.jpg)
Being a classically trained musician since the age of 5, I cannot imagine a life without music. It has always been a part of my major life decisions and follows everything I do. It is incredibly encouraging as a future music therapist to find that other cultures feel the same, if not more passionately, as I do about music. I have spent summers traveling nationally and internationally participating in service trips, finding how important music is to telling a story, opening paths for expression and communication, and enhancing community in every culture. Whether it was with deaf children in Mexico, battered women on a Native American reservation, or hospice patients in Jamaica, music has helped me to create a bond with the community I’m serving. I witnessed this more than I ever imagined this past summer.
During July, 2009 I spent one month traveling between various cities in Northern India through a study abroad program at Loyola University New Orleans. Some of that time was spent in New Delhi, India at the Koshish School for Disadvantaged Children visiting with the children. One can imagine how hard this may for a group of primarily English-speaking students trying to teach to Hindi-speaking children. Upon being assigned to work with classroom ages 6-9 my peers and I understood what would make all the difference in creating a connection – MUSIC! I immediately launched into movement-based songs, such as ‘Penguin Song’ and ‘Swinging from a Tree.’ Through these songs and movements we were able to educate the children about basic concepts in English as they explained to us what these concepts were in Hindi. Using play toys in conjunction with the music kept their attention for several hours straight, provided a safe outlet for movement and energy release, and promoting multilingual education.
While our time spent – two days – at the school was short, it was one of the more influential music experiences I’ve had thus far. Observing the cultural and lingual struggles other classrooms were dealing with and how quickly our students responded to music aided greatly in creating a connection within a musical framework. It was in our time spent there that I became absolutely sure of the healing and expressive powers of music therapy, how a song shared for several moments becomes a memory made for many years. … and you can never go wrong with a little Hokey Pokey!Kathryn Wood, Music Therapy Students, Loyola University New Orleans, USA
Visit http://koshishindia.org/ to learn more!
