Noel Young is only 5 years old but he’s already working on his second CD. Noel, a participant in the music therapy program at the Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based Alberta Children’s Hospital, has a rare blood disease that compromises his immune system.

He has been in the hospital six times over the past 20 months and is currently in the midst of an eight-week stay. Noel works with music therapist Rebecca Hill, MT, on an ongoing basis and, according to his mom, Anne Robillard, the sessions are a godsend.

“The music therapy has been great,” says Robillard, looking on as her son whacks a hand-held drum, accompanying Hill on guitar as she sings the Transformers’ TV show theme. “First, he was in isolation and wasn’t allowed to leave the room, so it was great to have [Hill] come to him. This has been the worst admission, and it’s been really great to have this because he’s in a lot of pain and bored. He looks forward to the sessions.”

Noel has developed a bond with Hill, who appears in his room with her guitar slung over her shoulders wheeling a cart full of colorful instruments.

“He likes trying all the instruments out,” says Robillard.

But the highlight for Noel was the CD he made. Hill brought her Macintosh® computer into the room and, using the music-making application Garageband, helped Young compose and record his own music. The process, Hill says, “gives the patient creative freedom to express some of the emotions associated with hospitalization through songwriting and musical improvisation.”

Hill continues, “Like many 5 year olds, Noel loves superheroes, so we wrote and recorded a song that allowed Noel to be the superhero and have superpowers. Opportunities like these allow children to gain back some of the power they have lost in the hospital environment.”

Robillard says she has witnessed the music therapy’s positive effects. “When [Noel] first came to the hospital for this admission, he couldn’t get out of bed; he couldn’t play; he couldn’t do anything – so just to listen to Rebecca was amazing,” she says.

“It’s been really exciting to see him play the instruments and then to actually do the CD,” Robillard says. “Rebecca is so great; she has so much energy and is so friendly. I thought that she was just going to come in and sing songs and have a few instruments. This is just above and beyond. It really blows me away.”

Music is a powerful tool to help kids feel better, according to Hill. It takes their mind off the stress of hospitalization and connects with their healthy self.

Accredited music therapists, such as Hill, use music and musical elements to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Hill says the nonverbal, creative, structural, and emotional qualities of music can be used to facilitate contact, interaction, self-awareness, learning, self-expression, communication, and personal development.

“The patients are active participants,” says Hill. “That’s really important for people to understand about music therapy – patients are actively involved in the process. As a music therapist, I utilize songwriting, singing, instrument playing, and moving to and listening to music as therapeutic tools. I work with other healthcare professionals to address the patient’s medical and emotional needs.”


Source: Chris Simnett/Calgary Herald