Come here often to find the latest tips, news, and activities you can use at home
Types of Therapy for Autism: 9 Therapies To Consider
Getting an autism diagnosis can be daunting. You may have questions about the next steps and how you can set your child up for success. Therapy is a common step in a post diagnosis journey, but where to start? There are so many options from traditional to non-traditional therapies and we are here to tell you some pros and cons to the multitude of options you have waiting for you!
Spring Break Hacks - How to make the most of your break!
Spring break is upon us, and with it comes a disruption in routine. We here at Musical Bridges understand that routines are so important and help make your kiddos feel comfortable and secure. We want to share some ideas to implement over spring break to make the most of it, while having fun too!
Tips and Tricks for Choosing Your Perfect Keyboard!
Congratulations, you’ve decided to start piano lessons! The first question every student or caregiver of a student often has is what keyboard or piano they should buy. If a real piano is not available to you, it is entirely possible to have a great experience learning with an electric keyboard. The following tips will help you to select the right keyboard for you or your student.
Neurologic Music Therapy: What is it?
Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) is the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions due to neurologic disease of the human nervous system (Thaut, 1999). This evidenced-based clinical treatment system is driven by advances (research) in neuroscience and an understanding that music can influence and change non-musical brain and behavior function. NMT employs 20 unique, trademarked techniques therapists use to target speech, sensorimotor, and cognitive skills.
Fall 2023 Newsletter
Even though most of the fall season has passed, we want to share some stories and highlights. We are so thankful for our community and the time we get to spend with you! Read ahead to learn about our new therapist, Ms. Proctor as well as some upcoming events for the new semester.
I Want Candy! - Halloween Social Story and More
October is here and that means spooky season is too! All of us here at Musical Bridges love Halloween and all of the fun that comes with it. How to add in seasonal and holiday fun to our Music Therapy sessions is always on our minds, Halloween has an abundance of fun songs and games to incorporate.
Welcome, Ms. Proctor!
Please join us in welcoming Ms. Proctor to the Musical Bridges family! Proctor has been a music therapist for two-and-a-half years, and has loved every minute of it. She has relocated to Nashville from Missouri, where she was raised. She is so excited to get to start her journey in Nashville!
Summer 2022 Newsletter
It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end! We've had so much fun making music with you this summer! Musical Bridges music groups are still the perfect place to make friends, play, and learn! Please read ahead to some amazing summer highlights as well as new and revised groups coming up this fall.
Neurologic Music Therapy Breakdown: MMT
Musical Mnemonics Training is a wonderful way to help individuals learn information. Musical Mnemonics are very prevalent in day-to-day life. Have you ever sung your ABC’s? Or created a little jingle to help you remember a set of numbers, no one can forget 8675309. We use music to remember information unintentionally on some parts and intentionally as well.
4th of July Firework Show Sensory Tips
The 4th of July is almost here! And with this holiday comes the beautiful, yet loud firework shows. Loud noises and bright lights can be difficult for a lot of people but especially for our friends who have serious sensory awareness. We here at Musical Bridges have put together a list of must haves for firework shows, including a fun song to sing on the way!
Happy Father’s Day!
Father’s Day is upon us! At Musical Bridges we know just how important dads are and how hard they work. We created a few fun Father’s Day activities you can do with your kiddo!
Songs We Loved this Spring!
This spring season is coming to an end and summer will soon be upon us. We have compiled a list of our top five favorite spring songs in three different categories that we have been singing all season!
Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is just around the corner! At Musical Bridges we know just how important moms are and how hard they work. We created a couple of fun Mother’s Day activities you can do with your kiddo! Get to know mom a little better with a sweet fill-in-the-blank style piggyback song. Or start with our all about mom worksheet to give you some ideas of what to incorporate in your song!
Tennessee TCAP Testing Tips and Strategies
We know how hard standardized tests can be, not only for the kids but for the parents as well. With exams coming up we put together a little list. We’re here to give you some tips and strategies to help with studying and taking tests. We have tips for at home studying and tips for when your kiddo goes to take an exam.
Easter Social Stories and Songs
Easter is just around the corner, and with it comes all of the fun activities. Like an Easter egg hunt! Whether this is your first hunt or your tenth, they can be a little overwhelming. Easter egg hunts aren’t your run of the mill past time, for most at least, meaning this could be something you only do once a year!
I Ain’t Worried Adapted Music
For today’s resource share, we’ve got the ever-popular Top Gun hit I Ain’t Worried by One Republic. You can play this song on piano, xylophone, boomwhackers, handbells, recorder, and more. The options are endless.
Neurologic Music Therapy Breakdown: MEFT
MEFT is the use of improvisation and composition exercises in a group or individually to practice executive function skills such as organization, problem solving, decision making, reasoning, and comprehension, within a social; context that provides important therapeutic elements such as performance products in real time, temporal structure, creative process, affective content, sensory structure, and social interaction patterns (Dolan 2002).
Self-Regulation Strategies for Kids
We will be elaborating on each of our group classes being offered at Musical Bridges! First, we have our class Self-Regulation Station. Join us as we explore and learn self-regulation skills through music, movement, and games!
Neurologic Music Therapy Breakdown: DSLM
What is DSLM?
DSLM is the specific use of developmentally appropriate musical materials and experiences to enhance speech and language development through singing, chanting, playing musical instruments, and combining music, speech, and movement (Thaut 2005).
Put simply DSLM is the use of music/music experiences to increase speech and language skills.
Neurologic Music Therapy Breakdown: MACT
Our last post regarding Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) gave a list of definitions for each of the techniques. Now it's time to get to the nitty gritty. What is this and how can it help? We will be breaking down each NMT technique in an individual post to help our families better understand how and why we do what we do! First on our list is one of our therapist's favorites— Musical Attention Control Training or MACT.