Musical Health Caitlin Krater

A Soundtrack for Life
Our lives are punctuated by a diverse array of melodies, each song serving as a sonic bookmark for significant chapters. The first dance at a wedding, the rhythm of a road trip, or the lullaby that cradled us to sleep – these musical imprints become a personalized soundtrack for our journey through time. But how does it work?

In this episode we explore how music functions in our brain, specifically the ability of music to evoke emotions and how this has strong implications for our memory.

Email musicalhealththepod@gmail.com to get a copy of the transcript

References
Castro, M., Tillmann, B., Luauté, J., Corneyllie, A., Dailler, F., André-Obadia, N., & Perrin, F. (2015). Boosting Cognition With Music in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness. Neurorehabilitation and neural repair, 29(8), 734–742. https://doi.org/10.1177/1545968314565464
Jakubowski, K. Belfi, A. M., Kvavilashvili, L., Ely, A., Gill, M., & Herbert, G. (2023). Comparing music- and food-evoked autobiographical memories in young and older adults: A diary study. British Journal of Psychology.Pearson, E., Graff, J., Bai, E., Jakubowski, K., & Belfi, A. M. (2023). Differences in autobiographical memories reported using text and voice during everyday life. Memory, 31, 393-405.


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I was so inspired by my recent conversation with Stephanie Leavell and I am sure you will be too! Listen to learn about Stephanie’s journey to music therapy, her process of intentional songwriting and how there are TWO music therapists in her family.  Minute 35-literally blew my mind and I now dream of joining Stephanie’s band. Stephanie believes that music is a great communicator and she uses all elements of music to communicate. Her music has something for all children to engage with as she expresses the intention of the song using rhythm, lyrics, melody and instrumentation.

Stephanie is the creator of Music for Kiddos, a website that provides high-quality music and music resources for music therapists, music educators, and parents. She's mom to a spunky young daughter, a seasoned performer, an experienced music educator, and a board certified music therapist. Stephanie is a Berklee College of Music graduate and is passionate about using music to help kids succeed. She specializes in working with babies and kids through age 6.

Stephanie jokes that she has a low tolerance for cheesy music. She writes music to help kids be successful in their daily life: night-time routines, transitions, movement, instrument exploration, academic concepts, and helping kids understand and express their feelings. Music cannot be "prescribed", because the effectiveness of music is highly individualized, but this is a starting point... some tried and true music and resources that you might find helpful, too.

Learn more on her website and find links to all of her socials:

https://www.musicforkiddos.com/



Link to episode transcript.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aA6ssJJiujvh6owM3qlq4dP3wp0K9XaQcK5bKtFJ8eU/edit?usp=sharing






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This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Amanda Henley. Amanda is a board certified music therapist, researcher and educator in the state of Indiana. She also serves as the Indiana Task Force for Music Therapy Advocacy Chair. Amanda and I sat down to talk about the music therapy and art therapy licensure protection bill that is up this legislative session. This is the closest they have been to passing this bill in years and the task force could us all of our help to reach out to local representatives to tell them about the importance of title protection for both therapists and those they serve. The information below will guide you through the process



A bit more about Amanda

Amanda Henley is a native Hoosier, married to her music loving husband Jason, mom of twins, and in her 21st year as a board certified music therapist. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Florida State University. Amanda worked in educational and community settings to support children and adults with disabilities. She also worked as a Research Associate at Indiana University coordinating and overseeing music therapy research in pediatric cancer. Currently, Amanda is a visiting lecturer at the Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Music and Arts Technology Program.



Call to Action

Please help build awareness and support for SB 338 – Music Therapy Licensure! Our bill has passed out of the Senate and is headed to a House committee. We have three steps left! 1) Passing the bill out of committee, 2) Passing the bill out of the House, and 3) Signature by the governor. Please help us contact as many House representatives as possible during the month of March!

Sample letter to a legislator from a music therapist



Sample letter to a legislator from a related professional



MT Resources for legislators



Unsure who your legislators are? Go to Find your Legislator - Indiana General Assembly, 2023 Session


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On this months episode, Caitlin sits down with songwriter and therapist, Monica Metzler.  Conversation centers on grief, songwriting and all the magic in between. 



Forest Veil is the solo work of Portland, Oregon multi-instrumentalist/producer Monica Metzler. Following the echoes of her elusive muse, Forest Veil makes mystical psych-folk that maps the emotional terrain of humanity and its place in the cosmos. Melding a voice that sounds like smokey quartz with psychedelic guitar riffs and enigmatic lyricism, Forest Veil’s sound evokes a haunting nostalgia for other worlds. Though she primarily writes on her own, Forest Veil records and performs with others. An avid guitarist for over 20 years, Forest Veil's music showcases virtuosic guitar shredding and dynamic musicality.  Forest Veil's music has been placed in Coach ads, movies, and TV shows such as Blacklist.

Ritual Light, the newest EP from Forest Veil, was released on July 28, 2022 on Spirit House Records. The track “Phoenix” on Ritual Light, is written for Ian Mouser, who founded My Voice Music 13 years ago. Mouser, Metzler’s mentor, boss and friend, was tragically hit by a car while biking across the US in October 2021. Through his work with My Voice Music, Ian Mouser inspired thousands of youth to create, write original songs, and release them. Metzler wrote “Phoenix”, in his honor, and to give voice to her own pain and grief. She continues to inspire youth, who are experiencing trauma and living in the margins, to alchemize their pain and emotional experiences, into music and expression.



My voice Music https://myvoicemusic.org/

Let’s write a song for Ian: https://myvoicemusic.bandcamp.com/album/lets-write-a-song-for-ian

Forest Veil music links https://www.forestveil.com/music

email: ckrater@iu.edu for more information and to request a copy of a transcript of this episode. 


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On today’s episode we are going to explore the role of music listening in the experience of pleasure. Does music increase our ability to feel pleasure? And if so, how does it work? 

You've got that right-we are talking music and sex! 

I am working to make the transcripts of episodes more accessible but unfortunately for now if you email me I can get you that document! Thank you so much for understanding! musicalhealththepod@gmail.com





Resources: 

Belfi, A. M., Loui, P. (2020). Musical anhedonia and rewards of music listening: Current advances and a proposed model. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1464, 99–114.

Gold, B.P., et al. (2019) Predictability and uncertainty in the pleasure of music: a reward for learning?. JNeurosci.

Huron DB. (2006), Sweet anticipation: Music and the psychology of expectation. MIT press.

Salimpoor, V.N., D.H. Zald, R.J. Zatorre,et al. 2015. Predictions and the brain: how musical sounds become rewarding. Trends Cogn. Sci.19:86–91.

Zatorre, R.J. (2018). Why do we love music? Cerebrum 2018: pii: cer-16-18.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72772-3.pdf

https://www.elitedaily.com/p/listening-to-music-during-sex-has-these-3-effects-on-your-body-brain-8563332


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This week I am bringing you one of my favorite episodes, #3 the musicality of infant relationships. In this episode I sit down with Dr. Helen Shoemark, PhD, MT-BC, one of the leading researchers in music therapy for infants and caregivers experiencing hospitalization. I learn something new each time we speak and I hope you take away some thing as well!

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