Happy New Year! New years are about new beginnings and I am so very happy with how my career is beginning here in Texas. My years in grad school were life changing in so many ways, and my experiences at Mizzou and MSU have prepared me well for life after grad school. Which brings me to my list. Let me just say, being a music therapist is AMAZING! The career choice is one that is full of growth personally and professionally throughout schooling, and beyond. I wouldn't be the person I was today if it wasn't for my experiences practicing my instruments, writing songs, improvising, being in clinicals, in classes, studying with friends, and at internship. I am loving what I do, and doing what I love which inspired me to write a list of things future MT students should know (in no particular order). Here goes! Feel free to comment with advice to pass along.
Keep practicing your primary instrument, no matter what it is. As one of my prof's once said "It is a part of you, and very important." My primaries are violin and piano. We use piano quite a bit in MT, but violin is not one of the standards. Violin was a part of me before I became a music therapist, and it's a piece of me that I never want to lose. I made sure to include it when appropriate in clinical and internship settings. I also had the pleasure of playing it while providing Environmental Music Therapy. Now that I provide MT in schools, it is something that I can't wait to share with youngsters.
Read a lot of books related to the field. I know it's hard to squeeze in another reading assignment. (I admit, I didn't get to this one as much as I had hoped). I highly suggest reading materials on the supplemental lists of syllabi and also exploring fields that influence and relate to MT such as psychology, sociology, neurology, music education etc. One of my favorite authors is the late Oliver Sacks. An intersting fiction book is Still Alice which tells the story of a woman with Alzheimer's but from her point of view. It was recently made into a movie as well.
Embrace the non-primary instruments. When I was first beginning, I definitely had fears about guitar and would often joke it was harder than violin because it had more strings. I later learned to face the fears (i.e. afraid to fail at it) and fell in love with the instrument and it's fun cousin, the ukulele. Fast-foward to now: I use guitar everyday in my work place and, get this, there are no pianos, which is sad. Those of you hugging a piano need to realize that guitar can be your friend too.
Get involved, and make friends outside of your discipline. I was blessed to meet and make friends with people in and out of my major that I consider lifelong friends. One of those people who had a completely different major than me, and many different personal beliefs, is a person I consider to be amazing and helped open my eyes to things beyond my own little world. We had lively chats/debates. It was invigorating and challenging to have someone ask me why I believed something, or did something and I had to really take the time to explore what I truly believed in/thought, versus what I believed/thought because of other factors. Because of that, I was able to soul-search, and then when needed felt comfortable defending. Advocating for music therapy is a large part of our field, and the skills I learned (and things I learned about myself) helped prepare me well.
Have a support system. Being a music therapy major is amazing, and challenging. It is important to have a support system of people who you can bounce ideas off of, practice songs with, read obscure articles with and go through life's ups and downs with because you never know what could happen.
Show up. Be where you said you would be, and be there on time. This is easier said than done. There are going to be days when you feel like life is crushing you. But you know what helps? Music, music therapy, making music with others, and coffee. Believe in the power of music and what you do.
Take care of yourself, eat well, get sleep. Again, easier said than done, especially in grad school. One time I had a pop-tart and a piece of cake for lunch, chased it with coffee and I'm pretty sure french fries were involved. It was glorious. It was also not a good idea. I was blessed with being in a school program, and in an internship site that helped me learn ways to take care of myself mentally, and physically in our careers. Overall, you have to learn to take care of yourself so that you really fully devote yourself to the tasks at hand. When you go in to see clients/patients, you want to be able to focus and attune to their needs. You can't do that if you're half asleep, worried about xyz, or dreaming about lunch you haven't had yet.
Learn/listen to music you "don't like". Someday a patient/client will request music that you've never heard of, or music that sparks a painful memory for you, or even is music you just don't like. I'm not saying you have to learn a song you don't like, or listen to a song that makes you cry...but I am saying it is important to keep an open mind, explore musical styles, and bands with which you're not as familiar.
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