Hello, families! We hope your summer is going well. Here are the dates for music therapy groups in July. If you’re a new family interested in joining one of these groups, please reach out to us so that we can meet your child and determine which group may be a better fit.
All groups are held at Music Therapy Services of Portland on SW Barbur Blvd. and co-facilitated by board-certified music therapists, Angie Kopshy & Kate Harris.
Group music is a great setting to create opportunities for developing social connections. Moving together in synchronicity, which in this case is everyone participating in the same rhythmic movement, encourages social cooperation and creates a sense of purpose and togetherness. Singing in unison can also have the same effect. Examples of a couple songs we use are Tap Your Knees inspired by Anne Green Gilbert of Creative Arts Center‘s BrainDance concepts) andBear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.
Our full example for the week is We’ve Got Rhythm. Try this song every day as a family until you’ve mastered it and are ready to move on to a new song! Here are the lyrics to help you:
Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.
Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. And we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.
Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. And we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. And we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.
Here to share a rhythm. To sing a song on a sunny day. We’ve got rhythm in our hearts. Tap your chest. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our hearts. Tap your chest. And we’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our arms. Squeeze your arms. And we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our toes. Tap your toes. And we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands. Yes, we’ve got rhythm in our hands. Clap your hands.
Group music also provides the opportunity for children to learn social skills such as imitation, turn taking, joint attention, shared affect, and empathy. We often incorporate several facilitations that involve passing instruments such as Pass the Squishy Ball, Saturday Band, and The Drum Song. Passing instruments provides a structured activity for engaging with the person on either side and helps create awareness of others.
Angie Kopshy, MM, MT-BC
Music Therapy Services of Portland is directed by board-certified music therapist, Angie Kopshy. Upon completion of her Master’s in Music from Boise State University, Angie returned to Portland to study music therapy at Marylhurst University. Music Therapy Services of Portland specializes on working with children on the autism spectrum. Angie is also a singer/songwriter with the band, Stoneface Honey.
For those of you attending our Music Therapy Outreach groups, you may have noticed that many of our facilitations place emphasis on developing motor planning skills. In both one-to-one and group sessions, we work to develop the parts of the brain that deal with movement. Through training, the brain can change both in structure and function, and new neural connections can be made through repetition.
Rhythm can play a huge role in activating the motor areas of the brain and has been found to not only affect the timing of movement, but the total movement pattern. We especially like to implement facilitations that target cross-lateral movement: crossing midline. Crossing midline is very important for brains of all ages! When you participate in cross-lateral movement, the right and left hemispheres of the brain interact, which activates the brain and helps to build stronger connections between the hemispheres.
Cross-lateral movement helps create connections between nerve cells and is critical to the development of complex skills such as the ability to understand what we read or what someone is saying to us (which requires both hemispheres working together and separately). Lateralization is key in reading, writing, gross motor control, and organization.
In this video, we provide snippets of Bear Hunt, The Drum Song and of full verse of the Paddle drum song inspired by Kimberly Sena Moore of Music Therapy Maven. We encourage you to incorporate more movement into your lives at home, in the car, while you’re in the waiting room – anywhere and everywhere! Tap your knees or clap your hands as you’re reading a familiar book or add some movement to your child’s favorite song. Turn everything into a fancy pattycake affair while paying special attention to getting arms to cross midline without twisting the entire body.
Angie Kopshy, MM, MT-BC
Music Therapy Services of Portland is directed by board-certified music therapist, Angie Kopshy. Upon completion of her Master’s in Music from Boise State University, Angie returned to Portland to study music therapy at Marylhurst University. Music Therapy Services of Portland specializes on working with children on the autism spectrum. Angie is also a singer/songwriter with the band, Stoneface Honey.
Big Sky Music Therapy 