I wear a shirt that reads “Reggaetón es cultura (reggaetón is culture),” from Hasta ‘Bajo Project with pride. In this context, I take my own approach.

A special shout out to my 2 year old client who’s Mom told me “He likes reggaetón,” and we played “Dame tu cosita” to engage his attention. It was the first time I used reggaetón in a Music Therapy context.

Reference

Park, S., Williams, R. A., & Lee, D. (2016). Effect of Preferred Music on Agitation After Traumatic Brain Injury. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 38(4), 394–410. https://doi-org.loyno.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0193945915593180

Recommendation

https://futurostudios.org/podcasts/loud-the-history-of-reggaeton/

References / Recommendations

The Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy

Graulau, B. (2022). Aqui Vive Gente [Documentary film].

Chen, Y-J., Lin, Y-T. (2023, April 20-22). Addressing Sex in Music Therapy for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [Conference Presentation] NER-AMTA 2023, Stowe, VT, United States.

Follow Recommendation

https://www.hastabajoproject.com/

As a Music Therapist, some of my work involves Rhode Island’s Early Intervention Program.

[This] program promotes the growth and development of infants and toddlers who have a developmental disability or delay in one or more areas. One of the goals of Early Intervention is to provide support to families so their children can develop to their fullest potential. Services are provided in places where children usually play or take part in daily activities.

There is no cost to families to receive Early Intervention services. Children do not have to be eligible for RI Medicaid to receive services. © 2023 RI.gov.

I work with families and visit their homes. I am a guest, so I remove my shoes if they request it, and I set up my session area where they prefer. I am exposed to different family cultures and values, entering their space as an outsider looking in.

In general, we are advised not to accept gifts or items in exchange for our services to prevent anyone from feeling obligated to reciprocate after a therapy session.

One particular experience stood out to me recently…

Once you enter this Dominican family’s house, you are embraced by the delicious smells of fried food, carne asada, sazón, and plantains…

In between Wheels on the Bus and Happy and You Know it I am reminded of the smells that make me feel at home. Making small talk, I tell the family, “Que rico huele,” (It smells delicious). They are quick to offer me some food, insisting that I try, and laughing when I deny their offer – they say “Ah estas de dieta?” (Oh, you’re on a diet?). For the first weeks of visits, I battle with my culture and my education. I am divided. Is their food payment or an avenue of connection? I reflect on my own experiences and Dominican/Puerto Rican/Caribbean families and friends who always offer you their whole kitchen once you step through their door. “Tienes hambre?” (Are you hungry?). 

I make my decision. It is informed by my cultural practices that dismantles the hierarchical ways I am told to practice therapy. 

On my next visit, I tell Grandma, “Sabes que? Si, te pruebo un pedacito.” (You know what? I’ll try a little piece). The Grandma, excited, is quick to say “Te voy a dar un pedazo de carne – pero necesitas pan” (I’ll give you a piece of meat but you need some bread too). Before I know it, she is serving me a plate of carne asada with a side salad and a morir soñando, a popular dominican drink. I am seeing Grandma interact with my baby client as they eat and share over food. My baby client comes close to me and steals a piece of meat off my plate as she looks at me – she finally feels comfortable around me too. 

Grandma reflects with me about other providers that visit her home saying: “Esta gente que viene, ya no les ofrezco nada de comer porque cuando me dicen que ‘No’ eso me dice que no quieren conocer de mi cultura- me estan diciendo que no son de mi cultura” (Those people that come, I don’t offer them anything to eat anymore because when they say ‘No’ they are telling me they don’t want to share in my culture- they don’t want to know my culture). I enjoy the good food, and smile knowing I made the right decision –  as they say “Barriga llena, corazón contento” (Full stomach, happy heart).

As clinicians we are informed by our education but we must be constantly learning and adapting. Sometimes we must break from our idea of what is right and learn from those we serve in order to provide informed care. 

• 

Lesson 1: Crisis Management or Crisis Prevention? So you tripped over a rock and skinned your knee. You might get a band-aid to stop the bleeding, but wouldn’t it also help to make sure the obstacle is removed so it doesn’t happen again? There will always be obstacles in your way (aka bad moments), what matters is what you learn from them. Will you work on crisis management or crisis prevention?

Lesson 2: The Golden Standard. It’s good to have dreams and aspirations. It’s good to have those who you look up to. But if one day you “underpreform” or fall short don’t let it turn into a spiral of impostor syndrome. Data-wise, think, how many bad days have there been compared to the good days? Analyzing these data points, is it fair to conclude that you should give up and leave the profession? Probably not… Everyone has bad days, even those who you look up to. Remember the moment you fell in love with what you do. Which leads me to the most important lesson…

Lesson 3: The Rock Climbing Wall. The first time you go “bouldering,” (Rock Climbing) you might be able to do the basic climbs, coupled with a fear of heights and imminent exhaustion. This doesn’t mean that you will always be this bad, it just means that you’re starting out and it’s unfamiliar. The more you go, the stronger your muscles will get and the less you will fear falling. Which means that likewise, anything you’re learning will take time. You might cry – just like you might sweat. You might not quite know what you are good at yet – just like when you’re muscles are all sore. Eventually you will adapt and learn and be able to redirect so that your biggest challenge will turn into your biggest strength.

¿Conoces “El amor en tiempos de cólera” por Gabriel García Marqués? (1985). Pues aquí, “La meditación en tiempos de COVID-19”. Mientras estamos encerrados en casa esperando por lo peor, les invito a recordar que podemos retomar unos minutos de cada día para prioritizar nuestra paz mental. Les comparto una adaptación de meditaciones guiadas de musicoterapia.

Este proyecto surge de un llamado de mi prima, preocupada por la ansiedad que viven sus estudiantes. Como maestra de educación bilingüe, me dice que ha tenido que convertirse en “Youtuber” (enlace aquí) grabando videos y editándolos con su contenido original. Me dice que el material educativo en español es muy limitado. Al ser estudiante de Musicoterapia y Psicología, me preguntó si conocía de meditaciones en español que pudiera proveerle a sus estudiantes. Pronto me encontré con la misma dificultdad que mi prima. Al no conseguir materiales en español, decidí adaptar este material para el uso de una población hispanoparlante. Aquí les presento el comienzo de un proyecto de recopilar material meditativa en español y traducir material del inglés. Espero que puedan respirar, soltar la quijada, y despejar la mente por unos minutos.

Ahora, piensa en todos los lugares a donde te gustaría ir, y escoge tu lugar favorito… puede ser adentro… puede ser afuera… puede ser un lugar secreto. Yo no sé dónde es, ¡pero tú sí!… Piensa en ese lugar y cuán feliz eres ahí…tal vez hay otra gente contigo (familiares o amigos o tu mascota)… Disfruta de este lugar especial.

La música ha terminado. Escucha el silencio y recuerda tu lugar favorito y como te sentías… recuerda las personas que estaban contigo, o tal vez un animal. Este lugar es tuyo y siempre puedes regresar… Por ahora, despídete y despierta tu cuerpo lentamente… ¿escuchas algo?… estira tu cuerpo… tus brazos… tus piernas…. Inhala y exhala. Cuando estés listo, abre los ojos y despierta completamente.

Adaptado y narrado por Olaia O’Malley de: Rickard, J. (1992) Relaxation for Children . Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research Grocke, D. E., & Wigram, T. (2006). Receptive methods in music therapy: Techniques and clinical applications for music therapy clinicians, educators, and students. Música meditativa por Thrad Lee Agradecimiento especial para Ms. Mari, maestra de educación bilingüe.

“A dormir, a soñar, sueña dulce cometa que nos vamos de paseo por las nubes de algodón…”

I’m sure you can hum along to this melody. This was a song I grew up hearing in English but most recently I heard sung in Spanish during my time working with infants in Puerto Rico.

“Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep my little baby…”

Perhaps you heard this version, this was the one I grew up listening to. Maybe you know it best as…

“Guten Abend, gute Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht, mit Näglein besteckt, schlupf′ unter die Deck!”

Brahms Lullaby.

It’s interesting how most people can hum along to this melody, or perhaps even sing the lyrics the way that their caregivers have done so in the past. Almost everybody you ask has a different version of this song. Why does this resonate with so many? How come I can sing this song to babies in Puerto Rico and also babies in Germany? When you ask anyone about this song, they will immediately agree that it is soothing and/or reminds them of their childhood. As a Music Therapy student I was curious to answer these questions.

In an article written from the perspective of musicologists, and developmental and comparative psychologists titled, “The Origins of Music: Innateness, Uniqueness, and Evolution” by McDermott and Hauser, I found some of my answers. The musical structure of lullabies are catered to what babies tend to give attention and seem happier to. For uses of comparison, it is the difference of infant-directed speech and regular speech. When babies come into a world filled with overstimulating sensory experiences, they don’t yet know how to differentiate or focus on one specific thing. If you sit down to think about all the lullabies from your youth, you’ll probably realize that:

1. There is a simple repeated melody across the entirety of the song
2. Intervals are kept to steps of thirds, seconds or fifths.
3. There is an abundance of descending notes or intervals.
4. The tempo is slow.

However, experts in music development argue that music traditions are reliant on the nature of ones upbringing and that atonal music can sound normalized to those who are used to it. Although this is true, the structural integrity of our brains and the way our ears are formed beg for consonance as heard in nature. The sounds humans have been normalized to are based on the way our ears have been structured through evolution and thus structured through nature.

It might be interesting to do further research on the question of differences in nature worldwide. Not everyone grows up with the Amazon forest in their backyard or the icy hilltops of the Himalayas. Nature sounds are different depending on where we grow up and yet lullabies such as Brahms Lullaby still seems to capture infants attention.

To quote one of my favorite composers,

Perhaps many of the perplexing problems of the new music could be put into a new light if we were to reintroduce the ancient idea of music being a reflection of nature. -George Crumb

 

I feel the sudden urge to go write a lullaby now…

 

McDermott, J., & Hauser, M. (2005). The origins of music: Innateness, uniqueness, and evolution. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 23(1), 29-59.