I think that, occasionally, it's work stating that music is really cool. This statement may make you think "Duh! If it wasn't, you wouldn't be a music therapist!" Before you change pages, however, hear me out. As music therapists, or any other professional who makes a living doing something they love, I think it may be easy to let your love of music (art, recreation, etc) become a bit of a burden. I've talked with a few music therapists who, like me, play music for hours a day, but once they get home, music is not part of their lives. I guess I've only heard it a few times, but it always disturbs me a little bit. If a music therapist loses sight of music as an amazing recreational activity, the therapeutic use of music therapy may become a just a job. Maybe this is the Millennial in me talking, but I want my job to be more than a pay check. I want it to be a calling, a mission, and a sense of fulfillment.
I understand, however, that through the sheer amount of time we spend playing music, we get worn out. If I play guitar all day, and then get home and play all night, I don't only have to worry about carpal tunnel (or other physical ailments). If music was only an activity where I play by myself, I could alienate my wife and other people I love. Therefore, this week, I've been thinking about ways that I use music as therapy for myself.
1) Music in the environment - Turn some music on when you get home. This sounds really basic, but I think people don't always think of this as therapeutic. At home, I like to play music while my wife and I go about our afternoon and evening. It always varies and we take turns choosing the music. My wife and I have some different tastes in music, so we end up learning new music. My wife listens to the radio (country and top 40) and I listen to music that doesn't get a lot of radio play (a lot of independent, experiemental music), so I get introduced to popular music and she gets introduced to music that tends to stretch the ears a bit.
2) Learning about music - I've always enjoyed learning. I like learning new music and musical instruments. My wife likes to poke fun at the number of instruments I've acquired (and still want). Whether I'm getting better at instruments I already have a basic understanding of (like the mandolin, cavaquinho, or violin) or learning something completely different (like the clarinet I got for my birthday), I just enjoy the challenge of learning.
3) Composition - Writing music is probably the most active way I use music as therapy for myself. Even if I don't necessarily sit down to write and process my life's events, they usually end up somewhere in my music. Sometimes, I realize it and consciously choose not to include it in my music, but sometimes it really seems to fit with the song and I keep it. There are other times that I sit down to vent my frustrations and anxieties (or joys), and even if I never end up playing those songs, they help me process the events that brought on the music. It's like holding a mirror to my emotional self.
4) Silence - Believe it or not, sometimes not using music can be just as therapeutic to me as listening, playing, or writing music. Our modern, fast-paced world seems to be very noisy and sometimes I forget what it's like to hear the world, instead of cars, television, and music. I recently took my dog for a walk and forgot my iPod. It was a fantastic time outside and I was reminded how the birds sounded. Now, when I go for a walk or run, I don't bring my iPod, because the world can give me enough to listen to.
I guess that's all I'll write about today. Perhaps over the next couple weeks, I'll expand each of these, because I'm pretty sure I could write for quite a while on each of these subjects.
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