The complete archive
Tips, news, and activities you can use at home—preserved from the full Musical Bridges archive.
Neurologic Music Therapy®
Welcome back! Today, we are pulling back the curtain on what to expect from a therapeutic goal in Music Therapy. When creating goals for our clients, we consider a wide range of information. We look at insights from families, other therapists working with the
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Music Therapy
When you walk into a session at Musical Bridges, you might see a highly structured environment with visual schedules and a token economy. In the very next room, you might see a completely unstructured, play-based session where the client is leading the musical
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For those already familiar with music therapy, its ability to foster connection, expression, and healing is no surprise. But as our understanding of mental health evolves, so too does the scope and depth of music therapy's impact. No longer viewed simply as a
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Staff Highlights · Music Therapy · Music Lessons
Please join us in welcoming Mrs.Sofia to the Musical Bridges team! Sofia recently relocated to Nashville from Indianapolis, Indiana, where she completed her Music Therapy degree. She is excited to bring her experience, dedication, and passion for music therapy
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Neurologic Music Therapy · Assessment
Assessments are a huge part of any type of therapy, they help create baselines, show progress, and are vital in research. Whether you realize it or not assessments are a common practice in therapeutic settings including Music Therapy, especially in Neurologic
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Music Lessons
Voice lessons offer children much more than just the ability to sing in tune. They foster emotional intelligence, cognitive development, communication skills, and self-confidence. For children with disabilities, voice training can be especially transformative—
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Please join us in welcoming Ms. Rachel to Musical Bridges! Rachel relocated to Nashville from Charlotte, North Carolina, where she had lived her entire life. She is excited to become the newest member of the team and apply her experience and passion for Music
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Halloween · Parent Resources
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
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Parent Resources
Mother's Day is just around the corner – a special time dedicated to honoring the incredible women who nurture, guide, and love us unconditionally. It's a day to say "thank you" for the lullabies sung, the patient encouragement given, and the unwavering suppor
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Parent Resources
Last updated: January 2026 I. Introduction: Staying Updated on Katie Beckett Support Tennessee's Katie Beckett Program stands as a crucial resource for families navigating the complexities of caring for children under 18 who have significant disabilities or co
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Communication · Neurologic Music Therapy
Communication is a central focus for many of our clients, whether through verbal speech, sign language, or alternative communication devices. At Musical Bridges, we utilize a variety of Neurologic Music Therapy® techniques to help clients enhance, expand, and
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Parent Resources
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
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Neurologic Music Therapy · Music Therapy
Welcome back! 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 c
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Speech · Parent Resources
Welcome back. Today we will be addressing gestalt language processing (GLP) and how we adapt music therapy sessions to support our clients who acquire language in this way! For many years clinicians were taught to discourage scripting or delayed echolalia of a
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Neurologic Music Therapy · 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
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AAC · Parent Resources
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. Musi
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Parent Resources
MUSIC THERAPY VS. THERAPEUTIC MUSIC One of the responses that a music therapist will frequently get when they are asked their profession is, “Oh, I do my own music therapy on my own! I make my own playlists and listen to them when I need a break.” This is a gr
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Music Therapy · Neurologic Music Therapy
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 c
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Neurologic Music Therapy · 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 impact mutiple areas o
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Music Therapy · Neurologic Music Therapy
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-
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Music Therapy · Neurologic Music Therapy · Music Lessons
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 t
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Unlock Your Child's Potential: Discover How Fun Musical Games Drive Real Therapy Results Is traditional therapy sometimes a struggle? Do you wish there was a way to help your child build crucial skills while actually having fun ? At Musical Bridges, we harness
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Neurologic Music Therapy
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 (res
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Neurologic Music Therapy · Speech
Welcome back to our NMT™ breakdown! When you last joined us, we went in-depth regarding Musical Mnemonics Training® or MMT™ . We will next be focusing on communication skills. The technique we will be elaborating on is Vocal Intonation Therapy® or VIT™ . Vocal
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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 t
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Neurologic Music Therapy
Welcome back to our NMT™ breakdown! Last time we highlighted Musical Executive Function Training (MEFT)® which fell under the cognitive category of NMT™. We will be continuing our focus on the cognitive category of NMT™. The technique we will be discussing is
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Parent Resources
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
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Parent Resources
The Unbreakable Duet: How Music Harmonizes Father-Child Bonds This Father's Day (And Every Day) Father's Day is a time of heartfelt appreciation, a day dedicated to celebrating the unique and often deeply felt bonds between fathers and their children. Yet, wor
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Parent Resources
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! Jam out with your kiddo with our top five spring children’
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Parent Resources
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 some ideas to help you get through standardized testing season. We’re here to give you some tips and strategies to help with stu
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Parent Resources
Easter is just around the corner, and with it comes all of the fun activities. In this post we will provide three different social stories and some helpful songs to combat the nervousness that comes with different unknown activities! We will cover Easter egg h
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Parent Resources
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. Tips : The line ABOVE a letter means to play h
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Neurologic Music Therapy · Music Therapy
Welcome back to our NMT™ breakdown! When you last joined us, we went in depth regarding Developmental Speech and Language Training (DSLM) ®. This week we will be moving back to cognitive functions. The technique we will be elaborating on is Musical Executive F
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Group Classes
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! Self-regulation is an essential l
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Music Therapy · Neurologic Music Therapy®
Welcome back to our NMT™ breakdown! Last time we placed a spotlight on Musical Attention Control Training (MACT)®, which fell under the cognitive category of NMT™. This time, we will be focusing on a different aspect, speech and language development. The techn
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Music Therapy · Neurologic Music Therapy®
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 hel
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We hope you all can join us in welcoming our newest addition to the Musical Bridges Family! Lydia is a Music Therapist joining us from our neighboring state, Alabama. Lydia is thrilled to be joining us in Music City and has had a wonderful time meeting all of
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Music Therapy · Neurologic Music Therapy®
As Neurologic Music Therapists, we employ a variety of techniques in our work. We thought it would be useful to have them all in one place as a simple point of reference. For parents and caregivers, refer to these definitions to learn the acronyms when reading
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Music Therapy
*Last updated 7/17/2026 This article provides an overview of the KB waiver in TN. For updates to the program, see Key 2025 Changes. The first Katie Beckett waiverwas implemented in 1981 after President Ronald Reagan was inspired by the story of Katie Beckett.
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Christmas
Check out our 2022 Advent calendar with a 24 fun-filled musical activities to do throughout the month of December, counting down to the big day! We hope you get some inspiration and bring a bit of extra music into your life this holiday season. I’m looking mos
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Resource Fairs
What an amazing day with the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee. We loved supporting our clients with Down Syndrome and meeting so many new friends in the community. This was our first time at this event and surely not the last. Check out some of th
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Krystal is thrilled to be in Music City after braving the snow and ice in Minnesota and Iowa for several years. She has loved meeting all of our clients and families, heaving a silent sigh of relief each time you remind her that winters here in Tennessee are m
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Education
YES- Of course! However, we get asked this question all the time. Many people do not realize that Music Therapy is a bachelor’s degree, offered in over 70 colleges and universities in the United States. Many of these programs also have Masters and Doctorate le
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Neurologic Music Therapy®
Earlier this year, our founder, Ms. Melissa, completed a 4-day intensive training in Neurologic Music Therapy. Neurologic Music Therapy® (NMT™) is the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions due to neurologic disease of t
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Recital
Our 3rd and final virtual recital is in the books! The students played remarkably well and all made such tremendous progress since last semester, despite nearly all being virtual for the last year due to the pandemic. We are all so proud of their dedication an
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Resource Fairs
We have missed in person events!! It was the best way to spend my birthday meeting families at the Cheatham County Kids book walk yesterday. We were able to share about our amazing summer camps and get quite a bit of exercise in ourselves carting our instrumen
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Collaboration
Part of being a Music Therapist is advocating for the profession. One of the ways we do this at Musical Bridges is to hold in-services with our community partners to educate and share the benefits of Music Therapy, and more specifically, Neurologic Music Thera
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Happy World Down Syndrome Day! What is Down syndrome? Down syndrome is a developmental disability where someone is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21. It is the most common chromosomal condition, affecting approximately one in every 700-800 people in the
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Self Care
Last updated: January 2026 Music is a fantastic way to express feelings, which is why there are infinite love songs. Check out this list for 25 love songs you can listen to for Valentine’s Day, or any time of year. Also, make sure to read our 30 Songs for Your
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Song Share · January
Who’s ready for some cold weather fun? We’ve got 2 songs that are guaranteed to get you moving and singing. Come join us for some thaw-some fun! ☃️
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Self Care
Whether you’re young or old, we’ve got a mixture of songs to help get you through these cold months. Some will make you want to get up and dance and others are better for relaxing by the fire with a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate. Whatever your taste, we’ve g
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New Year's Resolutions
Have you ever created a word of the year for yourself or your business? We hadn’t until this year, but I’m really excited to have one theme for the entirety of 2021. There’s never been a year in history like 2020 where everyone across the globe has been impact
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New Year's Resolutions
Happy New Year, everyone! 2020 is finally coming to a close and we are all looking forward to a better year in 2021. While many things have seemed out of control this past year, it can be comforting to work towards something new and different. When making a Ne
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Holiday Break
Somehow it is already that time of year again, time for holiday break! Activities and gatherings are limited due to the pandemic, and taking a break from school or work may make it seem like there is absolutely nothing to do. If you are finding yourself in thi
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Christmas · Song Share
For more fun, check out these videos below demonstrating several of our favorite Christmas songs.
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Thanksgiving · Song Share
For loads of extra excitement, check out these videos below demonstrating several of our favorite Thanksgiving songs and activities.
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Fall
This time of year, people often reflect upon things they are thankful for, such as friends and family. We would like to take a moment to reflect on music we are thankful for. Music can reach people in a variety of ways as it can accompany important life moment
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Fall
To say 2020 has been a difficult year is an understatement. It’s been hard at times to find things that we are grateful for amongst all of the turmoil in the world. However, it’s during this season of thanks that it’s even more important to reach out to those
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Halloween · Song Share
For more added spooky inspiration, check out these videos below demonstrating several of our favorite Halloween songs.
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Halloween
Happy Halloween, everyone! Here are a few fun ideas to incorporate into a Halloween-themed music therapy session or at home. If a client has an individualized goal in regard to speech , there are plenty of unique and exciting Halloween sounds to incorporate in
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How To
What a strange time this is. Due to all the uncertainty and excess time spent at home, you may be wondering what to do to pass time after watching everything on Netflix. Music is something that can be an engaging process alone or with others. Listening to musi
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Telehealth
During this uncertain time, many music therapists across the globe have transitioned to providing music therapy services online. Musical Bridges is no exception. Many of our clients have been logging in to their individual Google Meet link each week to make mu
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Mental Health
Mental health is such an important issue, and one that we really don’t pay enough attention to. One very interesting connection is the one between music and mental health. We listen to music every day – whether through choice or not – and the ways in which it
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Addiction
There’s a reason it’s called “recovery.” Your addiction damaged every aspect of your life: your body, mind, and spirit have all felt the impact. Your overall health has been weakened as you struggled with your demons. But now you’ve made the commitment to over
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Resource Fairs
We had a great time at the Cheatham County Kids Autism Awareness event yesterday. One of our music therapists, Jason, represented the company and had the awesome opportunity to meet the families and companies that were there. Thank you to Cheatham County Kids
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Resource Fairs
Thank you to all the families that stopped by our Musical Bridges table at the summer opportunities fair last night. Mr. Jason and I loved meeting you! If you have any follow up questions please give us a call or send a message about the services we offer. We’
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How To
Today’s GUEST POST is from Lucy Wyndam who, after battling her own anxiety challenges as a teen and young adult, has spent her adult life focused on helping others manage their own anxiety issues. She is teaching us about making homemade weighted blankets. Rea
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Sensory Friendly
The Nashville Symphony is hosting their second sensory friendly family concert THIS Saturday 2/10 at 11am. This concert is designed to accommodate listeners with autism and other disabilities that cause sensory sensitivities. Tickets are $23 all fees included.
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Hiring
Musical Bridges has an opening to hire one full time or two part time contract positions available to start immediately. Send resumes to jobs@musicalbridges.com . Musical Bridges was founded in 2005 with the vision of providing quality music therapy services t
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Free Day of Music
I want to encourage locals to go to The Nashville Symphony annual “Free Day of Music.” It is on Saturday, October 21st starting at 10:30 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. According to the symphony website, they will have over 20 acts on 4 stages performing clas
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Resource Fairs
Thank you to all the families that stopped by our Musical Bridges table at the PATH to Independence DisABILITY Resource Expo today. Please give us a call or send a message if you have any questions about the services we offer. Special thanks to Ms. Calli for r
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Music Lessons
I’d like to introduce our new strings instructor, Ms. Annabelle to the Musical Bridges team. She started over the summer and already has several students but is looking for more. If you know anyone interested in violin or viola lessons please send them our way
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Resource Fairs
Thank you for all the parents and friends that stopped by our Musical Bridges booth at the “Reach for the Stars” fair yesterday at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. It was wonderful to meet you all. Please give us a call or send a message if you have any quest
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The importance of keeping a beat: Researchers link ability to keep a beat to reading and language skills. The findings of a Northwestern University study of more than 100 high school students lend proof to the surprising link between music, rhythmic abilities
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The Nashville Symphony is hosting their first-ever sensory friendly family concert on March 25 at 2 pm . They want to ensure that this concert is designed for everyone, including young children, children with autism, and children with disabilities that cause s
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Last week at the preschool we sang a cold weather song that instructed the children to dress up in a winter hat, mittens, jacket, snow pants, and snow boots. Usually we dress up a laminated man and velcro his clothing on but this year I decided to have the chi
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Hi families. Please see the information below from Autism Tennessee . Musical Bridges will be an exhibitor this year. I hope to see you all there this Thursday! At our 9th Annual Summer Opportunities Fair, we are excited to welcome individuals and agencies to
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Another recital down! I was so proud of the Musical Bridges private lessons students for their performance this past Sunday! We had students on piano, guitar, violin, drum, and voice. They all played their hearts out and were fantastic! A special thank you to
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I recently found this article from the National Association of Music Education that talks about ways to support your local music program at public school. With schools losing funding left and right it’s essential that parents get involved and help save these p
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Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month I thought I’d share a handful of the many articles written on how music therapy can be beneficial and life saving in breast cancer treatment. This is a small sampling. Check out more at American Music Therapy Asso
Read moreThe Nashville Symphony is hosting its annual Free Day of Music on Saturday, October 22nd at starting at 10:30 am. They will feature over 20 acts on 4 stages performing classical, country, rock, jazz, world music and more. They will also have a kids’ zone featu
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Group drumming is one of the oldest forms of healing that dates back to the Stone Age. Known more widely as a Shamanic drumming circle, its focus is to gather the community together including people of all ages, with its main objective: to establish a connecti
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The Rising Star Choir begins September 11 at 2:30 PM in Room 12 in the Massey Performing Arts Center on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville. This choir is open for children with Autism or other special needs ages 8 to 18 years old. If you know someon
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I am out of the country on a summer cruise but wanted to reach out and share a fun picture. Playing the piano cannot escape me. Even on a cruise ship, there’s an entire room dedicated to pianos with a grand piano, piano artwork, and themed tables and chairs. T
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I recently discovered an article from Popular Science about how music enters the brain and what it does when it gets there. The story is told primarily through the cartoon pictures shown below. The infographic was created by the University of Florida and break
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As Memorial Day is approaching, I want to say thank you to our service men and women both past, present, and future. Your sacrifice will hopefully never be forgotten. I always take the opportunity to do a Patriotic theme with the preschoolers on Memorial Day t
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I could not be more proud of the Musical Bridges private lessons students for their performance this past Sunday! We had students on piano, guitar, violin, drum, and voice. They all played so beautifully and did great! A special thank you to the parents who sa
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I had a wonderful time today at the special needs spring resource fair in Thompson Station hosted by Williamson County Link and Williamson County Schools. Special thanks to Sheila Robb for inviting Musical Bridges to participate. I loved meeting all the new fa
Read moreToday 3/21/16, is World Down Syndrome Awareness Day. World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), observed on 21 March every year, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The date for WDSD being the 21st day of the 3rd
Read moreI found an amazing video today from TED-Ed that talks about how when you listen to music how multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. However, when you play an instrument, that same activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. Anita Col
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While picking up children for their music enrichment class at preschool last week I discovered that one of the girls I’ve taught for 4 years chose MUSIC to be her superpower. Her teacher came up to me and wanted to show me some artwork the class had been worki
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Hi everyone. Schools all around middle Tennessee are closed today due to the snowy weather. With more snow in the forecast for Friday, I thought it might be fun to give you a creative song to try with your preschoolers that embodies the snow theme. We tried th
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SURFSIDE BEACH, SC—The Surfside Beach Town Council signed the first-ever proclamation to make Surfside Beach the first autism-friendly travel destination. Becky Large, the founder of the Champion Autism Network, or CAN, was present when the council signed the
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I could not be more proud of the Musical Bridges private lessons students for their performance this past Sunday! We had students on piano, guitar, violin, drum, and voice. They all played beautifully and did so well! Most importantly, I think everyone had fun
Read moreSince Thanksgiving will be here next week I thought I’d share a fun game that I play during my preschool music classes called Pass the Thankerchief. It is a twist on the original hot potato game, passing a big handkerchief around the circle instead of a potato
Read moreLeah Oswanski was featured on Saturday, October 10, on ABC 7 TV in New York discussing and educating the public about music therapy on a segment of a special program “Breast Cancer: Promising Research and Options.” Leah is the music therapy program coordinator
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Thank you to the Arc of Williamson County and Sharon Bottorff for inviting Musical Bridges to the Ventures Resource Fair. I am out of town this year but am grateful for the request. If you picked up a brochure or business card and are interested in more inform
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I want to encourage you to go to The Nashville Symphony annual “Free Day of Music.” It is on Saturday, October 10th starting at 10:30 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. According to the symphony website , they will have over 20 acts on 4 stages performing classi
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I was recently able to visit Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and was thrilled to see the Jaume Plensa: Human Landscape exhibition. This is Plensa’s largest exhibition to date in the United States! I had seen some of his work previously in Chicago at the Millennium
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Musical Bridges has been in business for over 10 years with a solid reputation and steady stream of clients for which I am so grateful! I have some long trips planned this fall and spring and in search of a sub who can teach for me while I am gone. All of the
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A little music training in childhood goes a long way in improving how the brain functions in adulthood when it comes to listening and the complex processing of sound, according to a new study out of Northwestern University . The impact of music on the brain ha
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If your parents forced you to practice your scales by saying it would “build character,” they were onto something. The Washington Post reports that one of the largest scientific studies into music’s effect on the brain has found something striking: Musical tra
Read moreFor the first time in years, Musical Bridges has openings for new families this fall!! Thanks to the hire of new staff and rearranging on my schedule, I am opening up a new day of openings on Tuesdays at the Nashville studio in Nippers Corner for new music the
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Today I had the privilege to attend the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Health and Wellness Fair in Downtown Nashville. Thank you to Lisa Dampf for coordinating the event and reaching out to me! It was a pleasure to meet all of the
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Summer break is here! As a kid I loved summer vacation. Having no school, homework, projects, or having to wake up early was amazing. I always continued music lessons throughout the summer growing up. Since I was enamored with music and loved practicing, I wou
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I want to say a big thank you to our service men and women both past, present, and future. On this Memorial Day, we honor your sacrifices. I pledge never to forget the true meaning of Memorial Day and try to instill that in the lives of the kids I work with ea
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April is National Autism Awareness Month and I’d be amiss if I did not take the opportunity to write about it since I serve so many clients who are on the autism spectrum and consider myself a specialist in the area. According to the CDC , about 1 percent of t
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Happy Earth Day! While I’m not a die-hard environmentalist, I do my fair share of trying to help out the planet and definitely love taking any opportunity to celebrate unique holidays with my preschool music groups. Every Earth Day I do a recycling themed clas
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It was great to meet all of you this morning at the TRC Resource Fair! Thanks Sharon Bottorff (Executive Director, The Arc-Williamson County) and Marie Wicks (Transition Coach, Williamson County Schools) for putting the event together and allowing Musical Brid
Read moreI will have a Musical Bridges booth set up tomorrow morning from 9:00am-1pm for the “Road to Success” resource fair in Williamson County. Please stop by if you can and say hello! The address is: Tennessee Rehabilitation Center 1405 Brookwood Ave, Franklin, TN
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Last week I was privileged to set up a booth at Autism Tennessee’s fantastic summer opportunities resource fair. This is an event that Musical Bridges has been a part of for many years and I love getting to spread the word about music therapy. Thank you to all
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I was in the middle of writing a different blog post this afternoon when it started to snow… then snow… and then snow some more. This is not normal Tennessee weather for February and has me ready for spring to come now! Because I am not the type who loves cold
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The panel discuss Vanderbilt’s Council for Exceptional Children student chapter last week offered some insight but was far too short a time frame to be able to delve into detail about music therapy. Thus, I thought it might be helpful to you and the students t
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I will be part of an Alternative Therapies Panel tomorrow, Tuesday January 27, at 7:30 PM. It will be held it on the campus of Vanderbilt University in the Kennedy Center. I will be speaking about Music Therapy, Susan Lotz from Saddle Up will be speaking about
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While a bit belated, Happy New Year friends! I hope 2015 has already had a great start for you. It feels like the holiday season came and went in one big blur. I spent the week of Christmas in both Kentucky and Tennessee with my extended family and in-laws. My
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On January 23rd 2014 the American Music Therapy Association released a document called “Setting The Record Straight: What Music Therapy Is and Is Not” that I’d like to share with you. It was written by Jennifer Peter, AMTA Communications Associate, and Al Buma
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One of the skills I work on with my clients is understanding different seasons and holidays. For example, I make sure they comprehend that we wear short and flipflops in the summer instead of the winter and why. A fun topic to explore is various foods that mat
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Happy 2nd Birthday Georgia! I had so much fun leading music at your party last month with all of your friends. Musical Bridges is now offering fun and interactive birthday party entertainment. Click here to find out more information about different options and
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On November 6th 2014, President Barack Obama attended “A Salute to the Troops: In Concert at the White House” in which he gave a speech to salute and pay tribute to American troops and veterans. Many well known musicians were in attendance including Willie Nel
Read moreThis blog post is the fourth in a four part series discussing the benefits of Suzuki piano. Part one examined the importance of music training and the role it plays in brain development. Part two gave a short biography of Shinichi Suzuki. Part three provided a
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This blog post is the third in a four part series discussing the benefits of Suzuki piano. Part one examined the importance of music training and the role it plays in brain development and part two gave a brief biography of Shinichi Suzuki. Today I will provid
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This blog post is the second in a four part series discussing the benefits of Suzuki piano. Part one examined the importance of music training and the role it plays in brain development. Today I will give a brief biography of Shinichi Suzuki. The traditional S
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The Nashville Symphony is hosting its annual free day of music THIS Saturday, September 27th. Hopefully you can attend as it is always a blast! Here are the highlights from their site: The perfect way to celebrate a fall day! We invite the entire community to
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I am a firm believer in teaching the Suzuki piano method for children and have been doing so for 9 years. In case you aren’t familiar with this style of teaching, the philosophy of Suzuki instruction is to embrace an early immersion in an instrument study with
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I recently read a inspiring article about Hiyam Sabbagh who was diagnosed with cancer two days after her fourth birthday. What started out as a tumour in her left kidney was found to have spread to other areas in her body. For the past nine months, Hiyam has b
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This warm weather brings the opportunity to explore topics such as the ocean, bugs, summer clothes, vacations, water play, and more. One of our favorite songs involves using an ocean drum while we sing an adapted version of All The Fish Are Swimming in the Wat
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I get contacted by several students a week asking about how to pursue a degree in Music Therapy. After the degree program at Tennessee Technological University ended students haven’t had an opportunity to attend a Tennessee college. Starting in the fall of 201
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I love getting to sing Easter songs around the holiday. Some of our favorites include an Easter egg hunt using music eggs, jelly bean color matching, and hopping like a bunny in silly ways such as fast/slow, forwards/backwards. This year we did a new dance pre
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April is a very special time of the year in that it gives people an opportunity to celebrate and let others be aware of the wonderful boys and girls with autism. I’ve always considered autism to be my speciality as a music therapist and see first hand the bene
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Last night I attended the Autism Tennessee (formerly Autism Society of Middle Tennessee) summer opportunities fair for yet another year. Thank you to all of the families who came up to my booth and asked about music therapy and the services I offer. It was so
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I was able to travel to Hawaii and Chicago which have both been dreams of mine. In Hawaii I saw majestic mountains and gorgeous ocean views. I knocked several things off my “bucket list,” including paddle boarding in the ocean and backpacking in another nation
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On a recent trip to Chicago I saw a Yoga magazine from June 2013 in my hotel room and decided to take a look for some inspiration since I practice yoga a couple times a week. One article I found was particularly interesting because it spoke of yoga for childre
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I love and relish in any opportunity to incorporate some fun props into my preschool music enrichment classes. This week we’re celebrating the Fourth of July holiday. The little boy to the right is displaying the flags we use during the “Wave Your Flag” song.
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I just came across this informative article written by the New York Times in April about music therapy with premature infants called “Live Music’s Charms, Soothing Premature Hearts.” Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City led the research, conducted in 11
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I want to apologize for not writing the last few months. I had a wedding to plan! I’m now the wife to a wonderful man who inspires me each and every day to be the best wife, music therapist, teacher, and Godly woman I can be. It was such a fun day and everythi
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Last night I attended the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee’s summer opportunities fair. I loved meeting new families and networking with other professionals in the field. Thank you ASMT for all of the hard work you do for the Nashville community. I’ll look f
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It’s getting to be that time of year where we get to sing all of our snow and winter weather songs. A favorite of the kids we work with involves penguins. We love waddling around like penguins and trying to make their unique sounds. One game we created teaches
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I found a disheartening story today from NPR news about music in the city of Timbuktu that was published on 1/8/13. I never knew this place actually existed since phrases like “from here to Timbuktu” and “as far away as Timbuktu” are so prevalent in society to
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It’s hard to believe 2013 is already here. With each passing year it seems time flies by even faster. Every year around this time people tend to make goals or resolutions of what they’d like to change or advance in throughout the coming year. Common goals incl
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iTunes recently came out with a list of the top 30 preschool songs. It included such titles as “Ring Around the Rosie,” “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” “Muffin Man,” “Twinkle Twinkle,” “Eensy Weensy Spider,” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Isn’t it amazing how the songs
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I recently discovered PBS newshour broadcast from February 27th, 2012 that included a report on the power of music therapy in treating brain injuries and helping patients recover. The video follows the story of (former) Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ recove
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Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of my favorite holidays because of the time I get to spend with my extended family and of course the yummy food. So it thought it fitting to share a Thanksgiving song my preschoolers ask for year after year–The Turkey Strut.
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So I get this question ALL THE TIME. Basically anyone who meets me asks for an explanation of what exactly I do as a music therapist. I’ve found that most people think that we are music teachers or therapists who like to turn on music during their sessions. As
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