A Concert Program to Change the World

It is with great pride and combined awesomeness that the internet now receives a concert program to truly Change the World. This night of music and memories marked the accomplishment of a tremendous milestone, yet more importantly serves to inspire, motivate, and direct our continued pursuit of becoming awesome. Unending thanks to the many musicians (on stage and in the audience), close friends, new friends, traveling family, loved ones, esteemed professors, and especially to my associate in awesomeness, Stephen Choate.

Wagon Wheel

Old Crow Medicine Show

G, D, Em, C, G, D, C, C

G                              D                 

1 Headed down south to the land of the pines

              Em                              C              

2 And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline

G                   

3 Starin' up the road

        D                         C          

4 And pray to God I see headlights

  G                                       D               

5 I made it down the coast in seventeen hours

Em                                 C               

6 Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

                G                  

7 And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh

         D                        C     

8 I can see my baby tonight

     G                              D           

9 So rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Em                           C            

10 Rock me mama anyway you feel

G     D           C       

11 Hey,    mama rock me

G                                   D                 

12 Rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Em                             C                 

13 Rock me mama like a south-bound train

G     D           C       

14 Hey,    mama rock me

15 Runnin' from the cold up in New England

16 I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband

17 My baby plays the guitar

18 I pick a banjo now

19 Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now

20 Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave

21 But I ain't a turnin' back

22 To livin' that old life no more

Repeat lines 9 - 14

G, D, Em, C, G, D, C, C   2x

23 Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke

24 I caught a trucker out of Philly

25 Had a nice long toke

26 But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap

27 To Johnson City, Tennessee

28 And I gotta get a move on fit for the sun

29 I hear my baby callin' my name

30 And I know that she's the only one

31 And if I die in Raleigh

32 At least I will die free

Repeat lines 9 - 14

Wild Horses

Rolling Stones

G   / Am /  G  /  Am

G  Bm               G       Bm                 G  

        Childhood living       is easy to do

Am                    C          D   G                             D      C

    The things you want to        I bought them for you

     Priceless lady,  you know who I am

     You know I can't let you,  slide through my hands

CHORUS:

Am       C          D  G               F             C    

    Wild   horses         couldn't drag me away

Am              C           D  G                 F             C   

    Wild, wild  horses           couldn't drag me away

     I watched you suffer,  a dull aching pain

     Now you decided,  to show me the same

     No sweet thing exits,  oh of stage blinds

     Could make me be bitter,  or treat you unkind

CHORUS

     I know I've drained you,  it seemed like a lie

     I have my freedom,  but I don't have much time

     Faith has been broken,  tears must be cried

     Lets do some living,  after we've died

Am       C          D  G               F             C    

    Wild   horses         couldn't drag me away

Am              C           D  G                 F             C   

    Wild, wild  horses           couldn't drag me away

Am       C          D  G               F             C    

    Wild   horses         couldn't drag me away

Am              C           D  G                 F             C   

    Wild, wild  horses               we’ll ride them someday

It must be made clear that this is a concert performance, not a Music Therapy session. We will nonetheless attempt to demonstrate a select few of the many ways in which music may be implemented to positively affect well-being. Make a transfer...

Classical music often bears only calm and peaceful connotations. Though, "Festa No Sertao" breaks these false limitations, musical elements may be utilized to match or increase patients’ moods or levels of stimulation.  On the contrary, music selections that are tranquil and sedative may also be used to assist such techniques as guided imagery or progressive muscle relaxation.  The iso-principle is a common technique incorporated into music therapy sessions as an application of continuous music to elevate or reduce such states in clients, beginning at a level that mirrors that of the patient, and concluding at a level of stimulation determined by the therapist.  The iso-principle is also used frequently in managing pain, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and agitation/restlessness. 

Proper vocal technique, as used in classical art songs such as, "When I Have Sung My Songs" demands articulation and breath support. Therapeutic applications of music interventions can benefit patients with deficits in these expressive language skills, which may include patients with developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, neurological disorders. Google Gabrielle Giffords.

As music complements communication, language influences music. “Blue Rondo A’ La Turk” illustrates the free and expressive nature of improvisation which mimics speech, and the call and response rhythms of jazz that emulate conversation. Similar exchanges can be accomplished with simple drumming applications designed to meet all levels of musical experience. Such musical activities can faciliatate behavior modification by using music as a cue, structure, and/or a reinforcer. This may prove to be especially effective in sessions with clients who have behavioral disorders.

The Brothers of the national music organization, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, exemplify a strong support system, essential for any individual and especially during addiction, grief, trauma, and crisis. Socialization is a basic need for any individual, which can be provided through interactions in families, schools, church groups, support groups, work, and activities of daily life. Creating music together promotes social interaction and facillitates opportunities for shared experiences between friends, loved ones, and in this case, family. Please enjoy, “Hymn to the Garnet and Gold.”

Music is considered by some to be the language of emotions. "Love" is an original composition expressing deep affection. Songwriting methods, which may include madlib or fill-in-the-blank formatted song lyrics, rapped dialogues or poems over loops or karaoke tracks, piggybacking existing melodies, mash-ups using significant lyrics from multiple songs, and composing completely original pieces, all allow patients to examine and express their thoughts and feelings in a rational and constructive manner. Ironically, love songs often make great examples of irrational thinking, which can be examined through Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Preexisting songs with topic specific lyrics are used in lyric analysis to rapidly establish rapport and open up into counseling, a skill that is particularly critical in both the mental health and end-of-life settings.

"Such Great Heights" employs only three chords, though this performance would still overwhelm the premature infant. This is why Music Therapy in the NICU necessitates hushed, walking arpeggios of the most basic chord progressions with motherly lullabies. Habituation through multimodal stimulation promotes neurological maturation. Dr. Jayne Standley has also conceived and researched the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL) to reinforce sucking behaviors using contingent music to teach and promote feeding in premature infants, enabling shorter length of stay in the NICU.

“In teaching the child, optimism need not suffer – only naïveté.”

- Dr. Clifford Madsen

“Sigh No More” addresses a few commonly misconstrued perceptions of love – betrayal, dismayal and enslavement, but directs the listener into a positive view of the phenomenon. Music therapists at Florida State employ a cognitive behavioral approach, whereby thoughts affect actions and behaviors. We help patients increase awareness of their thought processes to develop more constructive and controlled responses to events, even in their uncontrollable external environment. How we perceive, interpret, and choose to respond to such stimuli influence what emotions we experience. Optimism need not suffer, for human emotions are valid; romanticism can still be both realistic and rational.

While singing decreases the stress hormone cortisol and increases endorphin production, one will also witness the elevation of mood and development of therapeutic relationships. Singalongs and the use of instruments facilitate meaningful interactions, even amongst people functioning at broadly different levels. Enjoy the opportunity to sing or strum with, “Wagon Wheel,” and “Wild Horses,” as we attempt to promote cohesion within an unusually large group. 

Patient-preferred music affects greater emotional response, participation, and enjoyment. Whether improving quality of life, motivating exercise or increasing stamina for physical therapy, anesthetizing before medical procedures, personalizing lyrical content for counseling, maintaining a young child's attention, or changing the world with a Music Therapy project/concert (not recital) - patient preferred music is crucial. We conclude our concert with, “Black Darling Eclipse,” a medley including works by three of our favorite artists.



Goals of Music Therapy in the Tallahassee Memorial Behavioral Health Center (TMBHC):
Actions/consequences
Anger management
Appropriate social skills
Assertiveness
Attention skills
Coping with change
Decision making
Decrease symptoms
Emotional management
Empowerment
Frustration tolerance
Goal directed behavior process
Interpersonal skills
Mood elevation
Normalization
Relaxation and leisure skills
Responsibility acceptance
Self-acceptance
Self-care
Self-concept
Self-control
Self-esteem
Self-expression
Self-image
Socialization
Stress management
Time management
Understanding Mental Illness
Values, values clarification

Sample Music Therapy interventions implemented in the TMBHC:
Active music making
Projects listening to and/or using music
Drumming
Lyric analysis
Lyric mash-up
Making instruments
Movement to music
Music assisted guided imagery
Music appreciation
Music-assisted cognitive reframing
Music skill building
Musical games
Musical stories
Music-based discussion
Poem/Proverb/Haiku writing
Positive thinking
Progressive muscle relaxation
Quotes from music (proverbs, AA/NA slogans, etc.)
REBT
Relaxation/stress reduction
Rhythm and drumming
Sensory integration
Singing and/or instrument playing
Songwriting

Sample Goals and Interventions used in the Hospice and Palliative Setting

Techniques How music therapy addresses clinical objectives	Objectives Problems addressed by music therapy
Iso-principle  (continuous patient-preferred music) Progressive Muscles Relaxation (PMR) Guided imagery Procedural support music therapy	Manage pain  Decrease agitation/restlessness Reduce of anxiety Increase relaxation and comfort Lessen emotional/physical distress Alleviate nausea and vomiting  Normalize patient’s environment
Musical life review Paring video montage, scrapbook, slideshow or photo album with music	Facilitate reminiscence Elevate mood Increase feelings of closeness, acceptance and intimacy Regain sense of mastery and accomplishment Address/resolve family conflict or relational distress Improve self esteem/self acceptance
Songwriting and composition Lyrical analysis Song choice Active or passive music listening Sing along Improvised singing or instrument play Planning memorial services with music	Address anticipatory grief Express of feelings and emotions Facilitate feelings of personal meaningfulness Validate feelings and experiences Increase range of coping mechanisms Assist family members/loved ones in their interactions with patient Regain a sense of control/autonomy Gain a sense of spiritual support Decrease feelings of isolation/rejection
All the above	Increase quality of life

Good Ol' Jack

     I remember Good Ol’ Jack.

He was a golden fellow,

     Though his snout was black.

We loved the curls of hair under his ears

     Until summer came and we shaved them flat.

Buzzed and beautiful he would run through the yard,

     Yet still he’d bring prickly burrs and poison ivy home on his back.

He would poop in the abandoned lot next door,

     Then race to explore private properties, berry patches, and piss-scented deer tracks.

He was a golden fellow, who so often couldn’t care to be mellow,

     But early in the morning, with Grandpa on the porch, we’d play a game of setback

And he’d cuddle your toes with his warm belly and nuzzle his nose in your lap.

     Yes, he was able to sleep, wake up for a snack,

And still sleep most of the day away, waiting until we came home,

     When he’d gallop forward with his tongue in the air, just so we would give his head a pat

Then once he garnered your attention, he’d spin his furry rump around into your face,

     As if anybody, anybody would rather pat that!

When I played the piano, a snappin’ blues tune,

     Mom would clap her hands, stand him up on two legs and dance.

I think of him always and smile when so doing,

     Because I remember Good Ol’ Jack;

He was a boy’s best dog. No dog will ever be as good to me as my dog always will be:

     There are other dogs in the pound, and although no yippy rat or wooly yak

Will ever bring my Good Ol’ Jack back, I have loved most every dog I have seen.

     When I just say hello, give it time and throw it a bone, I have faith I’ll never be alone.

For me, that dog outlined what a dog can be.

     My responsibility is to be happy - to share with mutts the glory of dogliness -

Some lake swims, some card games, some piano dances down the road.

     Thank you, Jack, for the dogly road map you’ve bestowed.

-MANGO

Mondegreens for Clear Communication

As you're driving down the road, blasting your preferred tunes, you may be singing along to the Beatles, "She's got a chicken to fry, she's got a chicken to fry, fry, fry!" Or perhaps you're belting karaoke to that Motown classic, "Sugar fried honey butt! You know I love you! I can't help myself, I love you and nobody else."

Malapropisms are verbal slips, such as, "The flood damage was so bad they had to evaporate the city." Bushisms are malapropisms. "Bush happens," however, is a play on words based on similar word meanings. Similarly, spoonerisms are lips of the slung based on similar sword wounds. A Freudian dick is a lick of the tongue as swell, but of a dirty, unconscious, ego-driven sexual nature. Homophones or oronyms are words which actually sound the same, whereas words misheard rather than misspoken, especially for long syrics, are a mondegreen. I scream for Mondegreens!

"Give 'em the Beach Boys and free their souls!" I thought a list of classic mondegreens would elevate mood, incorporate patient preferred music, and facilitate conversation on communication. Lead a singalong to, i.e., "She's Got a Ticket to Ride," "I Can't Help Myself," or "Drift Away," before sharing this Mondgreens Handout with your music therapy group. Have fun! You can then talk about articulation, pronunciation, cadence, breathing exercises, singing technique, self-expression, sincerity, socialization, reciprocity, active listening, and caring for others.

Something to Smile About

Smile! I mean it. Smile while you read this paragraph! Even though those forced smiles are able to be discriminated from natural, spontaneous smiles - and yes, both will influence others' perceptions of you - evidence suggests that you can act your way into a new way of feeling. Research participants demonstrated more positive experiences while holding a pencil between their teeth without touching their lips, such that they approximated smiling without awareness of the facial expression or the facial muscles being used (Soussignan, 2002).

Smiling feels good. Smiling is associated with helpful thoughts and positive feelings, but smiling has also been found to induce emotional contagion; those observing a smile will spontaneously mimic some of the emotional expression (Blairy, Herrera and Hess, 1999; Vrugt and Vet, 2009). Smiling increases cooperation, builds rapport, communicates altruism, and contributes to trust (Scharlemann, Eckel, Kaclnik and Wilson, 2001; Mehua, Grammerb and Dunbara, 2007). When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you!

Now, try a little smiling game as you reread this article: Smile every time you read the very word, "smile." Find out just how quickly it might affect your mood, then go out and share it with the whole world! Smile!

Post Script - Mona Lisa seems to be smiling when in your periphery vision, but her lips appear to flatten out when you look at them directly.

Post Post Script - "Smile" is one of those words that sounds funnier and funnier the more you say it. Smile. Smiles. Smilessss. Smile. SmILE. SMile. Smile. sMILE. sMILEY. smilE. smile. Smile. SMILE.



Blairy, S., Herrera, P., & Hess, U. (1999). Mimicry and the judgement of emotional facial expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 23, 5-35.
Mehua, M., Grammerb K. and Dunbara, R.I.M. (2007). Smiles when sharing. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 415-422.
Scharlemann, J. P., Eckel, G. G., Kacelnik, A., & Wilson, R. K. (2001). The value of a smile: Game theory with a human face. Journal of Economic Psychology, 22, 617-640.
Soussignan, Robert. (2002). Duchenne smile, emotional experience, and autonomic reactivity: A test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Emotion, 2(1), 52-74.
Vrugt, Anneke and Vet, Carolijn. (2009). Effects of a Smile on Mood and Helping Behavior. Social Behavior and Personality; an international journal, 37(9), 1251-1257.

I am the Bodhi Tree

I be-

gin every 

morning with 

sun salu-

tations to 

melodies 

sung by the 

birds,

and the 

rhythms of 

rain are the 

showers to 

bathe, before 

nibbling by 

day on light 

snacks.

Mother 

Earth who I 

thank for this 

dirt where I 

grow, and our 

Father the 

seed in his 

image,

though 

nature and 

nurture were 

both a fine 

start, under-

standing my 

freedom to 

choose, 

it was 

waking from 

ignorance, 

suffering, and 

want

which 

took 

root,

and now 

fertilize 

me with the 

good mind to 

stand nobly 

tall through all 

seasons of 

life.

When you 

listen with 

care leaves may 

hush in your 

ear, softly 

answers will 

sprout from your 

heart.



-MANGO

24/7: Twenty 20 Things You Didn't Know About... You Didn't Know About

Discover Magazine concludes their 10 publications annually with a fun page filled with 20 interesting facts on a common subject. Geeks fin' to get titillated! Honoring the seventh of this month with another twenty-for seven post are twenty 20 Things You Didn't Know About... that you didn't know about. Each subject links to Discover's twenty facts, and here I follow them with some of my favorites.


Time: "According to quantum theory, the shortest moment of time that can exist is known as Planck time, or 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000001 second."

Sleep: "A six-year study of a million adults showed that people who get only six to seven hours of sleep a night have a lower death rate than those who get eight hours. Maybe it's those late nights watching QVC."

Sex: "Marvin Gaye breaks it down in “Let’s Get It On”—what could be simpler? Psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin take a different view. They surveyed 444 people [pdf] and found 237 reasons why people have sex... Believe it or not, biologists cannot agree on the reason for sex either."

Fire: "Fire is an event, not a thing. Heating wood or other fuel releases volatile vapors that can rapidly combust with oxygen in the air. Most of the fuels we use derive their energy from trapped solar rays. In photosynthesis, sunlight and heat make chemical energy (in the form of wood or fossil fuel); So a bonfire is basically a tree running in reverse."

Alcohol: "According to the Drunken Monkey Hypothesis, our zest for alcoholic beverages derives from our distant ancestors’ impulse to seek the ripest, most energy-intensive fruits."

Water: "Before 2009, federal regulators did not require water bottlers to remove E. coli... Actually, E. coli doesn’t sound so bad. In 1999 the Natural Resources Defense Council found that one brand of spring water came from a well in an industrial parking lot near a hazardous waste dump."

Light: "In the confined space of an Easy-Bake oven, a 100-watt bulb can create a temperature of 325 degrees Fahrenheit."

Nothing: "In space, no one can hear you scream: Sound, a mechanical wave, cannot travel through a vacuum. Without matter to vibrate through, there is only silence... So what if Kramer falls in a forest? Luckily, electromagnetic waves, including light and radio waves, need no medium to travel through, letting TV stations broadcast endless reruns of Seinfeld, the show about nothing."

Skin: "Fingerprints increase friction and help grip objects. New World monkeys have similar prints on the undersides of their tails, the better to grasp as they swing from branch to branch." (Also, see "HANDS!")

Digestion: "Your stomach’s primary digestive juice, hydrochloric acid, can dissolve metal, but plastic toys that go down the hatch will come out the other end as good as new. (A choking hazard is still a choking hazard, though.)... Same with crayons, hair, and chewing gum—all of which will pass through within a few days, no matter what you’ve heard."

Obesity: "Stand by your man: More than a decade ago, Manuel Uribe, now weighing 1,200 pounds (the equivalent of five baby elephants) and bedridden for the past five years, was abandoned by his wife because she was frightened by his increasing size."

Death: "The trigger of death, in all cases, is lack of oxygen. Its decline may prompt muscle spasms, or the "agonal phase," from the Greek word agon, or contest."

Clouds: "When moist, warm air rises to a cooler elevation, water condenses onto microscopic “seeds” like dust, ash, or bacteria. Water + seeds + updraft = clouds."

Magnetism: "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines generate a field 60,000 times as intense as the earth’s to vibrate the hydrogen atoms in your body; in response, the atoms emit radio waves that are analyzed to produce a map of your insides."

Stress: "Stressed rats’ brains showed shrunken neurons in the dorsomedial striatum (an area associated with goal-directed behavior) and growth in the dorsolateral striatum (related to habitual behavior)."

Lab Accidents: "The world has scores of superpowerful particle accelerators. Last year, a fireball created at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in Upton, New York, had the characteristics of a black hole. Physicists are reasonably sure that no such black holes could escape and consume Earth."

Money: "Filthy lucre: In a study last year, researchers found more cocaine residue on U.S. bills than on any other currency. Also found on money: staphylococcus bacteria and fecal matter."

Language: "Grüss dich, Dunkelheit, mein alter Freund. Three- to five-day-olds born into French-speaking families tend to cry with the rising intonation characteristic of French; babies with German-speaking parents cry with falling tones, much like spoken German. Infants may start learning language in the womb, it seems."

Genius: "In the 1990s Bell Labs found that its most valued and productive electrical engineers were not those endowed with genius but those who excelled in rapport, empathy, cooperation, persuasion, and the ability to build consensus."

Future: "In 2205 humans reconquer Earth and hire polymer engineers to replace melting glaciers with plastic substitutes that are identical to the originals in every way, except that they aren’t wet or cold."

A Breath of Fresh Air

The cleared vacuum filter swirls dust everywhere.
Hair dead skin and miscellaneous waste particles scoured from the fan and bookshelf, 
My own ashes are scattered in the air.
Breath in. 
Breath out.
Thoroughly cleansed as this home, I am reborn.



-MANGO

Personal Mission Statement

My mom professed a challenged during a special coffee conversation we were blessed to be together and share: What is your mission statement? Our home church had been rewriting their mission statement, and as businesses, charities, universities et al. clarify their communal purpose with one, so might we with our own.

To write my own mission statement, I explored, "Who am I becoming and what are my priorities?" and, "How might I best word my statement so as to generalize across time, activities, settings, and intentions?"I wanted to write something dynamic rather than static. Using few words so as to be memorable, words used must carry great weight and be ambiguous as to transfer. Various aspects of my personality must cohere; I am always a student and also a therapist, a teacher, significant other, family member, and a friend. I want to express wonder, humility, sincerity, and self-control. I hope to inspire adaptation and encourage empathy. I am more motivated when able to interpret or establish purpose. I hope to be a wholesome influence on people, activities, and ideas. I want a mission statement that describes while also inspiring ongoing growth.

Now, I proudly share my personal mission statement:

"Awestruck, always, and becoming awesome: shaping acceptance, presence, direction, faith, and reverence within myself, those around me, and my environment."

The words and phrasing of a personal mission statement hold personal significance to the writer. I would like to pass this challenge on. May you readers invest more time in thought than just spent in reading. Take five (or twenty, or an afternoon), and muse upon yourself, your life, your mission statement.