The Power of Music

Today I had my practicum in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Seeing the way these tiny babies respond to music therapy never ceases to amaze me. It is almost as if they are pre-programmed to have a preference for music. In my first session, we used the PAL (pacifier activated lullaby), which plays music as a reinforcement for sucking on a pacifier. This helps the babies learn how to feed more quickly, therefore reducing the length of hospital stay. At first, the baby refused to suck on the pacifier and needed a few prompts. I gently pulled the pacifier in and out of the baby's mouth, simulating a sucking motion, and successfully got the baby to suck. It took him about ten minutes to realize that his sucking was causing the music to play and finally began to suck independently without prompts. At one point, he grabbed my pointer finger with his entire hand and I experienced a"music therapy moment." You know, those moments you have while practicing music therapy when you can't imagine yourself doing anything else with your life. In my next session, I taught the grandmother of a patient in the NICU how to administer a massage to her grandson and informed her about the signs of overstimulation. I began playing the guitar and the baby immediately looked at me and smiled. Another music therapy moment. I have the best job in the entire world. <3