There are many benefits to listening to music. Not only is it fun, but it also has the ability to reduce stress, ease pain, elevate mood, encourage socialization, improve cognition, and facilitate emotional expression. Curated playlists are a great way to experience the healing power of music!

Safety is a huge piece of the hierarchy of needs that human beings possess. But what is safety? We all know the basics like don’t touch the hot stove and don’t open the door to strangers, but how do we decide what is and is not safe for us when the answer isn’t quite so obvious? Merriam Webster defines safety as “the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury, or loss.” To truly understand how to protect ourselves, we must consider the different ways in which we can be hurt, injured, or lost: physically, psychologically, and emotionally.

On a scientific level, stress activates the nervous system and contributes to disruptions in our immune function, sleep patterns, mental wellbeing, and physical health. There are a multitude of tools at our disposal to help us manage stress and counteract its negative impacts on our day to day functioning. My goal with this blog post is to highlight some tips and tricks to manage stress. Stress management looks different for everyone, so please take what resonates with you and leave what doesn’t.

I went ziplining at an adventure obstacle course over the weekend. As we were gearing up, it started to sink in what I had really signed up for. You get a 30-minute safety briefing, but then that's it. There you are on the podium, staring down at the ground far below. Standing high above the ground, I realized that the more I thought about everything that could go wrong, the more distracted I could become and potentially hurt myself. My mind became laser-focused on the task at hand. First, make sure the equipment is put on correctly. Second, figure out the best way to start the obstacle. Third, start. This initially felt strange because I tend to overthink everything. Learning something quickly and then just doing it felt very far out of my comfort zone.

The primary aim of World Brain Day is to raise awareness about brain health and to educate the public on the importance of preventing and detecting neurological disorders early. Research shows that music training can protect the brain years before there is any sign of decline.  Our brain relies on plasticity and grey matter to learn new things. Playing music has been found to increase grey matter, and keep the brain active. So, it not only can help with individuals with memory impairments, but can also protect the brain from cognitive decline.  

Music is a great tool to work on speech and language development in children. It also can be used to restore language skills for an individual who has a neurological disorder. But why? There are many similarities between how speech and language are processed in the brain, and how music is processed in the brain. The OPERA hypothesis goes through the five reasons why music may enhance language learning, and how it could possibly help someone even more than speech alone.

On January 1st 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was the date that went down in history as the day that freed the slaves. However, not all the slaves could be freed. It could not immediately be implemented in states still under confederate control. So, for over 250,000 enslaved black people in Texas, their freedom did not come until over 2 years later, when troops arrived with an executive decree. This occurred on June 19th, 1865, which became known as Juneteenth.

April is National Stress Awareness Month. This is something everyone comes across at one point or another. A little bit of stress is a good thing! Can you imagine if you didn’t experience any stress at all, ever? It might mean you were living a pretty lethargic lifestyle with not a lot going on. That certainly isn’t good for you either. A little stress is what pushes you to plan for things, forces you to prepare for your upcoming presentation or study for a big test. But too much stress is not good for your health. Our bodies are built to deal with threats in the short term.

March 21st was World Down Syndrome Day, and I was so impressed by the reasoning behind it when I found out. March is the 3rd month of the year, and 21 represents the twenty-first chromosome that has three copies instead of the usual two, which is what causes Down Syndrome. The day was established in 2012. My late brother had Down Syndrome, so advocacy for individuals with the diagnosis is near and dear to my heart.

As February comes to a close, I have found myself reflecting on all the hearts and valentines I’ve seen as decorations and in stores. Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romantic relationships, but also about showing affection to friends and family members. I remember I absolutely loved Valentine’s Day when I was young, way before it had anything to do with flowers and candy.

I had some kind of sickness that was going around for the better part of the week. I couldn’t even talk on Monday, much less sing, but by the end of the week, my voice was pretty much back. I still couldn’t sing though, not really, and definitely not well enough to sing all day long for 9 music groups in a row. I wasn’t sick anymore though, so I had to devise a plan.

I have very fond memories of playing outside. I would stop indoors every couple hours for warm gloves, but I was then right back out again playing in the snow. My mom had to make me come inside, and that was only because it was getting dark outside.

December is a busy time of year, with presents to wrap and holiday parties to plan. It is a time to get together with family and friends, but also a time where all the little nuggets of time you may have found before are suddenly getting filled in. Instead of winding down on the couch, now you’re in the kitchen making Christmas cookies, going food shopping, or putting up decorations. With little ones in tow, it may suddenly seem very difficult to keep up with it all.

Children with ADHD are highly intelligent and creative, they just sometimes need additional strategies for tackling hurdles that arise in the learning environment. For example, they may have a difficult time paying attention, or are fidgety in class. Here are some of the ways music therapy can address some of these challenges.

There is a lot of focus in society to be thin and look as young as possible, but not much focus on living a healthy lifestyle. We are constantly bombarded with advertisements that reinforce this. It was bad enough when it was on TV or huge billboards, but now it is also on our social media feeds as we scroll through our phones. It is getting increasingly difficult to get away from it. A person can be physically “in shape,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is a healthy balance between their mental and physical health.

There are a lot of things in life we are able to prepare for. But every so often, life throws a curve ball and there is no way to feel prepared. When someone in your life is diagnosed with cancer, it can turn your life upside down in an instant. It can be devastating and life-altering. However, with the right tools and habits, those times of crisis become just a bit more manageable.

When you live in a place like New England, you want to take advantage of the sunshine during the nice summer days! Sometimes it is hard to find activities to keep the kids entertained, especially ones that are not only fun, but that also continue to foster their development.

I walked into the nursing home as I always did, following the hallway down to my client’s room. This time, she wasn’t there. I found her around the corner in the recreational common area on the main floor. I was happy to see her out and about, and glad I was able to find her without too much ado. I tried to enter discreetly, but that is always a challenge with a big guitar on your back and a jingling bag of instruments.

As Memorial Day rapidly approaches, and we prepare to honor those who have lost their lives defending our country, it is also a great opportunity to think about the profession of music therapy began. Music started being provided in hospitals during World War I, which led to courses offered at a university for what was called “musicotherapy” for the first time.

There are many ways you can use music to help students on the Autism spectrum work on different skills needed to be successful in the classroom. I have put together a list of the five that I feel I work on the most in my music groups.