Adapted Music Lessons Versus Music Therapy
Estimated reading time 5 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Sometimes parents of special needs students do not know whether adapted music lessons or music therapy will be the best fit for their child. When the student has a developmental delay the answer will depend on what the strengths and challenges of the student are.
That will vary depending on the type of developmental delay. Down Syndrome, intellectually challenged, and classic autism all have their own challenges.
However, students with Asperger’s Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder, and mild to moderate Autism Spectrum Disorder generally do well in the lessons. First let’s look at the differences between adapted music lessons and music therapy.
What is the Difference Between Adapted Music Lessons and Music Therapy?
The biggest difference between music education and music therapy is that music education’s main goal is learning musical skills. Conversely, in music therapy the non-musical goals outweigh the musical goals.
A music therapist may teach a student a song to help him to remember how to tie his shoes. Another song might focus on saying a particular consonant that he struggles to say more clearly.
Alternately, the therapist’s goal might be to help get out strong feelings attached to a traumatic experience. The music therapist does not usually teach music, but uses music to work on other non-musical skills.
On the other hand, it might be nice that learning to read music and play an instrument can have a beneficial impact on a student’s school work and cognitive development.
However, in music education the most important objectives are learning to read music and play an instrument. The music itself is the goal.
Betsey King Brunk on Adapted Music Lessons Versus Music Therapy
Betsey King Brunk, in the book, Music Therapy: Another Path to Learning and Communication for Children in the Autism Spectrum, goes into some detail about the differences between music therapy and adapted music lessons.
“Music therapy is the use of music and music related strategies to work on non-musical goals. Music therapy is practiced by board certified specialists who have learned how to use music for cognitive, physical, and emotional goals…
“Adapted music lessons, like all music education programs, focus on teaching musical skills, such as proficiency on an instrument… Adapted music lessons may be provided by music educators (like piano teachers)… Daily practice at home is usually part of adapted music lessons.
“How do I know if my child will be ready to participate in adapted music lessons? The answer to this question can come from two different sources – your knowledge of your child’s strengths and weaknesses; and a trial period of instruction with a music teacher.
“Learning to play an instrument requires, among other things, (1) the ability to follow simple directions, (2) some degree of fine motor control and coordination, and (3) the ability to store and recall information from one lesson to another.
“A music teacher who offers adapted music lessons will look at these skills and may offer a trial period during which everyone involved can see how your child would respond. Much will depend on the instrument that is chosen – each one requires different abilities” (103 – 104).
Using the Autoharp in Adapted Music Lessons
The autoharp is a substitute for the guitar that is within the reach of many developmentally delayed students. In the early stages, the order of most difficult to least difficult goes: guitar, piano, then autoharp.
In typical learner students, the difference in difficulty between the guitar and piano will probably not be noticed. However, difficulty is a real factor when deciding which instrument to choose for your special needs child. The autoharp is the easiest of the three to learn.
Guitar is usually not a good fit for special needs students unless a chord buddy is used. It gives the guitar a very limited autoharp-like experience. I have special needs students who have low expressive language skills that do fine on piano. It all depends on how good the student’s receptive language skills are. Therefore, it is a matter of knowing your child.
A Special Type of Teacher
Brunk points out the things to look for in an instructor who teaches adapted music lessons, “Ask yourself: Can this teacher break down skills into smaller tasks that my child can master? Does the teacher have patience with unpredictable behavior?
“Does this teacher use positive reinforcement, and will he or she use it with greater frequency if my child needs it? Is this teacher comfortable with a slower rate of progress than that which other students may achieve?
“(Many children in adapted music lessons make the same progress as students in ‘regular’ lessons – but do it over a longer period of time)” (104 – 105).
How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain Video
Success Music Studio
I am a music educator, not a music therapist. I have taught adapted music lessons, using specialized multisensory teaching techniques, to teach students who are intellectually challenged, have Down Syndrome and ACC, and are classic autistic.
My methods work best when the student communicates at least at the level of a four to five year old typical learner. Yet, I have found that this level of communication is not critical. It’s not mandatory for the student to have a large vocabulary.
What’s important is that the student can understand and follow basic instructions: such as, “…place your hands here…” or be able to answer yes/no questions such as “…do you understand?” The student also has to be able to sit still for several minutes at a time.
If your child is ready, join me for in-person or online lessons today, and discover the power of multisensory strategies.
Is Your Child Ready for Adapted Music Lessons or Music Therapy?
If you are not sure if your child is ready to take music lessons, you can try the two-free-lessons promotional and find out if adapted music lessons will be right for your child.
Alternately, for students with developmental delays, you can try out Pamela Ott’s book, Music for Special Kids. Most of the book deals with music therapy activities that parents can do with their children. However, chapters 3, 6, and 9 discuss strategies for teaching music to special needs children.
In her own words, “When I began working with special needs children, I introduced them to rhythm primarily through auditory exercises…
“My goal was to use music to work on non-musical objectives and in the process many of them began to learn note names and notated rhythm” (115). Music For Special Kids’ chapters are fairly basic. Yet, they can give you enough of a start to see if your child is ready for adapted music lessons with a teacher.
If adapted music lessons are not appropriate for your child, then you might consider music therapy instead. Having fun and self expression can be goals of a music therapy session.
References
Brunk, Betsy King. Music Therapy: Another Path to Learning and Communication for Children in the Autism Spectrum. Arlington: Future Horizons, 1999.
Ott, Pamela. Music for Special Kids. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011.
© 2020 Geoffrey Keith
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