One child strums a ukulele, cradling it gently in his arms. Other kids shake tambourines or bang on drums, some faces looking faraway, others beaming, in the children’s unit at WellSpan Philhaven in Mt. Gretna.
Some of these children are here for treatment of anxiety or depression. Others have challenges related to trauma or impulse control. For the next hour, they come together to make a joyful noise with board-certified music therapist Aaron Combs, using instruments purchased with a grant from a Lancaster County organization called Music for Everyone.
The kids play instruments, sing and dance, competing enthusiastically in a freeze dance contest that includes some very fancy, improvised footwork, pounding their bare feet on the floor, pumping their arms and gyrating happily.
“I like the sound of music,” says one young girl afterward. “It’s fun. I like watching people dancing. Sometimes the music makes me feel a little sad but it’s OK.”
Philhaven received about $3,300 worth of instruments with the MFE grant, including ukuleles, guitars, drums, a keyboard and a set of metal singing bowls, which play a tone that is meditative or relaxing when a mallet is rotated around the outside rim. Patients in both the children’s and adult inpatient units at WellSpan Philhaven use the instruments in groups and in individual therapy sessions.
“Making music is a coping skill,” says Combs, a bearded, solid man with a gentle demeanor who leads the music therapy sessions in all of the units. “It can help people process or express emotion. It brings people together.”
In purchasing instruments with the MFE funds, Combs deliberately chose ones that are inviting and touchable, such as the ukulele. “There’s something friendly about it,” he said. “It has a small size. It has only four strings. They make a plunking sound. Even if you never have picked one up before, people look at it and say, ‘Oh, can I try it?’ ”
The ukulele is very popular with the nine kids in the group but so are the drums and percussion instruments. Music therapy is a solid hit.
“I see the kids on Fridays and whenever I go on the unit, a kiddo will ask me, ‘Is it Friday? Is it music day?’ ” Combs said. “There is an excitement for it. They look forward to it so much.”
Strumming a guitar, Combs leads the children in a series of exercises where they strum or bang on the instruments to match his cadence, playing fast or slow, or his volume, playing loud or soft (mostly loud). They get a chance to lead others with their own beats. Along the way, they are learning to take turns, follow directions, and watch someone else’s faces and hands for cues. They listen and sing along as Combs plays “Bare Necessities” and “Under the Sea.” It’s frankly infectious, and unit staff sitting at a nearby table bob their heads and tap their toes to the rambunctious beat that fills the room.
“There’s a lot of joy in the room,” said Ben Henson, an activities therapist on the unit. “Their emotions are like soda in a bottle. They build up and need to be released. Music therapy provides that release.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to listen to,” Henson said, laughing, “but it’s always fun to watch.”