by Rachel | Professional Development, Resources & Tips
Did you know that January is Social Media Advocacy Month for the field of music therapy? As we wrap up this first month of 2017, I’d like to share an introduction to advocacy for music therapists, provided by the Certification Board for Music Therapists.
Advocacy can help open doors, produce opportunities for growth, expand your horizons, and grow your personal and professional network.
That said, advocacy is also not without its challenges. Over the course of the past decade, music therapists have been faced with responding to misinformed, potentially damaging comments that can serve to undermine the profession and services we provide, all while striving to continue moving forward with advocacy efforts that make a positive difference. These negative exchanges can lead to feelings of frustration, anger, and stress, and serve to potentially distract us from focusing on our clients and our work.
In light of the contentiousness that seems to surround legislative and policy issues, we propose incorporating a spirit of mindfulness to advocacy efforts. Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. This requires an awareness of our attitudes, feelings, thoughts, and actions; an understanding of how they impact our experiences and behaviors; and a willingness to take responsibility for our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.
To that end, we offer the following guide to assist you in your search of an advocacy zen space and ask…when have you been REACTIVE or PROACTIVE in your advocacy efforts?
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by Rachel | Business Ownership, Professional Development, Resources & Tips
If you’re anything like my business partner Katey and myself, this month has been all about establishing goals, setting intentions, and making plans for 2017. Every year, we create a mantra — words to live by and guide our actions both personally and professionally. This year’s mantra is as follows:
Waste less. Share more. Live our why.
We come back to these words every time we have a decision to make, pursue a new project, or feel like we might be veering off course. It’s so important to know our “why” so that we make sure everything we do is in alignment with our values and ideals.
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by Rachel | Professional Development, Resources & Tips
Anytime you have the opportunity to talk with a total rockstar in your professional field about one of your favorite topics, you take it. Dr. Andrew Knight is a professor of music therapy at Colorado State University, and someone I’ve looked up to since meeting him quite a few years ago at an AMTA national conference.
He interviewed me for the songwriting course he is teaching this summer, and graciously allowed me to share the interview here with you. We talk about how I approach songwriting, the blocks many music therapists face when it comes to writing and sharing their work, my actual process, and of course, the Songwriting Challenge.
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by Rachel | Resources & Tips
One of the things I commonly hear from fellow music therapists is that they wish they were more skilled at songwriting. As someone who has written upwards of 300 songs for music therapy clients, classes, adult audiences, and otherwise, my response is always this: the more songs you write, the more skilled you become.
Prior to writing my first song, I didn’t have any specialized training. I wasn’t confident in my abilities at all, but I just kept writing. Each song became a little easier, and with time I gained the confidence to call myself a songwriter.
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by Rachel | Resources & Tips
Happy June! Not only is this my favorite month of the year, but it’s also my favorite week: my birthday is in just a few days :) Even though it means I’m turning another year older, I’m still looking forward to celebrating with the people I love the most.
But first I want to celebrate with YOU! I went back and forth on the best way to do that, in between prepping for a very full summer of classes and summer camps at the studio. And then I decided to do something I’ve never done before.
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by Rachel | Resources & Tips
It’s not often that I’m listed in the same sentence as Laurie Berkner, Dan Zanes, Charity Kahn, Music Together, and many other household names in the field of children’s music and education. So I’m taking this opportunity to shout from the rooftops about this free speaker series, for which that IS the case.
I’m assuming that since you’re reading this, you understand the importance of music, and that learning and music go hand in hand. It is also known that the biggest predictor of longterm life success and happiness is not “IQ” but actually “EQ” — emotional intelligence. So what does music have to do with emotional intelligence?
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