Building Efficient Adaptive Music Programs

Last week, we held the fourth Creative Health conference at Bates College. My presentation was about building better adaptive music programs, so I thought I’d share some of the key points here.

We know that music is good for mood, motor skills, communication, social engagement, attention span, memory, sleep and pain. We know the need exists for better access to arts programming, especially for people whom our society tends to isolate. So it seems simple that we’d create arts programming that is accessible to all. But what does accessible mean? We can be more intentional about the manner in which we develop programs. Music therapists often end up being involved with adaptive music programs, but we don’t always need to be.

If it’s not music therapy, you can’t call it music therapy. This seems to come up a lot with musicians who work in special populations, like those who play at nursing homes- and the CBMT has advocacy materials explaining the training of music therapists and the potential harm of misrepresenting the field. Of course, music-as-healing has been around for eons- but as an organized profession, since the 1940s. Zumba and tango classes may be good for motor development of people with Parkinson’s, but they aren’t the same as working with a physical therapist (unless the dance class is taught by a PT). Music therapists work on therapy teams. They take referrals, make assessments, build treatment plans, and keep up with research and evidence. They can bill insurance. Music therapists have a specific training that combines theoretical areas: psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive behavioral, developmental, improvisational, analytical, neurological, medical, expressive.

All that being said, music therapists tend to over-advocate for the profession. It’s my thought that organizations can make use of talented teaching artists, provided the teachers- and the organizations- have an understanding of the goals of the program, the participants’ needs, and what adaptive music means to all involved. Below, I’ll share some of the skills that are needed.

Musical Skills for Teaching Artists

1. Create accessible, engaging, motivating musical situations- there are no wrong notes.

2. Provide spacious opportunity to explore within a safe structure.

3. Understand song structure, musical modes, chord changes, and what creates various styles/genres of music.

4. Be able to hold a steady beat/tempo.

Non-Musical Skills for Teaching Artists

1. Understand the populations with whom you’re working, but also respect individuality and differences- meeting one person with Parkinson’s is meeting one person with Parkinson’s.

2. Process over product: don’t say “great job” or “that was beautiful”- ask open ended questions and affirm the person’s experience in creating music.

3. Learn to be a good active listener, don’t fill in all the space.

4. Have patience.

5. Let go of your ego- both musically, and in relating your experience to a participant - you need to let go of your own responses to life events, and know that you’re there to support the participant’s experience.

6. Be professional.

Program Development

1. Be clear about what you are offering. Who is this program for? Who is facilitating the program? And why are you offering this? Are you meeting a need you’ve learned of through authentic interactions with the group?

2. Design of the space itself: accessibility (of entry, of musical space, of bathrooms), how we face each other in order to interact.

3. Structure of the group- how many weeks, how long is each session? What are the goals of this group, who developed these goals, and are they realisitc?

4. How to get the word out: Go where people already are going- we found that trying to do a singing group for lung cancer support was difficult because adults with lung cancer were apprehensive about singing unless they were trained. This particular group loved their exercise class, so we set up the singing group for directly after exercise class- they joined out of convenience and then loved it and kept coming back.

5. Funding? You should be paid. There is no reason the arts, arts education, or adaptive arts programs should be free. Grants are available that you or a partner organization can apply for, or you can have an organization sponsor your program. But be paid: you are a professional.

Ethical Considerations

1. Disability Rights: Consider universal design, consider whether the person is disabled or whether society dis-ables them to live freely. Focus on what each person is able to do, and what brings them joy, and go from there. Follow advocates of disability justice on social media:

   1. Allilsa Fernandez @inspirationalmentalhealth

      Anita Cameon @adaptanita

      Dustin Gibson at Harriet Tubman Collective

      Talila “TL” Lewis Be HEARD

      Sound Theatre Co

      Kinetic Light

      Rebekah Tausig @sitting_pretty

      Emily Ladau https://twitter.com/emily_ladau

      Vilissa Thompson Ramp Your Voice 

      Sins Invalid

      Universal Design and Arts Integration from the Kennedy Center

      Human-Centered Design from the Derby Center (UK)

2. Respecting privacy: if you and your client(s) create art together, it is theirs- they can decide whether they keep it, destroy it, or share it- and if they share it, they can decide how to share it and with whom to share it.

3. If performance, live or recorded, is going to be part of the process, you need to let participants know this up front and decide whether they want to participate. There should an option for folks to participate without being in the performance.

4. Organizations should be building programs based on need and interest of the greater community, not the funding interests of the organization. Participants should not be used for marketing purposes or to ‘set an example’. Learn from artists and leaders in the disability community and don’t take part in inspiration porn.

5. Photos, videos, recordings, should not be shared on social media without permission.

6. Be clear about what you’re offering and what education or experience your teachers have. Participants should know what they are consenting to participating in.

7. Cultural Competency: Do not assume anything about anyone- musically or otherwise- based on their age, where they’re from, their job or their family. Develop authentic skills in multicultural empathy. Be OPEN and AFFIRMING to everyone you work with. Allow for self-identification. Create a space that is open to expression in all forms- leave your own beliefs at the door, or in a journal you keep for yourself.

8. Consider where your funding is coming from and whether those funders/donors have certain expectations about your program and who will receive services.

Final Thought:

Teaching artists and arts nonprofits often don’t think about how challenging it can actually be to develop an adaptive music program- we could do well to reconsider the ways we offer traditional music program and music lessons to make them more accessible to all in the first place. One of many reasons for this is that our society has a less-than-stellar understanding of disability. People have both visible and invisible disabilities, and universal design, with multiple means of engagement, can help include every person who wants to participate.

There is also some danger of sending music teachers into sensitive settings without adequate training or support. Teaching artists should cultivate their own relationship with Music and Musicing to have their own place of expression and reduce burnout. Support and continuing education should be offered to any and all staff involved in development of adaptive music programming.