© 2005 David Palomo

Here are some ideas for clinical use of digital music followed by some notes on equipment configurations that might be used in clinical practice.

Windows or Mac?

 I will be talking about Windows-based systems here.  While Mac seems to be the choice of many, if not most, recording professionals, the Windows platform has been making steady progress.  Because Windows-based computers are generally less expensive and more widely used, this discussion assumes you are using the Windows platform.  It should be noted that music software and hardware prices are the same regardless of the computer's operating system.  I also want to encourage the young people I work with to get involved with this medium.  If they're willing to get a summer job, they can put together a very serviceable home studio using the Windows platform.

Digital Music Basics

I use Sony’s ACID Music Studio software, a light version of their pioneering ACID Pro software.  Here's how it works. 

Imagine a series of horizontal strips.  Each of these is a track.  You can assign a different music clip to each track, selecting them as you do a file on your computer.  By clicking and dragging your mouse you can “paint” the clip onto the track.  The track’s horizontal axis represents the length of time the clip will sound.  This is organized by time and by tempo (beat and measure).  A clip may be a single beat or may last 2-4 measures (typically).  Some may be longer.  A clip can be painted on as long as you want.   For example, you could extend a two measure clip so that it repeats 4 times and takes up 8 measures.  You can have the clip begin at the very beginning or somewhere later in the piece.  A piece could start with a drum clip, adding a bass clip in the second measure, another instrument in the third measure and so on. 

The feature I like least is that you have to set your vocal recording levels without playing the accompaniment tracks.  I'm hoping later upgrades of the program will include a separate "arm" and "engage/start" functions that allow you to try out vocals and adjust recording and playback levels prior to cutting a vocal track.

Digital Music In Session

Unlike art therapy where a child can come in and start using crayons or paint immediately, there is a learning curve in using this digital medium.  This can be addressed in a couple of ways.  With older children (late middle school, high school) I will demonstrate the basic operation.  We go through one piece where they verbally instruct me which clips to use from the list I bring to the session (see Clinical Applications 1, below).  I then talk them through a simple piece that I come prepared with.  That is, I come with notes on the construction of an entire composition: which clips to use, how many measures each one extends, when one clip ends and another begins and visa versa.  In this exercise they get the experience of executing the computer operations to create a composition.  The next step is to let them experiment on their own, using a list of clips designated by the counselor.

With younger children I often end up acting as their computer operator.  We proceed as above, working from a list of clips I compile before the session.  If the child really wants to operate the computer, I let them.  Frustration levels vary, but the goal is to come up with a piece that inspires the child.  Some kids may ask for help after having tried it awhile may turn the operation back over to the therapist.  I have found that when I act as the computer operator for the child, there develops a situation where the child is instructing me how to put together their piece of music.  Many of the children I work with have had little or no positive experience of being able to ask an adult for what they want, let alone instructing an adult what to do.  Despite my operating the computer, the experience is still that this is their creation.  The younger kids I have worked with have benefited from this experience of having an adult act in the service of their music creation.  It builds self esteem in that is communicates to the child that they have a creation that is worthy of the full attention of an adult.  Having an adult be a partner in their creative process communicates that they are worthy of adult attention and this also helps their self-esteem. 

In this process, I often have ideas or suggestions that turn out to sound awful!  The studio provides a safe environment in which to make mistakes.  Many of the children I work with have come from situations where it was not safe to make mistakes or the adults around them did not admit mistakes or handle them well.  The kids I work with get to see me make mistakes in the studio, try something that doesn’t work and move to something else.  In this way I can model making mistakes without getting distraught and—even better—I can turn to them and tell them theirs was the better idea after all!

Clinical Applications

1. Working With Limits: Come to a session with a list of up to 12 clips that will be used for that session.  These are the only clips that can be used.  The goal is to make an arrangement from these clips.  The client does not have to use all the clips.  You can move from this to inquire with client about other areas in their life where they don’t have everything to work with that they would like.  If they can make a piece of music out of these limited choices, how can they make something out of other areas of life where their choices are limited?
2. Celebrity Interview: This is a variation on the technique described by Violet Oaklander in her book, Windows on our children (1988; Gestalt Journal Press).  The counselor interviews the client portraying the client as a celebrity.  Most often I use the format of interviewing a musician with a new CD.  At some point, I am usually able to introduce questions such as, “You know, a lot of young people listen to our show and I know from the letters and emails I get that there a lot of people out there dealing with [issue the client has been working with in session].  What would you tell the young people listening in today about [same issue]?”
3. Storytelling: The studio is a powerful tool for storytelling.  If you can afford to add a vocal processor (see equipment section below) then you can add deep voices or robotic voices as well as echoes.  If you have a digital camera, the client can create artwork (painting, drawing, clay, collage, sandtray) around a story and photograph them.  The story can be recorded vocally in ACID Music Studio and the digital photos can be dropped in at the right place over the vocal track and the result burned to video CD.
4. Teamwork, social skills: The equipment profiled here accommodates working with 2-3 students at a time.  Sometimes they work together on an accompaniment.  Other times one works on accompaniment and one on vocals.  Some students who like to write but don’t like to get in front of a microphone create lyrics for other students.  For an example of a collaboration, see Left Me on the Life Tracks page.
5. Life Writing: In a clinical setting, kids working in Studio Hope write lyrics reflecting the life issues they are working with in counseling.  I have worked in situations where I was the counselor and in situations where another counselor was the primary provider.  For an example of a 14-year-old boy writing about the positive changes he is making in his life, see The Rebirth on the Life Tracks page.

Equipment

Equipment needs will vary from program to program.  If you would like Studio Hope to evaluate your individual equipment needs and make specific recommendations, please contact us by clicking here.