music and emotions

[PsychToday] The Soothing Balm of Music

November 20, 2016

I finally cried over Hillary Clinton’s loss last Sunday morning when watching Kate McKinnon (as Clinton) hauntingly sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on SNL. Though there were likely multiple factors involved in this emotional release—fatigue from travel, disbelief over recent political events, a physical and emotional letdown following a week-long professional conference—what ultimately put me over […]

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[PsychToday] Harmonicas, Social Connections, and Politics

August 4, 2016

America has spent the last couple weeks learning about the Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate pic, Senator Tim Kaine. We’ve heard his life story—the mission trip to Honduras, his begin-local-and-work-your-way-up political climb—and we’ve discovered a bit about the man—his younger self “hotness,” his fluent Spanish, and his harmonica chops…

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3 Must-Read Articles of the Week

November 5, 2015

Every once in awhile I read a blog post or article worth sharing with my readers. This week, there are three. These three articles are very different in topic and style. One describes living as an autistic person, another is about music therapy and iPods, and the third outlines research on music for maladaptive emotion […]

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[PsychToday] 3 Musical Ways to Influence a Child’s Emotions

October 22, 2015

When people ask me what I do, and I say I’m a music therapist, I generally get one of three responses: The Curious Question: “Music therapy…what’s that?” The Personal Connection: “You’re a music therapist?! Oh my goodness, my (mom/dad/grandmother/friend/child) had a music therapist and it was fantastic!” The Emotional Association: “Oh I love music therapy! […]

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[PsychToday] Punk Music Isn’t “Bad”

July 30, 2015

Early in my professional career as a music therapist, a colleague asked me what I thought about her teenage son’s music choices. He had started listening loud, punk-type music and my colleague was wondering whether or not she should be worried. I assured her that, although this was not a particular area of expertise for […]

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5 Problems Music Can Create

August 15, 2014

I am a strong believer in the incredible and varied effect music can have on us. I believe in its ability to shape our brains and our selves. It’s for this reason that I started both my children in piano lessons just shy of their fifth birthdays. Music is the vocational passion of my life […]

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[PsychToday] Music: It’s More Than “Feel Good”

December 12, 2013

Every once in awhile a story like this emerges that that sings the praises (no pun intended) of listening to music. These stories expand on the therapeutic benefits of music, mostly those related to relaxation or mood induction (i.e., making one feel happy/calm/better). Although the New Yorker piece is better than most I read—it actually […]

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[PsychToday] Why Holiday Music Can Hurt

December 4, 2013

It took less than a week living in my first apartment as a new board certified music therapist and soon-to-be graduate student to be cornered in the hallway by a neighbor asking a music-related question. When I divulge that I am a music therapist, most of the time I get responses such as . . […]

[PsychToday] Music, Your GPS Voice, and the Science of Timbre

November 1, 2013

“Timbre” is a rather difficult-to-define yet hard-to-ignore concept. When it comes to musical timbre, I have described it before as the color of sound. It’s the quality of the sound we hear that helps us differentiate between a flute, a violin, and a tuba . . . Read more

music and emotions

[PsychToday] The Soothing Balm of Music

[PsychToday] Harmonicas, Social Connections, and Politics

3 Must-Read Articles of the Week

[PsychToday] 3 Musical Ways to Influence a Child’s Emotions

[PsychToday] Punk Music Isn’t “Bad”

5 Problems Music Can Create

[PsychToday] Music: It’s More Than “Feel Good”

[PsychToday] Why Holiday Music Can Hurt

[PsychToday] Music, Your GPS Voice, and the Science of Timbre

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