Happy Holidays! Let's Talk Music Therapy Christmas Mashup...

I saw a meme the other day that said Music Therapy is mastering the art of the Mashup! In some ways this is absolutely true...

I posted a video on my IGTV recently featuring a medley of the following Christmas songs: Deck the halls, Jingle bells, and Go Tell it on the Mountain. If you don't already follow me on instagram head over to @mtahayley and follow my music therapy page. I post content relating to general wellness, creativity, and music therapy advocacy.

In my practice, I often use Medleys of songs with a similar theme to sustain active engagement and attention. Individually, each song can be used to target certain goal areas in addition to your umbrella goal of sustained attention and engagement.

“Deck the halls” is a great option for speech stimulation and the practicing of consonant OR vowel sounds (Fa La La La La).

“Jingle Bells” is a great song to use for practicing/maintaining functional movement through action or instrument playing activities. You can invite participants to “jingle those bells” (or change the words to fit whatever instrument and paired action). You can add directional cues (up high, down low, left, right, in a circle, etc.). The options are endless.

“Go tell it on the mountain” is a great song to use for sustained attention and following directions/cues. The verse section of this song is traditionally a lot slower in tempo then the chorus. Therefore proceeding with those tempo changes allows for your participants to adjust tempo with you or pause and wait for the cue to start again. ⏯

You can really be as creative as you want to be with music which is why I love this profession so much.

What are some of your ideas for Holiday music therapy interventions?🎄

xoxo Hayley