Music for the Brain Overview
During the 2017/2018 academic year, The Children’s Trust School in Tadworth, Surrey, UK, https://www.thechildrenstrust.org.uk/school , for children and young people aged 2–19 years with acquired brain injury, commissioned Sounds of Intent Charity to create a set of resources that teachers, carers and parents could use to engage pupils and students with profound disabilities through music. To this end, The Trust employed a Sounds of Intent music practitioner one day a week to work with colleagues to ensure that the resources that were produced would enable non-music-specialists to embed music activities readily in their day-to-day practice. The result was a set of 36 cards, each matching a Sounds of Intent element in the reactive, proactive and interactive domains at Levels 1, 2 and 3. A catalogue of the cards, with links to each, is provided here.
Printed sets of cards are available from The Trust. Contact enquiries@thechildrenstrust.org.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1737 365 000.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Music for the Brain: Overview
Introduction
Elements A
Elements B
Elements C
Elements D
R.3
reacts to simple
patterns in sound
R.2
shows an awareness
of sound
R.1
encounters
sounds
P.3
intentionally makes
simple patterns in
sound
P.2
intentionally makes
or controls sound
P.1
makes sounds
unknowingly
I.3
copies other’s sounds
and/or
is aware of own
sounds being copied
I.2
interacts with others
using sound
I.1
relates unwittingly
through sound
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Music for the Brain
Resources from
The Children’s Trust
200
activities
using sound and music
Welcome to
Music for the Brain
The cards correspond to the
three ways in which children
and young people can engage
with sound and music, through
listening
,
doing
and
interacting
.
ABOUT ME
MY NEEDS
AND
W
ANTS
O
THER
PEOPLE
A
CTIVITIES
PL
A
CES
MOVING
TO MUSIC
LEARNING
THROUGH
MUSIC
USING MUSIC
TO STRUCTURE
OTHER
LEARNING
INTERACTING
WITH OTHERS
THROUGH
MUSIC
AND PHRASES
KEY WORDS
The
Tuning In
resources
The
Tuning In
resources
Try making all sorts of
different sounds to see
whether I respond
•
Think of all the sounds you can
make with your voice
•
Remember to get close up to me
•
Make sure that the environment
is quiet
•
Bring me into contact with
everyday soundmakers
•
Use instruments in the same way
•
Make sounds in front of me or behind
Music for the Brain
Listening
1
Play me different kinds of
music and see whether
I react to any of them
•
Play music in short bursts
•
Put the speakers close to me
•
Let me experience different
melody instruments
•
Try low notes and high notes
•
Don’t forget to sing to me
•
Always allow plenty of time for me
to respond
Music for the Brain
Listening
2
Let me encounter
sounds and music in
different environments
•
Let me experience the muted effect
on sounds in a small room
•
Now take me to a hall that echoes
•
Try the acoustic of a corridor
•
Can you play me music in the
hydrotherapy pool?
•
Take me outside, somewhere quiet
•
You could use an amplifier to
increase the volume
Music for the Brain
Listening
3
Let me experience sound
and other sensory input
at the same time
•
Let me experience the weight of
a tambourine
•
Let me feel the wood of a recorder
•
Show me the light dancing off
a cymbal
•
Let me smell of a new Kenyan drum
•
Let me experience a didgeridoo
•
Let me feel the cool metal of a
brass instrument
Music for the Brain
Listening
4
Enable me to experience
how the movements I may
make involuntarily can make,
cause or control sounds
•
The rise of my chest could operate
a beam
•
My tongue could control sounds
•
A blink could switch a sound on
•
Amplify any sounds I may make
through breathing
…
•
... or my heart beat
•
Make a careful note of any signs
of awareness that I may show
Music for the Brain
Doing
5
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[LINK TO DOC 28]
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[LINK TO DOC 36]
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[LINK TO DOC 44]
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[LINK TO DOC 52]
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[LINK TO DOC 26]
[LINK TO DOC 30]
[LINK TO DOC 34]
[LINK TO DOC 38]
[LINK TO DOC 42]
[LINK TO DOC 46]
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[LINK TO DOC 51]
[LINK TO DOC 27]
[LINK TO DOC 31]
[LINK TO DOC 35]
[LINK TO DOC 39]
[LINK TO DOC 43]
[LINK TO DOC 47]
Guide me to make
movements co-actively
that produce sounds
Music for the Brain
•
Help me to tap a small drum
•
Help me to scratch a tambourine
•
Help me to strum the strings of
an autoharp
•
Help me to shake small bells
•
Help me to tip instruments like a
rainmaker one way and the other
•
Enhance them using a microphone
and an amplifier
Doing
6
Think of the different
environments in which
you can help me make,
cause or control sounds
Music for the Brain
•
Lie me in the pool with my ears in
the water to hear my vocal sounds
•
A quiet environment may help me
concentrate on sounds tImake
•
Use technology to mimic different
environments
•
Think of large places that echo
•
Try outside near buildings
•
Try a large open space
Doing
7
Guide me to explore
soundmakers with my
other senses too
Music for the Brain
•
Can I feel the vibration of a drum I hit?
•
Shine a light on a cymbal as I scratch it
•
Help me use sound and light switches
or movement-sensitive beams
•
Convert my sounds into vibration
•
Put me in a swing that brushes by
hanging soundmakers
•
Associate certain soundmakers with
scents in multisensory sessions
Doing
8
Help me make sounds in
response to yours and respond
to any sounds that I may
make without knowing it
Music for the Brain
•
First, make a sound yourself
…
•
…
and then help me to make a sound
•
Use a microphone and amplifier to
intensify our vocal sounds
•
Put an ocean drum across our laps
•
Now try the same activity using
movement-sensitive software
•
Remember to allow plenty of time
between sounds
Interacting
9
With a colleague, family
member or friend, model
interactions in sound for me
Music for the Brain
•
Sit either side of me and take turns to
make sounds with your voices
…
•
…
or with everyday soundmakers
•
Make sounds that are similar
…
•
…
or contrasting
•
Interact using digital sounds
•
Try having one person work with me
and another alongside a friend,
exchanging sounds
Interacting
10
Try trading sounds with me in
different environments and
in different contexts
Music for the Brain
•
Try working in a small, quiet room
•
So
metimes a large echoey space
may spur me into action
•
Try working in a hall, with groups
of people
•
Try working in a corridor
•
Am I likely to be more alert at
certain times of the day
…
•
…
or following a feed or medication?
Interacting
11
Model interactions in sound
that are also multisensory
in nature
Music for the Brain
•
Enhance the impact of interactions
in sound through touch
•
Use a swing for interactions in sound
•
Use a rainstick and vocal sounds
•
Use a little fan blowing gently on
my face or arms in turn
•
In a multisensory room, link sound
sources and lights
•
Try
interacting in the pool
Interacting
12
Make many different
sounds, to see which
catch my attention
•
Sing long and short notes to me
•
Rub your hands together
•
Shake rattly containers, jangle small
chains and crinkle rustly paper
•
Make sounds that are high or low,
smooth or rasping
•
Make sounds that go up and down or
get louder and quieter
…
•
…
or stay the same for a long time
Music for the Brain
Listening
13
Put together playlists for me
of different kinds of music
•
Choose music with plenty of
repetition, like pop songs
•
Play short bursts of the music at first
•
How do I respond to hip hop and
dance music?
•
Try Bollywood music, J-pop, K-pop
•
Try film and TV music
•
Try experimental music by Karlheinz
Stockhausen and John Cage
Music for the Brain
Listening
14
Take me out and about
to hear sound and music
in the wider world
•
Shopping malls use alluring music!
•
Fields, forests and farms are all full
of natural sounds
•
Visit churches, mosques, synagogues
•
Take me to the seaside
•
Record the sounds of different
environments
•
Combine these sounds with the
smells, sight and the feel of objects
Music for the Brain
Listening
15
Let me experience how
sounds can be linked to
other sensory input in
a variety of different ways
•
Show me a gong that shimmers
•
Help me get to grips with musical
gourds from Asia
•
Let me feel a guitar or ukulele
•
Put a loudspeaker on a resonance
board
•
Drop pebbles into a bowl of water
•
Let me experience a pile of autumn
leaves being scrunched together
Music for the Brain
Listening
16
Encourage me to
make different types
of sounds myself
•
Use a microphone and amplifier to
enhance my vocal sounds
•
Help me explore soundmakers
•
Help me explore instruments
•
Help me use a stick or a beater
•
Using my feet might be the easiest
way for me to make sounds
•
Use technologies that can convert
any movement into any sound
Music for the Brain
Doing
17
Help me to express my
feelings through sound
•
Make an exaggerated response to
any vocalisations I make
•
Respond empathetically to sounds
I make with objects and instruments
•
Identify triggers to my vocalising
•
Can you change the way I feel
…
•
…
and so change the sounds I make?
•
My choosing not to make a sound
may show how I’m feeling too
Music for the Brain
Doing
18
Give me the chance to make
sounds in different places
•
The activity at a shopping centre may
stimulate me to be more vocal
…
•
…
or a large railway station
…
•
…
or even an airport
•
Sitting on a train may stimulate me
to vocalise
•
Take me outside in different weathers
•
In contrast, sometimes take me into
very small rooms that absorb sound
Music for the Brain
Doing
19
Guide me in soundmaking
that is multisensory in nature
•
Encourage me to feel guitar strings
•
Guide me to feel the cow-bell
•
Remind me of the rough, hard skin of
the musical gourd that I am shaking
•
Help me appreciate the changing
weight of a rainstick as I tip it up
•
Assist me in feeling seashells in a
the box as I stir them round
•
Give me time to enjoy rustling leaves
Music for the Brain
Doing
20
Assist me in making sounds
myself in response to the
sounds that you make
Music for the Brain
•
Use your voice to make sounds I like
•
Share
hand-held percussion with me
•
Make a burst of sound and then have
a period of silence
•
Put clusters of bells on my wrists or
ankles and on yours too
•
Place a balloon in between us
•
Make funny noises down a tube held
to my ear, and then swap
Interacting
21
Respond empathetically to
any sounds that I make
Music for the Brain
•
Remember, when I make a sound
it is always for a reason
•
S
o respond to my sounds
…
•
…
emulating what I do, or through
making a contrasting sound
•
Let us share an instrument
•
Then use two separate
instruments
of the same type
•
Use instruments of different types
Interacting
22
Have ‘conversations’ with me
in sound in different contexts
Music for the Brain
•
People’s voices sound quite different
in echoey places
•
Play
outdoor instruments with me
•
T
ake it in turns to hit a log with a stick
•
Remember that I may become more
vocal and receptive in a vehicle
•
Different voices may make me want
to respond in different ways
•
Is the time of day may be important?
Interacting
23
Interact with me through
sound in ways that use
my other senses too
Music for the Brain
•
Exaggerate your facial expressions
when having conversations in sound
•
R
einforce he sounds you make by
touching my hands or arms
•
E
ngage with me on the swing
•
Use a resonance board
•
Use a microphone and amplifier
•
Use technology to add a visual
dimension to our sound dialogues
Interacting
24
Use your voice to make
simple patterns in sound
to catch my attention
•
Start by making patterns that use
the lips, like ‘ma, ma, ma, ma, ma’
…
•
…
or ‘puh, puh, puh, puh, puh’
•
Try patterns that use the tongue,
like ‘dah, dah, dah, dah, dah’
•
Try ‘sss, sss, sss, sss, sss’
•
Try ‘mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm’
•
Make whistling patterns:
‘peep, peep, peep, peep, peep’
Music for the Brain
Listening
25
Make short bursts of a
regular beat on percussion
instruments for me to hear
•
Tap the same simple pattern on
different instruments
•
Use your fingers then beaters
•
Scratch your nails to and fro
•
Tap instruments gently on my hands
•
Tap the pattern on a resonance board
so that I can feel the sound
•
Use switches or motion-sensitive
technology to make the same pattern
Music for the Brain
Listening
26
Let me listen to patterns of
sound that go higher and
lower, or louder and quieter
•
Make short patterns of three notes
on a keyboard for me to listen to
•
Do the same on a glockenspiel
•
Now do the same on a tablet
…
•
… and
on the recorder or whistle
•
Do the same on one of the strings of
a ukulele or a guitar
•
Try a different kinds of pattern on
different instruments
Music for the Brain
Listening
27
Help me to be aware of what is going
to happen by using sound symbols
•
Place different sets of windchimes
in the doorways of important rooms
•
Give people different jangly bracelets
•
Give me and my friends ‘personal
soundmakers’ for times of greeting
•
Use sounding objects of reference
•
Use the sound symbols consistently
•
Record what happens during
activities using sound symbols
Music for the Brain
Listening
28
Support me in making a
regular beat on soundmakers
or by using my voice
•
Put my hand over yours while you tap
a beat on a drum with your fingers
…
•
…
then let me have a go on my own
•
Help me make a beat on instruments
•
Show me how to make patterns too
•
Remember that a beat comes from
my head, not my hand
…
•
…
so guide me with your hand under
mine, so I’m always in control
Music for the Brain
Doing
29
React positively when I
deliberately repeat sounds
using my voice or sound-
makers on my own initiative
•
Let me have plenty of time and space
to experiment with pattern-making
•
Give me soundmakers that I find the
easiest to play
•
Give me plenty of encouragement
•
Try using beams or switches too
•
Move other parts of my body in time
with the patterns that I make
•
Make recordings of what I do
Music for the Brain
Doing
30
Help me to make short
patterns of notes that get
higher or lower
•
Show me how to play single notes
on a keyboard
•
Now show me how to play a simple
beat on one key
•
Help me to use white and black notes
•
Give me plenty of time
•
Show me how to play short, simple
up or down patterns on three notes
•
Help me to make longer patterns
Music for the Brain
Doing
31
Put together families
of soundmakers
for me to explore
•
Make a collection of metal utensils
•
Give me a set of wooden items
•
Put together a collection of things to
shake like a rattle and maracas
•
Make me a set of scrapers
•
Collect things that make a sound
by plucking, like a ukulele and banjo
•
The same patterns in sound can be
made on different instruments
Music for the Brain
Doing
32
Copy the sounds that I make
with my voice, and encourage
me to copy what you do
Music for the Brain
•
Copy my vocal sounds
•
G
ive me time to process what you do
•
Initiate an interaction by making a
sound like the one I make
•
Give me plenty of time to respond
•
I may copy you more and more
accurately over time
•
Repeat the activity many times in
different contexts
Interacting
33
Echo the sounds that I make
with everyday objects
and instruments
Music for the Brain
•
Imitate the sounds that I make on
instruments or other soundmakers
•
U
se the same instrument at first
•
Next, use a second instrument that
is the same as mine
•
Let me see or feel what is happening
•
Next use a different instrument to
copy the same pattern
•
Swap instruments!
Interacting
34
Encourage me to imitate
what you do on instruments
and other soundmakers
Music for the Brain
•
Give me an instrument and make a
sound on it that I have made before
•
Give me plenty of time to respond
•
Play another soundmaker the same
as mine, so we don’t have to share
•
See if I will copy the same pattern
on a different kind of soundmaker
•
Exchange instruments
•
Repetition is key
Interacting
35
Play ‘pass the sound’
games with me
Music for the Brain
•
Let me sit in a circle of three or four
people – first, one makes a sound
with his voice, then the next copies
…
•
…
and so the sound goes round
•
Do the same with body sounds and
then use soundmakers
…
•
…
that are all the same
…
•
…
and then different ones
•
Add more people to the circle
Interacting
36
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