand back up to continue walking. Make sure to give positive reinforcement once they’ve reached the egg, and continue to sing a shaker song throughout. Only thing to be careful here is the exact placement of the egg shaker- make sure it’s not too close to where their next step is going to be, but rather a few steps ahead, as they could step right on the egg and slip off the beam. 

2. Stepping stones

Possible goals: Balancing, coordination, leg extension, overall gross motor movement. 

You can place an egg shaker on every stone, every other stone, only one stone, two stones... depending on how big of a step the patient is challenged to take and what their goals are. This will motivate the child to, again, reach down to grab the shaker and keep walking. I’ve had a patient practice standing and balancing with one foot on each stone, and also squatting in that position. So I decided to place an egg shaker in between those two stones to have the child kneel down to squat, reach down to grab the shaker, and then stand back up. To further increase the child’s motivation, once he stood up with the egg, I had him to slide the egg through a boomwhacker that would make a loud “thump!” noise once it reached the bottom of the tube. He giggled every time it did that, and this encouraged him to do it again and repeat the same process of kneeling, squatting, reaching down, and standing up to balance. 

3. Bouncy ball

Possible goals: Core strength, tummy time, posture, sitting balance. 

If the baby or toddler that you’re working with is lying down flat on their stomach on top of the ball to work on core strength (similar to a superman’s pose), you can hold up maracas in front of them to have them extend their arms and reach to grab the shakers. I’ve also used shakers for patients working on sitting balance with the help of a PT (PT= physical therapist, pt= patient) shifting their bodies from side to side. I liked to play songs like “Ridin’ In The Car” from Music Together (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyHoEH-Fyow), where it’s fun and bouncy, and completely appropriate to use for patients who are bouncing up and down. I like to pretend as if the patient is riding on a car as I’m singing that song. Throughout each of the verses, I’ll encourage the child to lean towards a certain direction with the PT supporting the patient from the back, either left to right, or up and down. I’ll also provide distraction by making it fun and energetic for them to stay in a certain position for a longer period of time. “Up Up Up!” from Barefoot Books (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrd0TiER_J0) is also a great song you can use for the bouncy ball. On the part where you sing “up up up” you can encourage the child to reach up as they’re bouncing to grab the shakers. This is great in that you are matching verbal prompting with the song itself. 

“Shake Shake Boogie Woogie Oogie”

We’re gonna shake shake boogie woogie oogie

Shake shake boogie woogie oogie

And shake shake boogie woogie oogie

That’s the way we’re gonna shake our shakers (x2) 

...and now we’re gonna shake it way up high! 

We’re gonna shake shake way up high (x3)

That’s the way we’re gonna shake our shakers

...and now we’re gonna shake it way down low!

We’re gonna shake shake way down low (x3)

That’s the way we’re gonna shake our shakers

...now let me see you shake it side to side!

We’re gonna shake shake side to side (x3)

That’s the way we’re gonna shake our shakers 

I piggybacked off the song called “The Animal Boogie” from Barefoot Books (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25_u1GzruQM) where I switched the lyrics of the chorus to make it into a shaker song. I’ve used it mainly to focus on motor coordination and overall movement for children. I’ve played this song using both the shakers and guitar, and moved the instruments up and down, and side to side as I sung through each verse. For example, I’d lift my guitar up and play in that position throughout the entire verse, and then quickly pause to say, “now it’s time to shake it way down low!” and then have my guitar facing down towards the floor. Then I’d start playing in that position throughout the verse, and then move from left to right with my guitar to show side to side movement. 

“Wheels On The Bus”

The wheels on the bus go ‘round and ‘round

‘Round and ‘round (x2)

The wheels on the bus go ‘round and ‘round

All through the town

The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish

Swish swish swish (x2)

The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish

All through the town

The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep

Beep beep beep (x2)

The horn on the bus goes beep beep beep

All through the town

The babies on the bus go wah wah wah

Wah wah wah (x2)

The babies on the bus go wah wah wah

All through the town

The people on the bus go up and down

Up and down (x2)

The people on the bus go up and down

All through the town

The doors on the bus go open and shut

Open and shut (x2)

The doors on the bus go open and shut

All through the town 

The mommy/daddy on the bus says I love you

I love you (x2)

The mommy/daddy on the bus says I love you

All through the town

For this traditional nursery rhyme, I like to use egg shakers and different hand motions and body movements to engage with the patient. Holding an egg on each hand, I like to rotate both of my arms in a circular motion while singing “round and round” to represent the wheels. As I’m doing this, I’ll lean in towards the child and then back out to increase engagement. For the wipers, I’ll gently shake in a right-left-right motion as I’m singing “swish swish swish.” For the horn, I’ll tap on the child’s arms and legs to create that tactile stimulation. I’ll take my time singing each “beep,” slowly tapping different parts of the body to increase overall tactile awareness. When singing “wah wah wah,” I’ll pretend as if I’m crying by holding up my fists right underneath my eyes and make a dramatic crying face. For people on the bus, I’ll lift my arms up and back down to target gross motor movement. When singing the doors go open and shut, I like to extend my arms out to the side and then close them back in, gently tapping the egg shaker that I’m holding on each hand. For the last verse, I’ll sing either mommy or daddy depending on the situation.This verse wouldn’t be appropriate for every patient, because some may not have good relationships with their parents, some may only feel connected to one parent and not the other, some may have parents who are not around, some may be long distance and some may not have parents who are alive, and the list goes on. So if you’re mentioning anything about mommy or daddy, be careful not to stir up negative emotions within the child. I would suggest singing this verse when the mommy or daddy is physically present during session to create bonding experiences between the parent and child. 

“Five Green and Speckled Frogs”

Five green and speckled frogs

Sitting on a speckled log

Eating the most delicious bugs, yum yum!

One jumped into the pool

Where it was nice and cool

Now there are four green speckled frogs, glub glub!

Four green and speckled frogs

Sitting on a speckled log

Eating the most delicious bugs, yum yum! 

One jumped into the pool

Where it was nice and cool

Now there are three green speckled frogs, glub glub!

Three green and speckled frogs... (repeat)

Two green and speckled frogs... (repeat)

One green and speckled frog 

Sitting on a speckled log

Eating the most delicious bugs, yum yum!

One jumped into the pool

Where it was nice and cool

Now there are no more speckled frogs, glub glub! 

This song is one of the most frequent songs I’ve used for my patients even outside of rehabilitation. I like to pair up boomwhackers and egg shakers to make it more fun and interactive for children. Boomwhackers are usually played by banging them against each other or on a hard surface to create various musical tones. But hardly have I ever used boomwhackers that way. How I’ve used boomwhackers in session is I’ll close one side of the boomwhacker and leave the other side open as a way to slide egg shakers through the tube as this creates loud “thump!” sounds. Instead of using it as a percussion instrument, I used the boomwhacker as an interactive toy for children. You could also make it into a musical game by sliding an egg from one side and having the child to catch it on the other side, then switch and take turns sliding and catching. As you can see, there is no traditional way of playing an instrument. It’s about using music as a tool to reach non-musical goals, and using instruments in a non-traditional way to reach specific goals and objectives. 

Because this is a counting song, I like to pause after singing “Now there are...” and ask the individual or group “how many?” before moving onto the next verse. Then I’ll have them count with me as I count out loud using my fingers, “1...2...3!” and then continue singing. I’ll pause after “one jumped into the pool...”, hand an egg shaker to the patient, and encourage them to slide it through the boomwhacker. So by the end of the song, all 5 egg shakers should be inside the boomwhacker. It’s also important that you create appropriate boundaries with your patient. I’ve had toddlers where, once they understood the pattern of sliding eggs down the boomwhacker, they would grab an egg immediately after singing each verse and they’ll try to slide it in before it’s their turn to do so. This will happen if you hand them the egg shaker too soon or if they’re in an area where they have complete access to grabbing the shakers  (shakers lying around everywhere on the floor, for example). So what I’ve done to avoid this is I’ll hold onto the egg until it is their turn. If they reach over to grab the egg away from my hand, I’ll gently pull away and continue singing or say “not yet!” Then for the next verse I’ll do the same thing by holding another shaker and having them to wait their turn. By creating boundaries, you’re making sure your patient isn’t taking full advantage of you and the instruments. Lastly, don’t be afraid to get silly by matching yourself fully to their level. It’s important to be able to see things from the child’s perspective to engage and connect with them. One thing I like to do is rub my belly when saying “yum yum!” and create funny sounds. This helps to maintain the overall energy throughout the song. 

One of the ways I’ve used this song in pediatric rehab was by placing a boomwhacker next to a standing drum for a patient working on balancing and strengthening muscles in his lower extremity. I had the patient to slide eggs through the boomwhacker each time he was able to stand for a duration of time without having to lean against the drum. This increased the patient’s overall motivation to stand longer, balance on both legs, and to independently stand on his own. Overall, music was used as a reward to reach his PT goals. 

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To this day, still one of my favorite Korean Christian songs. 

SoHyang- Butterfly sung by me (5 years ago!) 

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How to play “Creatures Under The Sea” 

Chords:  D - A7  

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Song Ideas for Pediatric Rehabilitation - Part 2

My top favorite songs for the floor drum! 

“Ants Go Marching”

“Boom Boom Ain’t It Great To Be Crazy”

“It Rained A Mist”

“Old Macdonald Had A Band”  

The floor drum is a great instrument to use for reaching, kneeling, and sitting balance for babies and toddlers. It’s most effective in group sessions, because it gathers everyone in to sit around the drum. Patients are able to face each other as they sit next to and across from each other, which increases inclusion and social awareness. I wouldn’t use this drum in individual sessions with shy and/or fearful patients, because it can get quite loud and is big in size. It can be overwhelming for patients who are doing music therapy for the first time or has stranger anxiety. For slow-to-warm patients, it might be best to sing and play a few songs on the guitar first (or using other small percussive instruments, such as egg shakers or maracas), and then slowly transition onto playing the floor drum once you see they’re more open to music. 

“Ants Go Marching”  -Use both hands one at a time to make a consistent beat on the drum.

Verse 1:

The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah (x2)

The ants go marching one by one, the little one stooops!

To play the drum! -> Start drumming with both hands and have patient(s) to drum with you.

And they all go marching down to the ground

To get out of the rain, boom boom boom...

Verse 2:

The ants go marching two by two hurrah, hurrah (x2)

The ants go marching two by two, the little one stooops!

To tie his/her shoe! -> Point to the child’s shoe or foot if he/she isn’t wearing any shoes. If it’s a group, point to your own shoe and have everyone follow you by having them point to their feet or shoes. You can ask everyone “where is your shoe?” Validate their actions by saying “There it is!” or “That’s right!” and then go back to drumming.

And they all go marching down to the ground

To get out of the rain, boom boom boom...

Verse 3:

The ants go marching three by three hurrah, hurrah (x2)

The ants go marching three by three, the little one stooops!

To climb a tree! -> Use your fingers or your fingernails to tap on the drum in an upwards motion from one side to the other side of the drum. I’ve had kids giggle whenever I tapped my fingers towards their direction- your fingers can look like a spider crawling up the drum.  

And they all go marching down to the ground

To get out of the rain, boom boom boom...

Verse 4:

The ants go marching four by four hurrah, hurrah (x2)

The ants go marching four by four, the little one stooops!

To knock on the door! -> Knock on the drum using your knuckles- “hellooo?”

And they all go marching down to the ground

To get out of the rain, boom boom boom...

Verse 5:

The ants go marching five by five hurrah, hurrah (x2)

The ants go marching five by five, the  little one stooops!

To give a high-five! -> Give patient(s) a high-five - up high and down low. It works on building rapport and arm movement.

And they all go marching down to the ground

To get out of the rain

Tips: Instead of just singing it straight through, make sure you’re interacting and engaging with the patient! This is just my way of playing this song on the floor drum to make it fun and interactive, but you can always change it to make it your own. You can add humor by coming up with silly words that rhyme with each number, or playing it faster/slower, louder/softer. I like to stop counting after five, because kids have limited attention spans and get distracted or bored easily. But repetition is always great, and by continuously playing a steady, consistent beat on the drum, it makes it more predictable and increases feelings of safety for the patient. 

I also like to count out loud slowly. For example, I’ll sing “the ants go marching... -pause- how many? 1...2...3! Three by three, hurrah hurrah...” I’ll hold up my fingers to count each number and make eye contact with everyone in the circle. Sometimes I’ll hear patients count with me, or they won’t say anything depending on their age and functioning level. Pauses are great for grabbing attention and allows you to be more present in the moment.

“Boom Boom Ain’t It Great To Be Crazy”

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to play music

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to have fun

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to play music

We are having so much fun 

-Repeat- (however many times)

This is a song that I piggybacked off of the television show Barney. I made it my own version by changing the melody and lyrics to match the patients’ needs, and matched my playing to the words “boom boom!” by playing it nice and loud. I like to play the drum throughout the entire song, but just playing on the “boom boom!” part works too. Make sure you exaggerate the “boom boom!” by playing slightly louder and then have your patients to play with you. You can also change the lyrics to work on different goals. Here are some examples:

(playing different instruments)

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to sing songs today

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to play drums

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to shake your shakers

We are having so much fun

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to shake our bells today

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to strum the guitar -hold it out for patient to strum-

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to play music

We are having so much fun

(emotions/feelings)

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to feel happy

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to smile- “Let me see your biggest smile!” 

Boom boom! Ain’t it great to feel excited

We are having so much fun 

etc..

(action-oriented)

Boom boom! Let me see you reach up high  

Boom boom! Let me see you reach down low 

Boom boom! Let me see you reach up high 

We are having so much fun

Boom boom! Let me see you tap your feet/shoulders/nose..

etc...

“It Rained A Mist”

Verse 1:

It rained a mist, it rained a mist

It rained all over the town town town

It rained all over the town

Verse 2:

The wind it blew, the wind it blew

The wind blew over the town town town

The wind blew over the town

Verse 3:

The thunder the stormed, the thunder stormed

The thunder stormed over the town town town

The thunder stormed over the town

-Repeat from beginning-

There are different versions of this song with additional lyrics, but I like to stick to these three verses for the floor drum. 

How to play: Use your fingers or your fingernails to tap on the drum to create rain sounds. I like to tap in a circular motion filling up the entire drum head. 

Use the palm of your hands to slide back and forth to create wind sounds. I like to go from left to right and pretend like I’m smearing something on the drum to create this sound. Gently rub, and have patients to do the same.

Lastly, use both hands to drum nice and loud for the thunder sound. This is usually everyone’s favorite part because you can go all out on the drum. Kids tend to enjoy banging on things especially if they’re in need of that high stim, so try to match yourself to their energy level. If you’re working with more shy or fearful patients, you can still engage them by using hand-over-hand assistance or by tapping more gently on the drum. Personally I like to play around with dynamics by playing loud at first, and then soft, then back to loud to better engage the group.

“Old Macdonald Had A Band”

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

And in that band there was a maraca E-I-E-I-O

With a shake shake here, and a shake shake there

Here a shake, there a shake, everywhere a shake shake

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

And in that band there was a bell E-I-E-I-O

With a ring ring here, and a ring ring there

Here a ring, there a ring, everywhere a ring ring

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

And in that band there was an egg shaker E-I-E-I-O

With a shake shake here, and a shake shake there

Here a shake, there a shake, everywhere a shake shake

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

And in that band there was a drum E-I-E-I-O

With a boom boom here, and a boom boom there

Here a boom, there a boom, everywhere a boom boom

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

And in that band there was a guitar E-I-E-I-O

With a strum strum here, and a strum strum there

Here a strum, there a strum, everywhere a strum strum

Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O

etc...

Place small percussive instruments on top of the floor drum that you’ll sing for your verses. I like to place one of each instrument- bell, egg shaker, maraca, etc. After I’ve placed them on the floor drum, I’ll start by singing and playing on the guitar. Then I’ll pause where it says “with a __ __ here, and a __ __ there...” and pick up the instrument that I’m singing about. For example, I’ll grab the egg shaker and shake it at the part where it says “shake shake” here, and a “shake shake” there, and sing this part in acapella. Then I’ll hand the egg shaker to the patient and have him/her to shake for me or with me using hand-over-hand assistance. Give lots of positive reinforcement once they’ve played the instrument (ex: “great playing!”, “good shaking!”, “awesome job!”, etc) and then go back to playing guitar starting from “Old Macdonald had a band E-I-E-I-O.” Then you’ll repeat the same thing using different instruments. If you’re working with a group, have each individual to take turns playing an instrument. 

For the drum verse, I’ll place either a lollipop drum on top or not place anything and just play the floor drum. You can use whatever drum you’d like, such as the bongos or smaller floor drum, as long as they fit on top of the floor drum. 

Tip: Remember you’re using music as a tool to reach their movement goals. This is not a music class, but music therapy. Although it’s important to engage and have fun with patients, make sure you’re using music intentionally throughout the song. 

Ex: “with a shake shake here, and a shake shake there..” -> Grab the egg shaker, model it for them by shaking it a few times, the hand it to the patient. As they reach to grab the egg from your hand, slowly move the egg shaker higher for the patient to reach upwards. Then move it to the side for them to practice reaching sideways as they continue to reach for the egg. You can also model shaking the egg, and then place it back on the floor drum. Place it further away from the patient (maybe at the edge of the drum) for them to crawl on top of the floor drum and reach over on their tummy (if working with a baby). This can help with tummy time and motor coordination. As you can see, there are different ways you can use this song to support physical therapists to reach their goals for their patients. 

Another tip is if you’re working with babies, maracas or chiquitas may be easier for them to grasp than an egg shaker. Maracas have handles on them, while an egg shaker doesn’t and requires clenching of the entire hand. An egg shaker might be too big and round for babies to hold onto from weak gripping strength.