Self-Care Through Song
Oftentimes, I find many of my clients, friends, families, and even other music therapists don’t use music for their own self-care. Why is this? Not even from a professional level as a music therapist, but from person to person? Music is integral to our wellness and ability to express the world around us. It has been used for storytelling forever, but so many people don’t have it as part of their own.
In this blog, let’s explore some of the ways in which you can have your stories be told through music therapy and by working with a music therapist.
Audiobiography - Similar to an autobiography, and audiobiography is you telling the story of yourself, but through music! What songs resonate with your life? What’s the song you played on repeat as a teenager? What song reminds you of those happy memories of childhood? How would you process being left at the altar by your second fiance? What song reminds you of your dog? To listen through that type of playlist, and share about each song, you’re given the space and ability to explore the self.
“Song of Myself” - How would you define your life in a song? How fast or slow would it be? What key would it be in? Major or minor? What style of music? What instruments would you add? Would there be lyrics? In writing a song of yourself, we’d walk through all of the steps and create a perfect song for a specific moment, or for your life as a whole. Learning to songwrite emotionally.
Expressive Music Journaling - Let’s begin a three-step intensive self-care and self-reflexive music journey! We’ll create through improvisations, reflect on those in the moment after a little bit of time has passed, and then create something new! This journey is very important, but also very emotionally heavy. It can be a way of taking old feelings and feeling Brand New about them.
If you have been searching for a way to process your feelings through music, these are three incredible ways that my inclusive, pay-based-on-YOUR-finances music therapy can work with you to create a meaningful experience.