How Music Lessons are Like Mini Therapy Sessions – And a Freebie!

Meet private music instructor Kacey Baugh-Lee. She is a company owner, private music instructor, inventor of a vocal spray, and has music on iTunes. Wow. We’re so happy to have her here guest posting today! When Kacey first told me how her 30-minute music lessons are therapy sessions, I was intrigued. Now I’m happy to know more about it and introduce you to her technique here. Plus, learn about the FREE 30-minute session you can get – details at the end of the post! Take it away, Kacey:

KBL: I have seen it all over the last ten years.  Hundreds of children and adults in and out of my studio for 30 minutes each week, each bringing in their own unique mental and emotional baggage from the week. Within half an hour, they leave a little lighter and more joyful. It never fails.

I like to call my 30 minutes with each student “30-Minute Therapy Sessions.” Below are seven reasons why I feel music lessons are like mini therapy sessions.

My Job is To Listen.

Like in a therapy session, my job is to listen, evaluate, affirm, and direct students toward behaviors that are going to enable them to be successful, with regards to playing music. But, as teachers, we also get to hear their first “venting” from the day, and their first after-school “debrief.”

I love my chatty 5th graders and silly kindergarteners, and also the stressed mother who finally has 30 minutes to do something for her. This is an important 2-3 minutes of the lesson. It helps build trust and rapport between student and teacher and helps the student unload the most pressing mental or emotional baggage so that they can refocus their minds on their music.

My Job is to Equip, Empower, and Encourage Passion.

A lot of time, life takes from us. Life requires OF us. In music lessons, the teacher has a chance to nurture students’ passions, affirm their efforts and successes, equip and enable them to pursue the things they love.

My Job is to Help Students Focus.

Learning to ignite focus leads to discipline. Infusing focus into one’s life is hard and is good work! So, good work teachers! Helping students with focus and discipline activates self-awareness and helps them to self-evaluate their behaviors. This allows them the opportunity for tremendous personal growth and development.

My Job is to Help Them Read and Interpret Emotion.

Music stimulates emotion; I help them read and interpret emotion dictated through technical symbols on a page.  Then I get the amazing opportunity to help them express it through tactical, technical ways.

Tapping (literally) into emotion through structured technique is such a magical process. I love to watch them discover their potential here. The experience of this process for them in the lesson is visually evident in their overall countenance and body language.

My Job is to Help Them Relax.

The repetitive nature and vibrations of music help reduce stress. It’s like a mental and emotional massage. These elements of music create an overall sense of well-being. Many relaxation techniques from all over the world use elements of vibration, sound, and repetition to ignite deeper self-awareness and relaxation.

I Teach Them to Laugh at their mistakes and enjoy the thrill of success.

This boosts self-esteem and ignites ambition. I can see a fire light up in their eyes when they know success is close.

I Teach Them to Connect with Their Culture and Express their Own Unique Voice.

Learning music connects Students by being able to play music relevant to their generation. This helps them connect with their peers. This helps them realize their value and helps create confidence by equipping them with a skill they can be proud of and confident in.

These benefits help the student (child or adult) with daily life and these same benefits can last a lifetime. I have found that music lessons are therapeutic and extremely beneficial for people of any age… Even for the teacher.

If you’re a music teacher and interested in strategically igniting these things in your students, here is a FREE “30-Minute Therapy Session,” Checklist. Download it HERE and enter the Code: 30MIN

About Kacey Baugh-Lee

Kacey Baugh-Lee is definitely a musical entrepreneur.  She is a singer/songwriter with a B.S. in Commercial Music from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO.  She released an EP, “This Moment,” in 2016 and designed a vocal spray called Vocal Tonic.

Also, she owns The Maple Leaf Music Company, which is a private music teaching studio in Southwest Missouri. She has has been teaching private music lessons, full time, for eight years, and plans to do it as long as she is able. Kacey is the author of Starting Your Own Teaching Studio: The Basics and The Studio Planner.

A Question for You about Music Lessons

Have you ever thought of music lessons as therapy sessions or had an experience where this was the case? Share your experiences in the comments section below. 

 

Top photo courtesy of Kaycey Baugh