Listen & Recreate

Group members began by playing a melodic improvisation with two sections. The first section included a combination of two notes marked with stickers on different melodic instruments. The second section included all notes on each instrument and much more melodic freedom. Participants toggled between the two versions exploring structured and unstructured playing. We then listened to the popular song 3 Little Birds, by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Group members sang along with lyric sheets. We then sang the song as a group accompanying ourselves with a variety of instruments. Some group members ad-libbed on the lyrics and added additional melodies and phrases. We then moved into a suggestion from the previous week; group members had brought in a song of meaning for the group to listen to and recreate improvisationally. We listened to the song first and then discussed the message and meaning behind the lyrics. The music therapist wrote down key words shared within the song and created a big word map of descriptive words. The words included love, trust, gratitude, authenticity, hope, community, appreciation and choice. Together we improvised on these themes and group members sang out the words listed on the sheet. We recorded the improvisation and listened back. Group members shared how wonderful it was to hear their creation. We did the same thing again with additional songs suggested by group members. At the end of the session we discussed therapeutic uses of music and different ways to achieve mindfulness and presence.