Inside Music Therapy

Inside Music Therapy: “Light My Fire”

by Wade on March 24, 2011

Meet JAMBAND, a small rock ensemble for young adults and adults with special needs. Our group includes up to 12 individuals who take turns playing a variety of instruments, singing, or even conducting. Stay tuned for more songs!

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Kayla’s next songwriting project was inspired by the television series Smallville. Kayla expresses in her lyrics and music how the show helped her work through traumatic events and inspired her to live her life to the fullest without boundaries.

You Took Me Away

by Kayla Hanson and Wade Richards

Chorus:

You took me away

Away from the pain

And I felt accepted

And I felt understood.

So much her to say

But where are the words?

They don’t come easily,

You’re such a part of me.

Verse:

I remember the day

You first came to me.

I was so young

Change crashed down on my.

So much I have lost

Didn’t know how I could get through.

You healed me.

So I thank you.

So for ten long years

You grew along with me

And when you leave

You’ll always be a part of me.

Repeat Chorus two times

Ending:

You saved me.

You saved me.

You saved me.

You saved me.


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Inside Music Therapy: “Outsider” by Kayla

January 3, 2011

The inspiration for this song came from Kayla’s admiration for superheroes! Our songwriting session led to a discussion about how superheroes often feel like outsiders in society.  Kayla really resonated with this concept.  She composed the lyrics and selected an accompaniment style for the piece. OUTSIDER by Kayla & Wade Verse 1: Unaccepted. For who [...]

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Inside Music Therapy: The Bakery Song

November 8, 2010

The Music Therapy Department at the David Hochstein Memorial School of Music & Dance hosted a fun-filled concert called “Spook and Sing” on October 28th. Participants performed various songs that related to their costume of choice.  Shannon Enloe, a student at Hochstein for 18 years, decided to wear the uniform from her bakery job at [...]

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Inside Music Therapy: Modified Tuning for Adapted Guitar

October 11, 2010

By mid-November I am planning to release my Modified Tuning for Adapted Guitar book!  The book will include how to retune the guitar, and play basic and extended chords with simple one- and two-fingered chords.   In this video clip, a teenager, who just starting taking adapted guitar lessons, is playing D, Em, G, and [...]

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Inside Music Therapy: “My Own Superhero”

September 18, 2010

Kayla is a student with cerebral palsy in the music therapy program at the Hochstein School of Music & Dance in Rochester, New York.  Kayla enjoys songwriting, and in this video we are performing a song she completed this summer.  The inspiration for the song came from the Five for Fighting song “Superman” that Kayla [...]

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Inside Music Therapy: Open Tuning the Guitar

August 6, 2010

This clip demonstrates one way to use open tuning with a student taking adaptive guitar lessons.  In this case the guitar is open tuned to a G chord. (D G D g b d). Standard tuning: E  A  D  g  b  e Open tuning to G:  (E tunes down to D), (A tunes down to [...]

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Inside Music Therapy- “My Music” with Kayla

August 1, 2010

Kayla is a bright and beautiful new student at the Hochstein School of Music & Dance.  Kayla has Cerebral palsy and uses music to express her feelings and challenges through songwriting and instrument play.  She is also using music to gain strength in her right hand and increase her overall motor coordination. The songwriting experience [...]

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Inside Music Therapy- creative dance with a student with Cerebral palsy

July 27, 2010

Patty is a student with Cerebral palsy in the Music Therapy program at the Hochstein School of Music & Dance.  In this clip, Patty is following a symbolic picture board in order to recall her sequence of movements.  In the first step, Patty created her own movement for each picture shown to her.  The next [...]

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