Come here often to find the latest tips, news, and activities you can use at home
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.
Why We Specialize: Focusing on the Special Needs Community
In this post we will be delving deeper into why we work with the populations we do. Here at Music Bridges the majority of the clients we see are children with special needs. Similarly to other professions, Music Therapists tend to specialize in certain populations whether that is hospice, mental health, medical, or pediatric. With this being said, just like those other professions, we narrow down our focus and learn as much as we can in order to provide the best care for our clients.
Integrating Gestalt Language Processors in Music Therapy for Specialized Support
Welcome back. Today we will be addressing gestalt language processing and how we adapt music therapy sessions to support our clients who acquire language in this way!
Neurologic Music Therapy: Techniques and Benefits for Down Syndrome
We work with a wide variety of diagnosis, Down syndrome being one of the top populations seen at Musical Bridges. Individuals with this diagnosis can greatly benefit from the use of Neurologic Music Therapy as there are several cognitive aspects within their diagnosis.
Below we will detail some of the ways NMT can benefit individuals with Down syndrome and work towards their personal goals.
The Importance of Augmentative Alternative Communication Devices
WHAT IS AN AAC DEVICE?
An Augmentative Alternative Communication Device (AAC) is a communication tool for individuals that are non-speaking or minimally speaking. It can take many different forms: a tablet, picture cards, even certain apps on cell phones. Musical Bridges believes that all forms of communication are valid, and that a client’s preferred method of communication should always be presented to them in sessions.
What Makes Musical Bridges Different?
All clients and partners of Musical Bridges are cherished by the staff. We celebrate our clients’ accomplishments and work hard to provide as much support as we can to see them grow and flourish. When you become a client at Musical Bridges, you become a part of our Musical Bridges family. We love to see everyone’s achievements both in and out of sessions, and we do our very best to contribute to those accomplishments and celebrate when they occur.
If you would like to be a part of our Musical Bridges Family, we would love to serve you!
Can I Benefit From Music Therapy if I Don’t Have a Diagnosis?
Yes! You absolutely can benefit from Music Therapy without a diagnosis! We have shared in length how we support individuals with a wide array of diagnoses; this, however, does not mean you need a diagnosis to participate in music therapy. Getting a diagnosis can be time consuming, costly, and daunting. Many individuals go their entire lives without officially being diagnosed in anyway. When we say music therapy is inclusive, that includes everyone!
Neurologic Music Therapy Techniques and Benefits for Autism
At Musical Bridges one of the primary populations we work with are individuals with Autism. Individuals can benefit greatly from the use of different Neurologic Music Therapy techniques. Autism has neurological elements that can have an effect on individuals, and NMT targets the neurologic intricacies of diagnoses.
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!
Using Music Games in a Clinical Setting
Here at Musical Bridges, we like to use all possible tools we have to our advantage. One of our favorite items to add to any sessions are games! Games can be a great addition to a therapy session, whether it be a board game, puzzle, card, game, educational game, etc. we love them all!
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!