Ta Da! My guitar has been fixed!

My guitar is back from the Alvarez workshop. I mentioned that it was broken here. That was fast! So it’s fixed and looks great. It has also survived the double shipping process and is in one piece. I call that a win-win-win. They ended up filling the bridge (remember, there was a big crack that ran through all of the peg holes in the bridge), oiling the neck/bridge and giving it a re-string.

This whole experience taught me many things.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Instruments have warranties. Every appliance that I own… large or small… came with a warranty. For some reason, it didn’t occur to me that my instruments would too. I know that sometimes you want to get a great used and/or old guitar to either save some money or get a really, really great sounding instrument. But if you do that and get something from Craig’s List or eBay it may not come with a warranty. Instruments in music therapy get used… REALLY, REALLY used… and I think it may be a good idea to make sure to purchase therapy instruments with a great warranty in mind.
2. How to pack a guitar for shipping. In my excitement over opening up the box I didn’t take any pictures of how the Alvarez people packed it for shipping. Sorry. (But, I know you understand ) What they did is put it in a big box (this thing measured about 70″ long) and shoved in a bunch of packing paper. The guitar was in a soft gig bag… my music store didn’t recommend that I send the guitar in it’s bag because there was a chance that I wouldn’t get it back. But, I didn’t feel right just putting a guitar in a box so I left it in it’s bag. Luckily it came home in it too.
3. I don’t know anything about guitar maintenance. It is possible that my guitar cracked because the wood was dry. That’s something that is totally avoidable. I just didn’t know… and I need to know! So, I’m going to start working on learning how to do this stuff. Don’t worry, I’ll share it with you, of course!

What have you learned from your broken instruments?

So, I don’t know if you are aware, but I designed this bag that I call the “Boom Tote”. It perfectly carries a one-octave set of Boomwhacker® instruments.

You just slip the tubes inside, close it with the draw-string top and sling it over your shoulder…

The top part of the bag is mesh so you can see if you forgot one of your Boomies somewhere. (They can be so sneaky sometimes!)

I even have a SUPER-SIZED Boom Tote. It can hold 4 sets of standard sized Boomwhackers®… that’s 32 Boomies!

Read Kat Fulton from Rhythm For Good’s review of the Boom Tote here.

I’m getting more serious about offering the Boom Tote on a very large scale level. So, I’ve started to lay out the ground work to make that happen.

Here’s what’s new:

1. A (preliminary) logo. I absolutely love it. I feel there is nothing better than clean, simple design.
2. A website dedicated to the Boom Tote: BoomTote.com. Before, Boom Tote sort of lived at the Music Therapy Tween blog. But, Boom Tote is becoming more independent and found a home for herself. Visit it here.
3. A new and improved online store dedicated only to the Boom Tote. Find it here.
4. Boom Tote on Facebook. Believe it or not, but this is the first FB page I’ve made! Please like it so that you can be the first to hear the latest Boom Tote news.

The Boom Tote is the perfect way to store your Boomwhackers®!

This is NOT a picture of my broken guitar.

Sigh. The other day I packed up my guitar and shipped it to it’s manufacturer’s repair center. The bridge cracked along all of the string pegs. Luckily, it’s an Alvarez and that type of repair is under warranty.

This experience has taught me a few things that I believe you should know as well:

1. ALWAYS keep a copy of the receipt. The company required me to send it to them.
2. Try getting the box at a music store. So, with pretty much all guitar manufacturer warranties YOU have to ship your instrument to their repair center. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have huge, guitar shaped boxes at my home.
3. Consider shipping it through FedEx. It cost me $42.00 to ship my guitar. That’s including the insurance. (I know that is something you are wondering!)

The biggest thing I keep thinking after this whole ordeal:

I’m so glad I bought LOCAL.

I happened to get this guitar at a local music store: Jam Music. I am so glad that I did! They helped me with this whole process… I didn’t know anything about my instrument’s warranty – they filled me in on it… I didn’t have my receipt – they printed out a copy for me… I didn’t have a crazy, big guitar box – they gave me an extra WITH bubble wrap. What a big help!

Of course, whether my guitar gets fixed and sent back to me in one piece is another story. I’ll keep you filled in with how all of that goes!

So, what is your work environment like? I mean, your actual office or session space. I’m really big on having a relaxed and creative environment. My current office is nice because, well, I have and office. But, I’d like to incorporate a little more individuality, if you know what I mean.

I started by adding some pictures that I enjoy. My favorite is a framed cartoon from the New Yorker. It’s of a guitar player in the subway with a caption that says something like “You’re stuck in the subway with the listening-to-someone-butcher-Bob-Dylan blues.” That’s pretty funny. A patient gave it to me, which makes it even more meaningful. It’s really amazing how a nicely framed paper can really transform a space.

Decorating is more than just the visual. There is the scent element to consider as well. Especially for me… the room next to mine is the home of the office microwave and the accompanying food smells. But there is a big problem… I can’t have candles and I really don’t like the chemically smells of plug-in types of things. But, I found a solution… Scentsy.

Have you ever heard of this stuff? It’s basically a candle warmer that you plug in. The best part is that it doesn’t involve fiery flame, making it really great for the office. The warmer itself is decorative and fits into your room beautifully. They have 80+ different scents too! I’ve gotten the chance to smell ALL of them, and let me tell you, they are really accurate to their description. Weathered Leather really smells like weathered leather. Baked Apple Pie really smells like Baked Apple Pie. It’s pretty crazy. AND the scent bars last a really long time… 80 hours. I like the value of that.

So, to fit with my ‘relaxed and creative office’ theme I’ll be getting the Spa scent collection and probably the Montauk warmer. (I say probably because I like them all and can’t make up my mind.) Scentsy is a direct marketing company, that means that you can’t go to a store to get them. But, I’m hosting an online party so YOU CAN get your own right now! Just click on this link and start exploring!

I can see Scentsy warmers fitting in really nicely in a clinic space too. How great would it be at the end of the day to turn on a nice Cucumber Lime smell while you clean up instruments and complete paperwork? What an easy way to pamper yourself after a satisfying day! I know that they have the right scent for you… click here and check it out!

Wade Richards is holding a contest: Share a duet between two music therapists.

Who could resist something like that?

So my music therapist friend Carolyn Dachinger and I got together and arranged the very popular Todd Rundgren song: Bang The Drum All Day. Our version ended up consisting of guitar, xylophone, Boomwhackers®, drums and our lovely voices.

This was a fantastic experience for us! We found ourselves using all of our (sometimes dusty) theory and ear training skills to manipulate the song to our liking. This was Carolyn’s first experience with recording and Garage Band. This was my Boomwhacker® orchestration debut and the most complicated Garage Band recording to date. Truly a learning experience for both of us!

But, we didn’t just record a song… we went all out and made a video! Why not?!?!

Here it is:

But there’s more! We’ve decided to share our recording as a free download! So, if you happen to like it grab it!

By the way, did you like that bag that held the Boomwhackers®? I created it and you can get one here.

Boomwhackers® is a registered trademark and the product is manufactured and distributed exclusively by Rhythm Band Instruments, LLC of Fort Worth, TX

Last month there was a very scary bus accident in my area. A local school bus that was full of kids collided with a tractor trailer. One of the children died on the bus. Many of the victims were sent to my hospital for treatment. Here is a video of two of the student riders sharing their story:

And, then it hit me…

I work at a hospital.

I hear helicopters and ambulances coming in and out. And those vehicles are transporting really injured people. While music therapy is NOT about making people happy, let’s face it, a majority of the time smiles, laughing and overall sighs of relief occur during music therapy sessions. There is a phenomenon that happens when I just walk into the room and say “Hi, I’m Michelle from music therapy”… people change… and it’s usually in a positive way. But, this is a hospital – a place where life and death take place.

I think I just forgot of the severity of everything that happens here.

I look exausted! But, here we are at a music therapy conference.

For the past couple of years I have not attended music therapy conference alone… my husband has come with me. And, every year we hear comments from people along the lines of “That’s so nice!” and “How did you get him to come to conference with you?” Especially since Edward is NOT a music therapist or musician or anything like that. He actually has a background in architecture and works as an Urban Designer.

It IS really nice that he is with me but the truth is that he is not there out of the love and interest of music therapy. He is there because he helps me with my music therapy business ventures. Edward started attending conference when I started having booths in the Exhibit Hall and he is the person who runs the booths. This allows me the luxury of not having to think about all those details so that I can keep meeting, greeting, sharing my products and actually attend a few sessions. He’s not an assistant with this, he’s my partner.

The truth is that he would not be attending a music therapy conference if he didn’t have a duty. He’s a fan of music therapy but not exactly someone comfortable or interested in jumping into the musical/drum circle culture of it all. But, he recognizes and respects the field. He also shares a really valuable and different perspective regarding professional organizations, conferences in general, marketing… not to mention that I think my booths are the best looking… because they are set up by a designer. This perspective sharing with each other goes both ways. I sometimes attend Ed’s work functions too and I dish out my thoughts on his blog in the column “I’m married to a new urbanist”.

I know that for Ed and I, our individual professions are both really important to us. Even though they are sort of completely different. Our passions for our respective professions are the same in that we just really, really believe our fields. And, because our passions are so deep, that makes our fields the same. (Does that make sense?)

I really like that he comes to conferences with me and for the time being, he’ll continue to be in attendance. So, if you ever see him, please say hello. But, don’t be upset if you never see him at a drum circle. They’re just not his thing.

Are you like me and can’t make it to any of the regional AMTA conferences? You are?!?!

Well, luckily for us… we have Twitter AND some very kind friends who use Twitter! We can follow along with conference festivities by following each conference’s Twitter hashtag.

Did you just say “What’s a hashtag? How do I find one? Do I have to be on Twitter to do that?”… don’t worry, I made a video about all of that here.

Here’s a list of AMTA’s regional conferences along with their respective hashtags…

2012 AMTA Regional Conference Hashtags:

• South Western Region: #swamta12
• Western Region: #wramta12
• Mid-Atlantic Region: #maramta12
• South Eastern Region: #seramta12
• New England Region: #neramta12
• Mid-Western Region: #mwamta12
• Great Lakes Region: #GLR2012

If you know one that hasn’t been filled in yet, please share in the comments. Thanks!

Conference time, conference time

Time to go to conference now,

Time to pack your bags and travel!

 

Conference time, conference time

Get on out for conference time,

Time for Michelle to share some conference tips with you!

(That was sung to the “Picture Pages” theme… did you get that?)

It’s spring time and in the music therapy community that means it’s regional conference time. There is always lots to do at conference and as an attendee it can be a fun, overwhelming whirlwind.

So, here is a round up of posts giving information that will (hopefully) be helpful as you are at conference:

Conference And Networking Tips

About conference:

• Tips For AMTA National Conference
• Music Therapy Conference: Presenting
• Music Therapy Conference: Student Associations
• Music Therapy Conference: Part 1
• Music Therapy Conference: Part 2
• Music Therapy Conference: Part 3
• Tips: Keep That After Conference Glow

About networking:

• What Do You Think Should Be On Business Cards?
• What To Have At Events
• Compliments And Giving Credit
• Music Therapy Conference: Tweeps
• Chance Encounters Of The Good Kind
• Networking Tip
• Networking Tip: Business Card Follow Up

About seizing opportunity

• Lesson Learned: Understanding Opportunity
• Lesson Learned: Professional Support

I’ve been reading the Music IN therapy vs. Music AS therapy posts from Kyle Fleming and Kimberly Sena Moore. Have you? They are worth it and you should consider reading them. So, I thought I’d add my 2 cents as well.

I had a patient at the hospital who I sort of ‘happened’ upon when I was walking past the door of the large Physical Therapy gym on my way down the hallway. The physical therapist flagged me down because they were working with a patient who became so anxious during yesterday’s session that the session had be ended early. This is obviously something that we (the therapist, patient and myself) want to avoid… we don’t want any patient to be physically or emotionally uncomfortable and it’s not the best thing for people to miss out on their therapy.

So I stayed with the patient throughout their PT session and improvised music in an effort to support their various PT exercises and improvised music to breathe along to in between those various PT exercises. I would label these as music IN therapy experiences… Because we didn’t really get into the core reason for the patients anxiety. The session was in the huge PT gym and there were other PTs and patients throughout the room working so it didn’t seem appropriate to explore the patient’s anxiety right in front of everyone. So we didn’t. But I think I lean humanistically and I also think that not everyone would agree with my IN/AS classification here. Anyway… the patient thanked me for the session, made some positive comments about it, I went on my way and eventually the patient was discharged.

Unfortunately, the patient came back to the hospital a couple of weeks later. But, fortunately, I knew about it so I stopped by their room to see if they were interested in music therapy again. When I arrived the nurse happened to be in the room and our conversation went something like this…

Me: Hi patient, I heard you were back in the hospital.

Patient: I know! (Followed by the reason for hospitalization).

Me: Well, would you be interested in music therapy today?

Nurse: Right! Michelle is a great singer.

Patient: Yes she is! When we were together over at rehab she played music that was so nice and made me feel so relaxed that I could do all of my leg exercises. I was feeling really, really anxious.

(ok, so special props to that patient for the MT advocacy, but let’s keep going…)

I would classify the session we had together as music IN therapy…. but I think the patient had classified it as music AS therapy… and we’re talking about the same session! I think the music itself was therapeutic for the patient.

So what does this mean? I think it means that where music’s location is in relation to therapy (is it IN or AS) is not just determined by the therapist. It is also determined by the patient. And sometimes we might not be thinking the same thing.

Now that this post is written and I’m looking it over… maybe it’s not about where the music is at all… maybe it’s more about the relationship of the music to all the people involved. Hmmm… guess the debate will continue on.