Well folks, Indiana (where I live) has had a stay at home order since March 25th, and I can imagine many people are experiencing the same social isolation that I am. As things continue to prolong, my heart longs for the days that I can once again sit in a coffee shop with a friend or go visit my brother. This time has really emphasized something that I’ve already know - we need each other. I am so incredibly thankful that I have a loving support system in place and people who regularly pray for me and reach out. I encourage you all to continue reaching out to your community, and wanted to give you some ideas for how to do that. These can be used in your own personal life, shared with your community, and you can even equip your clients to do these things.

Send Recordings & Videos:

Technology has been a great tool this spring to stay in touch with our clients and loved ones. Here are a variety of apps/methods to send a recording of your favorite song to brighten someone’s day:

Marco Polo: If you haven’t heard of this app, it’s virtually a video texting. You can start a conversation with one or multiple people and record a video that stays in your thread - perfect to rewatch as needed. You can grab an instrument to play or jam out to the radio!
Youtube - Who doesn’t love a sweet video of a child dancing to their favorite song or gotten chills when videos from Italy emerged of everyone singing together? Not only can you post public videos for all to enjoy, but you can also post private videos that are only available to those you share the link with. You can email these links to those less tech-savy (all they would have to do is click the link!) or send a virtual birthday card with a link to “Happy Birthday.”
Voice Memos App: On Apple products, there’s an app called “Voice Memos,” where you can record sound clips. Fun fact: these can be shared! To share these, first record your song, click the 3 dots for more options after finishing the recording, and hit the share option. From here, you’ll be able to choose who you send it to. This is a great way to send a quick “Feel Better” or “You aren’t forgotten” song.
Text a Link to a Song that Makes You Think of Them: It’s simple - look up a song on Spotify and hit the share button or copy a link from a song on Youtube & paste in a text message. It’s an effortless way to share some tunes with a quick “thinking of you” text.

If you need help with technology, feel free to reach out with questions! You can email me at: contact@aspiremusictherapy.com.

Send Cards and Lyrics:

Writing cards can be a heartfelt way of reaching out to loved ones and reminding them that you’re still there for them, even if you can’t be physically. As in music therapy, song lyrics can help us express our thoughts and feelings when we’re unable to come up with the words to write. Best of all, you can buy everything you need online. I’ll be featuring some cards from my dear friend Kyle at Sommer Letter Co. (who has some snail mail kits ready to mail that even include stamps!) to show what I’m sending out this week. I love that the inside of the cards are blank, so I can doodle my favorite song lyric, include a picture of us together, or write an encouraging note. Here are some examples:

Song Suggestions:

I’ve talked a lot about how to share music with others, but now we have to figure out what to send! Here are some encouraging songs that could be sent digitally or included in a card.

Songs about Friendship:

“Lean On Me” - Bill Withers
“Stand By Me” - Ben E. King
“Count On Me” - Bruno Mars
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” - Randy Newman
“All You Need is Love” - The Beatles
“I’ll Be There For You” - The Rembrandts
“Thank You For Being a Friend” - Andrew Gold
“One Friend” - Dan Seals
“We’re All in This Together” - High School Musical

Songs about Change:

“Waiting on the World to Change” - John Mayer
“Rivers and Roads” - The Head and the Heart
“The Times They Are A-Changin’” - Bob Dylan
“Some Things Never Change” - Frozen 2
“Sentimental Journey” - Doris Day

Religious Songs:

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
“Trust in You” - Lauren Daigle
“Overcomer” - Mandisa
“Seasons” - Hillsong
“Hills and Valleys” - Tauren Wells

Songs about Dealing With Hard Times:

“Hard Times” - Paramore
“Are You Alright?” - Lucinda Williams
“Seasons of Love” - Rent
- (Think along the lines of how we can measure our lives right now by different standards than normal)
“True Colors” - Cyndi Lauper / Justin Timberlake & Anna Kendrick

Have more song suggestions? Feel free to drop them in the comments below so others can be inspired too!