As a new music therapist, I was constantly on the hunt for new, unique, and unconventional items to add to my instrument and props collection. And although they were fun and different at first, the novelty wore off quickly…especially when I realized they weren’t super versatile for use across settings and populations.
It took a few years, but I finally came around to the fact that the most traditional instruments and props in my collection are also (usually) the most effective.
My music therapy colleagues had an entire conversation on this topic, and that led to brainstorming a new resource focused around using those traditional instruments and props — the ones almost all of use already have — to help our clients reach a wide variety of different goals.
We’ve been hard at work on that new resource for the last couple of months, and I can’t wait for its release next week! But in the meantime, I’ll share with you the instruments and props we’ve featured:
- Drums
- Rhythm sticks
- Scarves
- Shakers
These are the big 4 that we use every single day with just about every population in every setting. We’ve gotten really good at writing, adapting or finding songs that pair well with them, and that effectively target a number of different domains.
Stay tuned as we finalize our new resource and get it ready to share with you next week!
