Using a Music Therapy Collaborative Consultative Approach - World ...

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that familiar and sung material promotes greater learning than unfamiliar songs or the spoken
word. Unlike Wolfe and Horn’s (1993) study and Experiment I, the unfamiliar song was less
efficient than the verbal presentation of the routine. However, it can be concluded that the
use of more familiar material promoted greater learning and overall the song interventions
were more effective in accomplishing the multiple-step tasks than the lyric interventions. For
future implications it might be more useful to select familiar songs and/or melodies, or
practice a new song prior to clinical application with the target child. In this way, the effects
of the novelty of a song can be eliminated and spontaneous and frequent recall in desired
situations can be given.
As in experiment I, here too there arose several salient findings above and beyond
those flowing from the main questions posed. During the intervention Andy started
unexpectedly speaking in two-word sentences. As a result, every so often he used the verbal
praise (e.g., “good job”) when accomplishing a multiple-step task. Andy repeatedly sang
parts of the song or clapped his hands. As reported by the classroom teacher prior to the
study, transitioning from one activity to an other went more smoothly, meaning Andy cried
less and transitioned better when sung to. Classroom peers often sang along with the songs
and participated in the routines as well. The participating classroom teacher summarized the
success of the intervention in the following way: “I have enjoyed doing this study, because it
has brought more structure to our routines. I believe it has made Andy understand what he is
doing at each step and what will come next. He loved to sing along, too.”