By Christina Scheperle, MusicWorx Intern #107
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” This famous line from Semisonic’s “Closing Time” appropriately symbols what every music therapy student feels as they come to the end of their internship. I believe this topic is important to talk about, because we all go through it at some point in our career.
When asked to write the next post for the MusicWorx blog, I immediately thought of this topic. I’m currently in the middle of transitioning from a intern to a professional! The act of transitioning is a difficult and exciting time for myself as well as every young music therapist. Finally, our minds are very full during this point in our careers and I think it is important to share our thoughts.
It is my hope that this post will give you some food for thought with straightforward, actionable items that may help you through this challenging process.
I am currently in the final days of my internship and getting ready to start a new job. While you may think my life would be getting less stressful, the last few weeks have not been easy. In fact, they were extremely stressful. I know that I am not the only person who has felt this way.
What makes this transition so difficult?
- Decisions: What is your next step? Do you stay or go? The world is open to you and you have nothing holding you back any more.
- Jobs: We all know how this economy is. Do you settle on your first job offer or hold out until you get your dream opportunity? Do you create your dream opportunity?
- Balance: Balancing professional vs. personal life choices. They are BOTH important.
Finally, you have to try to answer all of these questions while still finishing your work for internship and be the best therapist possible.
Sound familiar?
Well, here a few simple things to keep in mind during this process…it’s not rocket science, but when we are so busy with everything else, a simple reminder can only help! These are based on my own personal experiences and conversations with peers and advisors.
- Put things in perspective: We easily forget to do this. It’s easy to become wrapped up in ourselves and forget to look around.
- Stay present with your clients and your work at internship: This is what you are here for. You cannot let it slide just because you are worried about what will be next.
- Process: Give yourself time to let your options sink in. Sleep on it and take some time for yourself to process.
Remember that whatever choice you make is the right one. We cannot predict our journey nor do we have much control over it. All we can do is make the choices that seem the best at this time. Que Sera, Sera!
Popular music is something that goes hand in hand with technology. As technology continues to advance, so do the types of music that are created in music software programs. Client-preferred music and specific sounds are no longer able to be entirely replicated by live instruments played by music therapists. A new wave in popular music is called music mash-ups or meshes, which blend different songs, genres and artists. They are created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, by either overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another, or blending different segments of songs flawlessly into one another, creating a sequence customized by the client. Such works can be completely transformative of the original content when facilitated properly by a music therapist. Utilizing executive functioning, clients select the repertoire of songs to combine based on examining the musical components of sound such as time, tempo, duration, pitch, timbre, and rhythmic patterns. Once the mash-up is complete, clients can give credit to the artists of the songs that they use in the mash-up by making a video in iMovie.
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