Musical Between in Pennant Hills, New South Wales, Australia | Medical service

Musical Between

Locality: Pennant Hills, New South Wales, Australia

Phone: +61 421 744 090

Address: Unit 2/370 Pennant Hills rd. 2120 Pennant Hills, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.musicalbetween.com

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25.01.2022 I was recently interviewed by Prof. Izumi Futamata in order to discuss TeleMusicTherapy, and Musical Betweens approach to conducting online music therapy sessions. The online interview will be made available to Japanese music therapists and students as part of an online Webinar, by the Japanese Music Therapy Association. It was a great opportunity for me to reflect on our current methods and ideas related to facilitating our online sessions. https://www.jmta.jp//

25.01.2022 Weve been gradually recommencing face-to-face individual music therapy sessions at our centre this month, with preventive measures in place. Our intention is to start group sessions, with limited numbers in the session room, from July. We are hoping that we can have larger groups again by August. We are now combining face-to-face, online, and video sessions through the week. What a variety! We are happy that we can provide any of the above session formats to suit the client/...participants preference. Weve actually learnt a lot through these online and video sessions during this time. In the future, we will continue to offer online/video sessions to people who need to stay home for any health reasons, and also for those who live in remote areas. This photo shows our client, Luke, and his mum, Jill, wearing their masks at our centre. We sang a song about mask-wearing , lockdown and alcohol (sanitiser)Its been such a joy to see our clients in person again and make music together in the same room! See more

24.01.2022 A special bond has developed between Stuart and Harry since the two first met through music therapy. They enjoy music together

24.01.2022 Our wheelchair ramp was repainted by my craftsman friend yesterday. It was lucky to have a sunny day between all the rain. Looking really nice with the fresh coat! Thanks Masahiro Tada, great work!

24.01.2022 Our long-term therapist, Dr Harold, preparing for his next session. He has proven to be innovative in adapting his clinical skills to suit this new therapeutic environment

24.01.2022 Dr Harold ready for his next online session

23.01.2022 We had our second online ukulele community session yesterday. Playing music as a group online can be tricky, but weve been having fun trying some rather creative ways of making it work, despite the limitations! Thanks to all who joined us in exploring these new possibilities!

22.01.2022 This is my second upload for the Music Therapy Songs series. This is the traditional song from Okinawa, Japan, and is titled Tinsagu nu Hana. I love Okinawan music, culture and its beautiful nature and have been using Okinawan songs and the Okinawan scale in my music therapy improvisations. On this occasion, Ive been so fortunate to be able to collaborate with an Okinawan Sanshin player/singer, HoKumiko! While I was learning music therapy here in Australia, one of the... founders of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, Clive Robins, visited Sydney in 2007. I was asked by him why I hadnt been using Japanese music in music therapy sessions, and he mentioned his fondness for the Okinawan scale. I already loved this scale and Okinawan music, but hadnt considered using it in my work here, but why not?! Since then, many of my clients have been attracted by this unique Okinawan scale and Okinawan music. The scale consists of C E F G B C (in C) - its a major scale without the 2nd and 6th notes. If youve never tried this scale, give it a go! It has a uniquely attractive quality https://youtu.be/ZlOvFeN6txA See more

21.01.2022 Telemusictherapy in Japan

21.01.2022 Lukes drum skin painting that I ordered has arrived at the centre! It has such beauty and energy, like his music. The photo I took of it in our garden turned out great, with the sun shining through the skin to make it look like the sky. I will hang it near the entrance, so you can check it out when you next visit us!

20.01.2022 Ive finished my presentation at the World Congress of Music Therapy online. A big phew! I was very nervous, as Ive never experienced an online congress before, this also being the first time giving an aural presentation at a world congress, but it turned out fun! It was a joint presentation with Jill - my case study client, Lukes mum. Luke and his personal support worker, Fiona, were also on the screen together. Nick and Harry were sitting at the side as technical suppor...ts. The attendees were very friendly and interactive. We communicated through the chat box and also onscreen. We had a few minutes left in the end, and sang a goodbye song together It was a very nice feel congress, with much cooperation and mutual support. Loved the opening ceremony, with African music and dance! I hope I can visit there in the future. All the presentations will be online for a while for the delegates, so Im looking forward to watching more presentations. Thanks for all your support and encouragement! See more

20.01.2022 I had a good chat with Yuriko, a music therapist and associate professor at Sapporo Otani University in Japan, about Telemusictherapy and our own studies. It was great to be able to come together to chat face to face, and exchange ideas and thoughts, despite the physical distance between us

19.01.2022 We ended up having an unplanned but fun art/music collaboration session yesterday! When Lukes mum sent me a live video of his current art session, I became keen to join in! Zac, Lukes art mentor, kindly welcomed me, and I ended up joining their session via Zoom. We tried several different painting methods accompanied by music- various painting brushes , paints, papers and drum skin (the 1st painting brush in the video is a fly swat and the 2nd one is drum sticks!) After this sudden collaboration session, we decided to continue it from time to time. The last painting that Zac showed in the video will soon be sitting on the wall at Musical Between! Make sure you look out for this painted drumskin next time you visit.

19.01.2022 A weed has been growing under the wheelchair ramp. I was lazy to get round to removing it, and it has grown rapidly, now with some flowers... "they look a bit like tomato flowers, dont they?" I asked my gardener friend. Her response was "yep, you now have tomatoes!"...Wow! How lucky!! I dont have a green thumb, maybe theres a green fairy in our garden

18.01.2022 I recently gave a lecture to the students of the Creative Music Therapy course at Western Sydney University. It was based on my presentation from the World Congress of Music Therapy earlier this year. It was very nostalgic to go to revisit the class where I graduated back in 2008! Hope everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for having me

18.01.2022 We are still conducting group/community sessions online due to social distancing regulations. Weve been working on how we can most effectively enjoy music together through this format. As many have experienced by now, online music suffers from a time lag, so as musicians we are unable to play at the same time online. However, playing one by one, in a relay style, has been working for us and weve been enjoying it as a group. By using the mute function, everyone except the ...soloed person is muted, but everyone still plays together throughout the whole song. Each player gets a turn in the soloist role, in turn leading the other (muted) players. At its completion, we all have a video to enjoy that showcases each members musical contribution and personality. Its a realtime Zoom audio recording, so the sound quality is not so great due to everyones different internet conditions, but the result maintains the live feel. Weve posted an example before, here is another one! This is a famous Japanese song about a big tree with no name, which everyone ends up gathering around https://youtu.be/TGJfAxkfeHo See more

17.01.2022 My online interview about Telemusictherapy has been posted on the Japanese Music Therapy Association website(Sorry that there is no English translation.)

16.01.2022 Our new young peach tree had beautiful two-tone blossoms last week Tomatoes are growing and other little spring flowers too

14.01.2022 Happy Halloween, everyone!

13.01.2022 Ive decided to introduce songs that we use in our music therapy sessions - both our original songs and pre-composed songs, as it might be useful information for other music therapists, teachers, parents, and everyone and also might be just enjoyable to sing and playPlease subscribe to our Youtube channel to see more of these videos in the future! https://youtu.be/6piifPBmxF0

12.01.2022 It is great to hear that a Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy course is commencing next year at Nagoya College of Music in Japan!!

12.01.2022 Many crops on the cumquart tree in our gardenNice scenery with the blue sky

11.01.2022 Merry Christmas!

10.01.2022 A handmade face shield by Lukes aunty/his personal support worker in order to make it easier for him to play his ocarina!

10.01.2022 Such a beautiful and meaningful online conference this year, focusing on the current issues. Congratulations to Tanya Marie Silveira and the team! https://www.austmtaconference.com.au

09.01.2022 Another wonderful singing of the song, Colors that I introduced in our first Youtube series, Music Therapy Songs. I realised that a song can become so different depending on the player and its wonderful! Love this happy version with the adorable kid! Thanks Yasuko from Kentucky USA!

08.01.2022 I love using this song in my sessions, its by the blues rock band, The Snowdroppers, and featured in the soundtrack of the iconic Australian film Red Dog. Nick, one of our therapists, was the bass player for the band! Enjoy https://youtu.be/xjLUWvJNrBA

06.01.2022 The World Congress of Music Therapy was meant to be held in South Africa this year. Due to Covid-19, the conference will take place as an online event instead. Ive just submitted my presentation video to the congress. Big phew! It was the first time for me to have to put together a video as a presentation and I had no idea at the beginning how to go about doing it. But once I got going, I was really into the process, and actually enjoyed putting it together. It included some... interviews with certain people, which I feel enriched the presentation and also deepened my thinking on the topic. The online congress will take place on 7 & 8 July and the registration is open until 5 July. We, Izumi & Jill Abdallah (my clients mum), will be present online for a Q & A after the screening of the presentation. We look forward to seeing you at the online congress. It was a pity that we couldnt go to South Africa for this occasion, but we may end up connecting with more people online! See more

06.01.2022 Announcing our new Post-Congress Package! We did not expect to reach our 1000 person capacity for the live event. Due to demand we have created a package that w...ill allow access to the presentations, posters, opening and closing ceremonies, and spotlight sessions for those who were unable to secure a place for the live congress. For more information: https://www.up.ac.za/music-therapy-/conference/registration

05.01.2022 Wed like to reintroduce a member of our staff, Sayoko, as she has begun working with us as an art therapist as of this year. She continues to facilitate our community origami groups too. Sayoko is a qualified art therapist (Adv.Dip.Trans.A.Th.)and a certified origami instructor. Her clinical work is based on Transpersonal Art Therapy, an approach that values an empathetic, non-judgmental and client-centred perspective. Sayoko has a personal respect for each clients individ...uality and personal values. Her therapeutic work focuses on improving her clients general wellbeing, capacity for mindfulness, and enhancing their self-development. Sayoko has been conducting art therapy sessions at Musical Between on Mondays, however during this isolation period she is offering online art therapy sessions. She hopes to assist her clients levels of anxiety, as well as focusing on mindfulness during this challenging time. These photos were taken at our last community concert. Sayoko facilitated a community artwork, created by all the participants on the day. This collaborative tree painting is now hanging on our wall at Musical Between. When I look at the artwork, I imagine each person involved with our service is a flower on this tree, each uniquely beautiful, and each an equally important part of the Musical Between Tree! Sayoko and I have also begun planning an art/music collaboration, to take place in the near future. Stay tuned! (For any inquiries, please email me at [email protected])

05.01.2022 https://music-therapy-2.jimdosite.com/

05.01.2022 We are also providing sessions via phone during this isolation period for people who dont have access to internet nor own a smart phone for online sessions. One of Nicks clients is happy that shes able to continue her sessions, sharing her piano compositions and singing her songs via a phone call!

04.01.2022 Just after closing down for the end of the year, our sunflower bloomed, as did our cosmos, growing through a tiny gap in the tiles! Also our lettuce grew like a Christmas tree

04.01.2022 https://youtu.be/IvyhBkuV_qo

04.01.2022 Id like to share information with you all about a newly established disability support centre, Smilewell. Smilewell is located in Wakayama, Japan, and caters for children under the age of 7. It was opened by an occupational therapist, Mari Katabe, whom I worked with at a psychiatric hospital over 20 years ago. In Japan there are currently few services available to support pre-school aged children with disability. As a result, many of the children who did not receive adequate... developmental support ended up being placed in psychiatric institutions. Mari opened Smilewell in response to this public need, deeply concerned about the situation. I was recently asked by Mari Katabe to become an advisor for Smilewell. I happily accepted the offer, in support of her good intentions, as well as having been supported by Mari herself during my early days as a music therapist. Im hoping there will be an increasing number of similar services made available in Japan in the future.https://www.smilewell.net See more

03.01.2022 We gave an online presentation/workshop for the music therapy students of Otani University (Hokkaido, Japan) today. Thanks for inviting us, Yuriko! The presentation was based around my recent world congress presentation, and included a workshop regarding Telemusictherapy. As a part of this workshop, Yuriko and I improvised on our pianos together. It was such an amazing and joyful experience. Its hard to see in this video, but Yuriko was playing on her grand piano, I was on the upright piano, and the students were listening. Luke was listening to it too initially, but suddenly decided to play with us using his drumsticks, which was a wonderful surprise for us and it turned out to be a trio improvisation!

03.01.2022 The online webinar series exploring the subject of TeleMusicTherapy is back online, hosted by the Japanese Music Therapy Association. My interview and accompanying online session videos are a part of this series. I really love this opening sequence, created by Prof. Izumi Futamata (visual art) and Yumiko Futumata (music)

03.01.2022 A client’s mum commented yesterday that our garden makes her feel relaxed and uplifted. Hearing this made my day We are lucky to have this little garden at our practice. I’ve recently realised the value of having an extra community space at our place of music therapy/art therapy. In Japan, there is a name for this extra space - yutori - which translates as margin or elbow room and implies a pressure-free education/learning environment. I hope all our visitors feel pressure-free and welcomed when they come and see us!

03.01.2022 Im glad to report that our new Youtube series Music Therapy Songs received wonderful feedback. An Okinawa traditional string instrument, Sanshin, player and singer, HoKumiko liked the song, Colors that I introduced this time, and she sang and played it with her sanshin! Please enjoy her lovely singing and playingThanks Kumiko

03.01.2022 Lukes art on the book!

03.01.2022 This video is from last Fridays online ukulele session. Many of the Telemusic videos you would have seen during this isolation period are compiled after each individual records their part and sends it to an editor. It is done this way because there is a time-lag that exists with online conferencing, making it impossible to play live music together. However, I wanted to try to record a live video together, so we tried this - we were all muted first, and each member unmuted hi...m/herself to play a segment of this song in turn. This meant that we all had a solo section on the video, but in reality we were all playing together. This was an enjoyable communal experience, but a little nerve-wracking as each of us had to play solo! Feel free to try and/or share this mode of online music making amongst yourselves, as we found it fun and fulfilling:) See more

02.01.2022 Weve started to use face shields during our sessions today and its been much easier to sing than wearing masks. We can also see each others faces again! These ones are so light, washable and anti-fog. They fit on your head like sunglasses, a clever design. So far everyones loving them!

02.01.2022 This card from one of my clients made my day today! The left page says, "Izumi, how old are you?" (Choose from below.) I'm glad that she thinks my age is within those numbersThe right page says, "You're pretty, Izumi." You're the pretty one, lovely

01.01.2022 Lukes art mentor, Zac, came to the centre today to install Lukes drum skin painting professionally. It fit just right on the wall hanging near the entrance. Thanks Zachariah Fenn!

01.01.2022 This short documentary film, titled Stuart X, details the life of one of our long term clients, Stuart. He has a diagnosis of the rare condition known as Fragile X. It was sad to see how he was misunderstood and mistreated in his early life. However, it has also been important for us to learn about, and try to understand, what hes been through in his past. We are glad that his circumstances have changed for the better and he is now surrounded by people who understand, love and care for him. As shown in the film, Stuart loves music and knows so many songs by memory. Over the years, we have had a great time with Stuart, sharing the joys of music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKyGX-RJFiw&t=28s