Music therapy dates back to the ninth century. In particular, the work of music theorist al-Farabi and his treatise entitled “Meanings of the Intellect” laid the foundations for the modern form of the practice. Robert Burton also wrote about the positive effects of music and dance on the condition of the soul in his work, “Anatomy of Melancholy.” Both of these writers used modern methods of describing very ancient ideas to form the basis of the therapeutic methods used today.

In the United States, music therapy is governed by the American Music Therapy Association, which provides certification for aspiring practitioners. Though certification is not required, it definitely gives a therapist much more credibility. The AMTA gives different levels of certificates depending on completion of various studies. For example, a bachelor’s certificate enables someone to work together with other therapeutic disciplines such as speech therapy. Music therapists often have degrees in other disciplines as well. In New York State, practitioners must be registered and licensed as a creative arts therapist by passing a standardized test administered by the state. Lesley University in Massachusetts and Temple University in Pennsylvania offer degrees in the practice.

In the United Kingdom, music therapy developed from pioneering works by several different people. French cellist Juliet Alvin influenced the discipline in the 1960’s, and in the decade before, Paul Nordoff and Clive Robbins provided foundations for the future. In fact, the Nordoff-Robbins approach is used in sessions all over the world. The Nordoff-Robbins headquarters in London provides the only official PhD course in the practice. Therapists in the UK focus on the learning disabilities of children and adults, as well as forensic psychiatry and palliative care. There are master’s programs available in the UK as well.

Music therapy has been shown to improve motor skills, spiritual awareness and social skills. It also helps mood disorders and depression. In particular, it can improve a patient’s motivation and outlook on life by completely revitalizing a stagnant soul. Just as a great song can set your day right, successful music therapy can change a person’s life.

Studies show that such therapy affects stroke victims in a drastic way. By causing positive emotions in victims, the therapy increases social interaction and motivation and causes a quick recovery from the effects of the stroke. Often, the music is combined with traditional therapy to increase positive results exponentially. Motor skills are recovered best when the therapy is used on a regular basis in conjunction with other methods.

Another aspect of music therapy lies in songwriting and listening, especially in the elderly. The concept of songwriting is discussed, and patients are encouraged to write their own songs as a treatment.

If you are interested in helping others and working with music, investigate the field of music therapy. While it is a relatively new concept to many, the practice of music as medicine is ancient in origin.

About the author of this article:

a free email newsletter on exciting piano chords and chord progressions from duane shinn is available free at http://www.playpiano.com/learnmusic.html “exciting piano chords chord progressions!”

Article Source: http://www.iabolish.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: http://www.music-career-guide.com

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Non-conventional career opportunities beyond the classroom also abound. They include starting a private teaching practice; licensing a music education franchise like Music Together or Kindermusik, writing and arranging instrumental or choral music; authoring music education methods and materials for music education publishers; writing articles on new approaches to music education; writing reviews in trade publications for new products and services in the field; serving on music industry boards to forge innovative partnerships; presenting sessions at State and National music education conferences; consulting and advising for music industry manufacturers and publishers who develop music education products but are removed from the daily classroom experience; and the list goes on.

The late Sandy Feldstein, CEO of PlayinTime Productions and a well-known luminary in the field of music education, shared his thoughts on opportunities available to aspiring music educators in this interview filmed in August of 2006.

As Andrew Surmani, Vice President of Alfred Publishing explained in his interview with Artists House Music, there are many kinds of positions a music educator could fill at his company including sales, marketing, finance, production, editorial, and licensing. Click here for Andrew’s interview.

Music educators are skilled, resourceful and very effective communicators. These traits combined with a strong foundation in music and music education is a powerful set of attributes that will open the door to many career opportunities along the way. Be open to these opportunities—in the classroom or beyond—as trained music educator, you have the skills to succeed!

Written by: Debbie Cavalier

Article Source:
http://debbiecavalier.berkleemusicblogs.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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Attributes of Music Educator

Music educators are skilled!

We are trained to teach all aspects and genres of music. We are usually well versed in any number of musical instruments, and teach in a variety of music educational settings including classroom, ensemble, and private lesson. As educators, we are constantly striving to develop fun, interactive, age-appropriate lesson plans and outcome-based assessment goals for music education programs K-12. This command of the language and practice of music, and its application to the educational development of students, is a powerful foundation that will support a wide variety of entrepreneurial endeavors in music for the entrepreneur.

Music educators are resourceful!

We have to be. For many of us, the weekly is daunting: teach 500+ students weekly, eight classes a day, going room-to-room with only a pushcart, and many times doing it all with no budget to purchase instruments or music. This common scenario taps into one’s resourcefulness and begins to set the stage for innovative, entrepreneurial pursuits.

Music educators have effective communication skills!

As a music educator, you’ll get very good at public speaking, crowd control, and “thinking on your feet.” You’ll gain the ability to read your audience, anticipate questions, identify needs, and make appropriate adjustments to your performances and presentations—in real time. Effective communication skills are critical to articulate entrepreneurial ideas and advocate support.

Music educators have what it takes to be entrepreneurs. The combination of expert skills in music and music education, resourcefulness, and effective communication skills provide fertile ground for the development of an aspiring entrepreneur.

Over the course of the past 20+ years, the opportunities that have come my way and the preparedness I have felt to pursue those opportunities are due in large part to the years I spent as a classroom music educator and choral director.

So, What Is An Entrepreneur?

Simply stated, an entrepreneur is someone who identifies a “need” or a problem, and then figures out a solution. Of course, comprehensive goals, strategies, and execution plans must be developed and implemented in order to achieve success with any entrepreneurial endeavor, but it all begins with a “need.”

What Are Some Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Music Education?

Entrepreneurial opportunities available to music educators abound. They include writing and arranging band or choral music to serve a program’s needs; authoring music education methods; writing articles on new approaches to music education; writing reviews in trade publications for new products and services; music industry board work to forge innovative partnerships; presenting new approaches to the profession at State and National conferences; consulting and advising for music industry manufacturers and publishers who develop music education products and publications; and the list goes on. These entrepreneurial activities provide professional development opportunities for the music educator entrepreneur, service to the profession, and potentially, additional streams of income to fund a program, cause, or additional entrepreneurial endeavors.

Where To Begin?

Look at your current teaching situation. What are some of the needs not being met? What can your experience, insight, and skill set offer to address these “needs” for your immediate situation—and potentially—for hundreds of other music educators? How far can you take it? Start by making a list: “Immediate Need” followed by, “Entrepreneurial Opportunities.” Here is an example:

Immediate Need:

A third grade teacher is planning a 100 day celebration at school and would like to do some cross-curricular planning and activities with the music program.

Entrepreneurial Opportunities:

a. Write a “100 Day Song” for the class, arrange for two-part choral, seek a music education publisher to make the piece available to schools.

b. Write a short musical for the third-grade class incorporating elements from the 100 day math curriculum. Seek a music education publisher to make the work available to all schools.

Take stock of your skills and address one of your program’s immediate needs with an entrepreneurial spirit. Find a solution to your immediate need and then and take it as far as you can. Remember, as a music educator, you have a solid foundation and the skills needed to branch out successfully in many different directions. Have fun exploring the possibilities and becoming a music educator-entrepreneur!

Article Source: http://debbiecavalier.berkleemusicblogs.com

Written by Debbie Cavalier

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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Question: For starters, can you please share a little bit about your experiences at Berklee? What was the best part about being in school there? What kind of support does the school offer to its students?

There are so many great things about being at Berklee.

The experience at Berklee is so unlike one at any other college. The greatest part for me was meeting all different kinds of people from all different walks of life and knowing that we all share a deep love for music. We have different majors and different instruments, but it is very far from a school where an art history major will be sharing a dorm room with a biology major, for example. Some of us may want to score films while others want to manage bands while others want to be touring with their own band, but at the end of the day, it’s all about music in one way or another. For this reason, Berklee students have a really great sense of community, even despite the fact that we have no real “campus” (unless you count the corner of Mass Ave and Boylston as a campus). We’ve all had to struggle through Ear Training, and we’ve all been up until at least 4 a.m. working on a Harmony or Counterpoint project. We’ve had 2 a.m. recording sessions the night before a 9 a.m. class. We’ve waited in line for ensemble rooms and spent hours in practice rooms preparing for proficiency exams, the often-dreaded final exams on your principle instrument. Berklee is a lot of hard work, but those who make it bond together. It was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life!

The school will offer you support from the second you walk in until well after you leave. They are very dedicated in making sure that you not only receive the best education possible, but that you find a job or career path that will help you use your education to the fullest extent. Their alumni services are stellar which include job listings and online communities.

Q: Good music business degree programs can be hard to come by, leading many people to try to learn the ropes by going for any job they can get and working their way up from there. In what ways do you feel your education at Berklee specifically prepared you for entering the music industry work force that taking a different avenue would not have?

I think the most unique thing about the Berklee music business program is the faculty. The professors are all people who have already had successful careers in the music industry and can offer raw insight to the inner workings of this business. You learn things from them that you will never find in a textbook or learn in any other classroom. These professors have been managers, accountants, attorneys, publishers, performers and more. They are extremely keen to the logistics of the industry in the sense of being “book smart” but they have their own experiences and “street smarts” that really makes it a unique education. I felt very confident going into my internship because I knew that my professors had prepared me for anything that could be thrown my way.

Q: Many people have an idealized notion of what working in the music business must be like – all fun times, easy money, parties, glitz and glamour. What rude awakenings did you get about the music business while you were at Berklee?

Any idealized notions about the music industry are always eliminated rather quickly. Most people who come into Berklee already have some idea what it’s really like – I mean, there’s the music industry that’s portrayed on MTV and then there’s the real music industry. MTV is always showing the huge stars with multi-million dollar homes and rows of Bentleys, but I think a lot of us understand that this lifestyle is reserved for the top 0.5%. Anyone new to Berklee will realize this pretty quickly. Pick up a Billboard or a Rolling Stone and you can start to see some of the reality – artists, record companies and managers suing each other left and right, cancelled tours, poor album sales, band break-ups – that’s the reality. The music business is a great thing to be a part of, but when you break it down, it’s still a business.

Q: . Berklee must be a great place to debate the major issues facing the music industry. What do you think the most important issues for the industry are, and where do you stand on them?

I actually took a great class at the beginning of my senior year called Current Events in the Music Industry with the chair of our music business department, Don Gorder. There are only 12 spots in the class and we spend the majority of the semester participating in panels on various issues, getting the opportunity to serve both as a panelist and as a moderator for these discussions.

There are a lot of really hot issues being tossed around right now. One of the big ones is regarding digital rights management or DRM which determines what digital tracks can be played on what devices. For example, all tracks downloaded on iTunes, until very recently, could only be played on iPods due to the DRM that was encoded in the tracks at the time of purchase. Some debated whether or not this constituted a monopoly, and we’re beginning to see some changes.

There’s always the big argument over whether the music industry is dying or not; no matter which way you look at it, album sales are declining. Even when you combine the number of physical album sales to the number of digital album sales (i.e. paid downloads), it is still clear that people are buying less music. Some people speculate that the peer-to-peer illegal downloading services are to blame. Some think that the technology is developing so rapidly that consumers who aren’t as tech-savvy are having a difficult time accepting new devices and music formats as the way of the future. Personally, I believe that the music industry is a lot like the stock market – it has its ups and downs, but when you look at the big picture, you see a slow growth over time. The industry is undergoing some major changes right now as it switches from being a primarily physical industry to being a primarily digital industry.

We are in an undeniable slump for the time being, but we are still continuing with the overall trend of growth. I believe that music is something that people will always want and need, and once people start adapting to the digital marketplace, the industry will be seeing business as usual

Q: You are now interning with Def Jam/Island. What is a typical day like at your job?

Typical days don’t really exist around here, especially for an intern. Interns are generally expected to perform basic administrative duties, such as answering phones, copying, filing, and expense account maintenance. Other tasks given to you will depend on what department you’re in. I’m working in video production so I often make duplicates of videos in various formats, digitize video footage, organize equipment, un-tangle various cables – anything that needs to be done!

Things happen here pretty quickly without much notice. For example, my internship supervisor got called out to assist on a video shoot in another country with only 2-3 days notice. What you may think will be a slow day always has the possibility of turning into a very busy one

Q: What are your future career goals? Is there any particular style of music or artists with whom you want to work – and how important is it for you to work with music you love

As far as my future goals are concerned, I’m trying to keep my options open. The ideal position for me would be working with live music and touring. A live show is the one place where artists can personally interact with their fans. Going to concerts and “experiencing” the music I loved are among my favorite memories of growing up in my teens.

Working with music that I love is definitely something that is important to me, but I know that it won’t necessarily happen right away. If you have the opportunity to get your foot in the door and learn more about the industry from the inside, it’s always important to do that. Just because you get a job working at a rock club doesn’t mean that you will have to work with rock for your entire career. For as many people as there are in this business, it’s a very tightly knit community – everyone knows each other. The chances of taking a job that might not seem like a perfect fit – and meeting someone who knows someone who knows someone who’s roommate’s boss is doing exactly what you’d like to be doing and just so happens to be looking for an assistant – are not as bad as you may think. If you’re outgoing, professional and dedicated to networking, you’ll definitely go places.

Article Source: http://musicians.about.com. Written by Heather McDonald

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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There is a “but,” however. A really good music business program gives you the chance to learn the ropes from people who have not only been there but who are dedicated to helping other people learn the industry – that is not always easy to find. Also, these programs can be great places to make contacts that can help you when you are looking for a job. Your teachers may be able to open doors for you, and if you want to work for a major record label, coming out of a respected music business degree program can give you a big leg up.

The bottom line? Whether a music business degree is right for you depends on your goals as well as which program the degree comes from. Check out the following articles for looks at two strong music programs:

• Berklee College of Music
• Q&A with Berklee Alum Erin Copeland
• Q&A with Berklee Student Juan Chavez
• NYU Steinhardt Department of Music

Article Source: http://musicians.about.com, Written by Heather McDonald

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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