JoAnn Schriner 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
September 4, 2005
Bill was in his 80s, on Hospice service with End-Stage Alzheimers, in a locked unit, an opera singer belting out opera at the top of his dear baritone lungs. In the middle of the night! Much to the consternation of staff and other residents. That's when they called me in. "What can be done about this?" staff inquired. As his son told me later, "Ya just let him sing!" And he did. We sang together every week - opera, light opera, old songs of love, new songs about the beauty inside. Many times his beloved Lorraine joined us. They sang love songs to each other and held each other. They danced together as I sang to them, and when he could no longer do that, they danced their hands, entwined, on a drum. Toward the end he couldn't speak much, but he could still express his feelings on the drum, one day tracing the edge and asking,"What if you were stuck somewhere and couldn't get out? ... Sad," he said. Still later, even fewer words were coming out, but he continued to love playing my xylophone, during which time he could focus and enjoy his music for 5 minutes at a time, an amazing attention span for that stage of his illness. It's so important to be able to express ourselves, showing what is hidden inside, and Bill could still do that through music, even when he could no longer speak.
In a note Lorraine wrote to me after he died, she refers to him as her "music man," and tells of playing a classical radio station for him as he lay dying. Their daughter emailed the station to tell them what was happening. Lorraine writes, "For nearly three days they played mostly Bill's [favorite] music as he cut his ties to this world and ventured into the next - whatever that may be... Never underestimate the kindness of strangers." Remarkable. However the most remarkable thing was that even in his extremely weakened condition, as he lay dying, "some of his last voluntary movements were directing the music with one index finger." That's the power of music, the power to move us at a depth we cannot deny.
I feel my talk could just end here with dear Bill, one of my unforgettable Hospice Music Therapy clients.
I've been working as a Music Therapist for 10 years, and want to bring you into my world a bit this morning. It is a world filled with music and connecting with others. For me, it's a calling, as Karen spoke about last Sunday morning. It is part of my spirituality. I love doing this work, I'm in awe of the connections with others that are made through the music, I am deeply moved - sometimes to tears, and I feel I sometimes make a difference.
Music can connect us with our feelings and our bodies, with each other, with the rest of the world. We want to dance, to cry, to laugh, to remember, to love. Our hearing begins in the womb, with newborns responding to parents' voices and familiar in-utero music. It is said to be the last sense to leave us as we die.
Music is processed in a different part of the brain than language and other intellectual tasks. For you scientific types: the auditory cortex is part of the temporal lobe, closely associated with the limbic system, which is intimately involved with our emotions.
Music can elicit responses when nothing else seems to. Someone who cannot speak, because of a stroke, for example, may be able to sing a favorite song. One of my first experiences as a Music Therapy student was observing a man who seemed to be in a coma. When the Music Therapist began softly humming one of his favorite songs, a tear began sliding down his cheek. Then, still without any other visible response came a sound that was actually him humming along - -on pitch! He was connecting with the music and with the Music Therapist. And to me, that's the heart of Music Therapy - the connection between people.
In one of my Alzheimers groups recently, the residents were asked what music and singing do for them, what's it like? Here are some of their responses: "It feels in rhythm, delicious, happy, it unifies us, joyous, it feels good to stretch yourself, we express ourselves, it makes me feel like I'm in flight."
Music has been used through the ages for celebrating, grieving, marking life transitions, healing, performing rituals, and for arousing religious and political fervor. Music Therapy as a profession began in the 1950s, with therapists receiving Certification, Masters and/or Doctorates.
In light of this week's events in the Gulf Coast, I'm sure Music Therapists will offer their services to ease the emotional trauma people are experiencing. They did that after 9/11 when they used their skills to help with the healing process, sometimes even playing music on the street.
Music Therapy differs with each client and therapist. Broadly, I define it as a connection between client and Music Therapist using music creatively as the medium. Therapeutic goals can be physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual. We plan our sessions based on client need, continual assessment, and post-session evaluation. We create active and passive music experiences using familiar and new music, song writing, improvisation, non-verbal communications (say, with drums), and music with guided imagery, to name a few things. Humor is usually part of my sessions, even with Hospice clients. For example, [put on headband decorated with cowboy hat with yellow yarn braids] this cowgirl disguise you all gave me as Chris began his sabbatical last May has made several clients and families laugh. And some very large older men got very tickled with themselves when they put it on!
Music Therapy researchers are finding that our techniques affect such neurological and physiological states as heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, anxiety, perception of pain, and the immune system.
As for respiration, sometimes I begin the music in tempo with the person's too-rapid breathing. I gradually slow down the music until the breathing comes into synch with the music and the person relaxes more.
Regarding the perception of pain: When a nurse began dressing the very painful wound of a client recently, I snuggled up right next to her face. She doesn't speak any more, but can moan and cry. I began singing softly with the guitar, and her eyes found mine. Each time the pain caused her to cry out, the music supported her with more intensity, as if in acknowledgment of her agony, till her perception of the pain was diminished. As she relaxed, the music became softer again until the next episode. Her eyes never left mine, through many cycles of pain and release.
I have been privileged to practice Music Therapy in various populations, with children and adults:
The general, well population
Those who are dealing with grief
Adolescents in the legal system
Residents of mental health facilities
People with developmental disabilities
Folks facing the end of their lives under Hospice care
Geriatric patients
Those who want to explore their musicality, making and appreciating music
Similar work is also being done with prisoners, expectant families, newborns, hospital patients, etc.
I am currently working locally with a hospice, two Alzheimers residences, and with private clients.
Music can help a person to grow, to heal, and to experience life more fully. With private clients I use song writing, improvisation, lyric processing, etc. I also use music to stimulate visualizations, pictures a person sees in his imagination. The client is in a relaxed state, eyes closed, listening to carefully selected music, reporting images and body sensations he or she is having. The therapist writes down these responses. Often the person draws a symbolic picture to represent the experience. We then talk about what came up and its significance.
Years ago when I worked with adolescents in trouble with the law, we did improvisation, song writing, and a whole lot of group drumming - big drums for each person! They were learning to listen to each other, to trust, to cooperate, to express emotions appropriately, to work as a team for the sounds they wanted. The hope was, as in much music therapy, that the music experiences would translate into their non-musical behavior, and they seemed to be making progress.
For several years I loved my daily groups with adults with developmental disabilities. The motto at this place was "Love Before Learning." We laughed a lot. And when someone cried, we made up a song or ceremony acknowledging the sadness or pain. One young woman in a wheelchair could not speak nor use her hands, but she could move her feet with some spastic motions. I would put the drum stick into her shoe laces, get on the floor and move the drum where her foot was about to land, trying to stay out of her way. She would pound that sucker! This helped her express the anger she was feeling about her physical situation. It gave her power. It even made her smile sometimes!
In my Hospice work, it is especially meaningful to facilitate connections with self and others through the music. Sometimes we write a song as a final gift, or let music help someone relax and let go, or choose songs to enhance memories and increase self valuing. Sometimes a family member will request a song, as happened recently. The daughter asked for "Wind Beneath My Wings" and read the lyrics to her father. They were in tears before long. She told her dad how she felt about him always being there for her. As she held her father's hands, his wife and I began softly singing the song as if from the daughter to her father, wonderful tears flowing all round.
Sometimes we don't know how much the music is affecting someone. One day I left a client's room wondering if the session had soothed her agitated state. It sure didn't seem like it. But staff later reported that they believed the music had helped her stay calm for the rest of that day.
Music can provide a resource for creating special ceremonies. I have Tibetan monastery bells, a gift from my son. One of my clients used to give piano concerts, but can no longer play. One hand is gnarled into a fist, and she cries about that often. I sometimes hold the bells and say to her, "[ding!] This is in honor of your dear hands. [ding!] This is for the beautiful music you have played over the years, touching so many people. [ding!] This is in honor of the hands that have loved your children so much. [ding!] This is to honor your hands, as they are now, that still love others."
So, these are just some of my many meaningful experiences in Music Therapy. My work is something that fills me, that feels spiritual. I'm really lucky to be doing what I love!!
You are already aware of the power of music in your own life, and you can use this power even more effectively if you try some simple suggestions:
Use music selectively. No radio playing all day long.
Share your music with someone - a young person perhaps
Let music lead you into your imagination, as you relax and let go.
Choose music that will match and/or change your mood.
Use music to discover and express your feelings.
Lie on the floor to feel the music's vibrations. (Turn the sound way up!)
Encourage others to enjoy, not stifle, their own Music Inside!
Click here for some other Ideas for Music Enjoyment.
You have heard about and experienced this morning some of what music and Music Therapy can do. It can facilitate change, insight, growth, communication and healing. And it can help us to have FUN!
I began by telling you about Bill, the opera singer in the last stages of Alzheimers. We are not Bill, but we all have Music Inside. If we can connect with the power of music in our own lives, perhaps we too can find a way to direct the orchestra, if only with one finger!
(the following meditation preceded the sermon)
This is an experience I offer in some of my Music Therapy sessions. I invite you to close your eyes and listen as the Peak Performers sing this medley of songs I put together with guitar accompaniment. Let this "Lifetime Through Music" roll over you. Afterward, we can share some of our reactions.
- Rock-a bye Baby
(hummed) Rock-a bye baby on the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. (men) When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, And down will come baby, cradle and all.
- Small World
(women) It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, It's a world of hope and a world of fears, There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware it's a small world after all. (while men sing the chorus, women sing this verse) There is just one moon and one golden sun, And a smile means friendship to everyone. Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide, it's a small world after all.
- [Pomp and Circumstance] (men sing on dah)
- Hi Ho
(men continue) Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go, (women) Just keep on singing all day long, Hi ho, hi ho!
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
(women) Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. (men) There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. (women) Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue. (All) And the dreams that you dare to dream really do some true.
- Everything Possible
(women) You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around, you can choose one special one, (men) And the only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you're done.
- [Wedding March]
(all sing on pum or pah)
- My Blue Heaven
(men) You'll see a smiling face, (both) A fire place, a cozy room. (women) A little nest that nestles where the roses bloom. (men) Just Jolly and me, (women) And baby makes three. (men) We're happy in my blue heaven.
- Sunrise, Sunset
(men) Is this the little girl I carried? (women) Is this the little boy at play? (men) I don't remember growing older. When did they? (both) Sunrise, sunset, Sunrise, sunset, Swiftly fly the years. One season following another, laden with happines and tears.
- Somewhere
(men) There's a place for us, (women) A time and place for us. (both) Hold my hand and we're almost there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there. Somehow, someday, somewhere.
- Memories
(women) Memories, memories, dreams of love so true. (men) You left me alone, but still you're my own in my beautiful memories.
- I've Got Peace Like a River
(both) I've got peace like a river...in my soul (several times).
- (solo echo at end) Rock-a bye baby.