Want to study music therapy?

Cant imagine how 2years has flown by amd I have completed my two years of music therapy studies！thinking back，this course is very rewarding that ive met so many clients with so many life stories behind them. It is so life enriching for me to see a lot. Also，it is life transformimg，for me，is to first change myself inside out to be transformed as well：）

To study music therapy，
you will usually need a few qualifications for most courses you desire to study：

1. One main instrument you can play well
It can be the piano or the guitar，or even the accordion！something you are confident in playing back to front in front of people you have not met yet，and an instrument that can introduce yourself to others...
skills of accompanying，singing，group leading will be beneficial！

2. Knowledge of music-
not just how you can play music，or music theory and history，but how  music works ：how can music affect brain activities，change mood？how can music change behaviors？how can music facilitate change？

Yes it seems it starts to go to the direction of musicology，music psychlogy or ethnomusicology，but its ok：）

if you dont， here are some resources you can find and you can still learn it （ it is definitely a lifelong process！）

3. Experience working in social services or with people
I personally think it is really important to experience in social service with people beforehand，such as volunteer work or work projects with organisations. Of course，it will be very beneficial if you have some work experience at the music therapy centre，or at some population specific facilities（nursing homes，disability services）

However，personally，if you wanna study，
i think it is more important to have a few personal qualities in mind：
1. Openness and acceptance
It is crucial to be open to our clients，and in all means，willing to accept change，adapt to differences.

2. Sensitivity
Being sensitive to another persons needs is essential. Do you sense when they needed space and their own time？do you sense when they need a hand？

3. Genuine love and care
Do you genuinely want to help，want to love and want to care for the clients？do you seek their needs before yours？

4. Approachable
Being approachable shows if you are a person they want to develop a clinical relationship with you. If they are willing，it will be much easier for them to open up to you，talk about their problems with you and such：）

Feel free to email me if you have any questions regarding to music therapy matters！
i am here to help：）

Best wishes to you all，
Hanna

A few weeks to go.... and time management :P

How is everyone？

I am recently very busy with my final semester preparation，time flies，and Ive only got a few more weeks to go！

As I am trying hard to finish my course assignments and placements，it is definitely a struggle ，as always，to deal with my time management and my stress coping skills！

As you are reading this blog，I would love to share a few of my coping strategies with you all！

1. Start early
Or at least，think about it early，get the things around your head and in your mind first，
Then you might have ideas gathering your head！
Usually I try to finish assignments a week or two earlier so I dont need to just meet the deadline，But trying to do it properly and out of my management！
Also，I can have time checking my assignments！

2. Have a balanced time or lifestyle
When it is the busiest times，I will normally cancel out all unnecessary or unimportant commitments or meetings I needed to go to， and try to focus. In that way，my timetable will be more fixed，and I can arrange the timetable myself. I can try spending most of my time （eg 70%） of it on my work，while I still have an hr to do things I normally do （for the rest 30%）. Or things I like. For example， cleaning，cooking，talking to friends，exercising，，，

Personally，I find having a balanced time is essential，as this will not make me feel that I have lost something during the busy periods，but I still live a life！（luckily！）

3. Take a break ：）
Taking a break regularly in between your work is great！It makes your work more efficient and it also refreshes your mind！take a deep breathe，smile，drink some water，relax... This will all help you！

4. Feel how you feel
It is not easy to go through all the stress！how are you feeling right now？do you feel sore in your body？do you find your arms or knees tense？try to relax the body parts that are not feeling great.

How do you feel in your mind？do you feel anxious，worried，painful？do you feel tired？try to feel them，acknowledge them. How do you actually feel about it？then you can try releasing yourfeelings. Allow time to release them！

5. Listen to some music
Music does sometimes bring us to another state of mind，doesnt it？it brings us to the water streams when the water music is played，or the valleys. Playing music on your own instruments also

Do you have any ideas to cope with stress？

my life as a student music therapist！

I want to share about my life as a student music therapist！
For some of you that might want to pursue that in the future，here it is：）

I work part time as a music tutor，teaching students flute，theory and piano at public and private schools，also I do my internship 1/2 days a week！For uni，i get a full day class with limited break with a few lectures and workshops.

So my timetable is as below：
Mon
My day off ：）
uni work，catch up with readings，exercising，catching up with friends，
Doing volunteer work，doing something I want，，
（just cant believe how fast the day usually goes！）
Tues
Full day placement！
running around，doing sessions，learning，chatting with colleagues and supervisors，，
Usually dead tired after it，，，and need to write notes and do evaluation after
Wed
Full day uni！lectures，workshops，，，
Being loaded with teaching and new knowledge！
Jamming at night
Thurs
Teaching ！
Rehearsals at night
Fri
Teaching！
Day off at night（friday night，，hehee！）
Sat
Day with practise，exercising and miscallaneous things
Sun
Church day

As you can see，time is limited and there is not much time to fit everything in！so the lesson is to constantly learn to have good time management skills. It is easy to take a lot of things on but it is also a practise of life work balance：）

What are your schedules like？

wonderful moments in the children's hospital

I would love to share a few of my wonderful moments with you in music therapy！

In the childrens hospital，
A lot of children are in great pain，living their lives in the hospital，not knowing when or where they can be free again. Also，with lots of discomfort，they often find it hard to adapt to the environment in hospital. Imagine a young child at their age，they couldnt express feeling either. They dont know how they should feel，except parents keep telling them to do whatever is needed. What is the best thing of the day？

On request，the music therapist and I went to see a child in his room. As we entered the room，he was with his mom，playing computer games. That was his only friend that could always company him. As he seemed to look bored and dull，we said hi to him and invited him to join us for the music therapy session. As we started inviting him to join in with music，he started smile a lot more！As the music therapist encouraged him to try more on the drums，he became more excited and he was also amazed！

He got fascinated when water came splashing up like a mini fountain on the tibetian bowl，that was sitting on his lap，where he laid on his bed. He shouted WOW and also laughed and giggled cheerfully. His mom said，this is the best day in his hospital！

In 60 minutes' time，he has found his joy and his positive experience in the hospital.

Music cam be a tool to  connect the lost minds，a tool to light up the bored.
It is also be a social avenue to the ones who has lost.