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To the person who feels stuck in limbo,

This past year I’ve gained an important skill, and that is patience. I would imagine that if you ask anyone what skills a music therapist needs, many would include patience as one of them, as something that is “already a given”, which is something I thought as well. But now the skill of patience has a new meaning. Not only should a person have patience and compassion when working with vulnerable persons but they also need to have that for themselves.

To be patient with yourself is to know that even if you don’t succeed the first time it doesn’t mean you weren’t good enough. To be patient with yourself means to give yourself all the time you need to have personal growth and insight. To be patient with yourself means to gain experience by doing things that make you happy and not doing them because they’ll give you a “leg up” against someone else who is also trying to be the best that they can...

I was first introduced to music therapy in high school. As part of a grade 10 music project, we were asked to choose a career in music and write a report about it. My music teacher suggested I write about music therapy since I was interested in health sciences. I wrote the report and thought that music therapy was cool, but I still really wanted to be a doctor. Over time, I started revisiting music therapy as a potential career choice. After more research and soul searching, I decided music therapy was something I wished to pursue. I completed a co-op with Rachael Finnerty at the music therapy studio she owned at the time. It was through this that I first heard of the music therapy program at Acadia University, a small school in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. I visited the university for an open house and fell in love with Wolfville and Acadia. I auditioned and was accepted into the music therapy program. I started in September of 2014.

My four years as a music therapy student were full of...

My name is Zachary Brown, I am a grade 12 student at Sir John A. MacDonald secondary school, and an aspiring music therapist. Earlier this week I got my first impression of what music therapy in action looks like.

This week I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer at a longterm care facility in Hamilton, Ontario. The music therapist at the long term care facility, graciously allowed me to shadow her as she ran a group session with 10 of the residents. As Laura sang and played her guitar for the residents, they joined in with percussion instruments, their voices, and many smiles. As Laura engaged each resident with a song that they helped her choose specifically for them, the mood lightened. I saw music therapy bring joy to people who needed it. Maybe it was due to the excitement of having a song played just for them, or the accomplishment of being able to sing and play along.

My first of impression of music therapy in action filled me with excitement, although it does not seem...

 As a recording artist, I use music to express the emotions and thoughts that I have inside of myself. Whether it is an emotion of happiness or sadness, there is something great about sharing it with other people.

          I recently created a song called “Show Some Love”. It is an upbeat pop and R&B song that is about self-care and not giving up on yourself. I remember while I was writing it, I wanted to make a song that would uplift peoples' spirits when they were feeling down for a day, depressed or even suicidal. I wanted this song to encourage anyone who hears it, and to remind them they are not alone and to reach out to somebody if they need help.

         I have experienced depression and it was such a dark place that I felt like I could not tell many people about. I was often the friend who was considered the “strong one,” so I felt I was not even allowed to feel this way....

Check out this informative overview of music therapy and music's impact on wellbeing, from Will Tottle of My Audio Sound in the United Kingdom. 

"Music has been with us for thousands of years as a form of entertainment, communication, celebration, and mourning. There are so many different emotions that music can help us to express, and it is a language that we share universally, as well as one that everyone can understand.

The style of music that we listen to most and enjoy may change every decade, but that sense of communication and feeling always remains. If you, or someone close to you, suffer from mental health conditions, you may find that they listen to music quite a lot, or even play it.

Music has a way of helping us express emotions that we don’t even understand ourselves, and can put these feelings into meaningful lyrics, or just a tune that resonates with every fibre of our being. 

For many, music is a lifeline that keeps them tethered to the world, and...