More than a Fun Instrument: A Music Therapy Tool

Musician Maker Kits featuring FLEA ukuleles are designed especially with music therapy in mind. Not just because of our kit donation program, but also their availability for purchase by students and practitioners as an invaluable tool across music therapy settings.

Here's Why:

• easy fretted acoustic instrument for therapists and patients: FLEA ukulele is easier to master than guitar yet offers similar multi-sensory and fine/gross motor skill engagement
• music versatility: adaptive to a diverse set of treatment populations, abilities and protocols from simple open-string strumming to songwriting improvisation
• nylon strings and special felt picks: facilitate easier and longer instrument interaction vs. steel string guitar, e.g., patients with tender finger skin
• compact: easy for patient to hold standing or while in bed, chair, wheelchair
• durable and clean: fiberglass reinforced shell, polycarbonate fingerboard and frets provide ruggedness; surfaces clean easily before/after patient sessions
• fun, inviting and inclusive: attractive ukulele designs, uplifting timbre and ease of play make them ideal program initiators for private and group participants
• portable: an easy travel system for mobile MT’s visiting multiple patient sites
• patient autonomy and control: unique features of the instrument, accessories and learning media integrate into a “bedside friendly” system that empowers self sufficiency (e.g., adolescent hospital patients tuning their own instrument and mastering lessons independently)

The latter feature also makes Musician Maker Kits an enabler for promoting music engagement outside of therapist-led sessions. For example:

• patient loaner kits
• fee based rental kits
• helpful guidance for family purchased kits

Discover the Benefits

We invite the professional community to discover and apply Musician Maker Kits featuring FLEA ukuleles across the breadth of music therapy experiences and goals (see AMTA Professional Competencies, section C18). Taking the pediatric hospital setting as an example, sample protocols shared by editors of the AMTA reference cited below make use of accompanying instruments such as guitar. We believe the ukulele and accessories in our kits are well suited to such activities:

• Music-Assisted Relaxation (MAR)
• Music as Alternate Engagement during Medical Procedures (MAE)
• Multisensory Stimulation
• Songwriting (structured or improvised)
• Music-Facilitated Dramatic Play
• Music Permanent Product (video/audio recording, CD creation)

Reference: AMTA Monograph Series – Effective Clinical Practice in Music Therapy: Medical Music Therapy for Pediatrics in Hospital Settings; edited by Deanna Hanson-Abromeit, PhD, MT-BC and Cynthia Colwell, PhD, MT-BC; American Music Therapy Association, Inc., ©2008, pp 247-260

If you are a professor, graduate student or researcher of medical music therapy science, we believe the tools and patient-engaging process of Musician Maker Kits featuring FLEA ukuleles are well apt to demonstrate a positive measurable impact in clinical settings. Please contact us if you have interest in designing such studies with our assistance.