ryk groetchen
Why did I bring my daughter to music class if I had such negative experiences with music as a kid?
by Dr. Brighton Earley, Psy.D. As a psychologist who works with children, I have acquired these bits and bobs of knowledge that I can apply (experiment with) to my own child. In Therapy School we learn that music is one thing that helps us humans with regulation, so we should recommend it to our patients … Read more
co-regulation in infancy and early childhood
Co-regulation refers to the dynamic interaction between two people–between their bodies, minds, or nervous systems–through which they help each other move toward a state of balance or calm. This process can happen automatically, beneath our awareness, or it can be a conscious, mindful practice. Co-regulation is one of the most important foundations of early parenting … Read more
why we do what we do: my mother’s crone ceremony
It’s been very emotional for me to reemerge from the darkness of lockdown to return to building community through music-making. In my conversations with folks, it becomes clear that a younger generation of families don’t know about some of the ways we connected before, and don’t necessarily remember many of the ways things were different … Read more
neurodiverse community
Affirming neurodiversity is recognizing that, in a musical space, one person is tuned into the soprano register, even though their voice presents in the bass register; another person hears long melodic phrases when everyone else is creating short rhythmic phrases; and someone else’s brain is turning the patterns of sound into physical shapes, and they … Read more
instruments are tools
Originally posted to the EBCMP blog on September 10, 2018. We’ll post occasionally about why we are committed to making space for community music-making. Children don’t like keys, wallets and phones because there is something inherently interesting about them. They like these objects because they see them being used by the adults around them. Humans … Read more
A note to homeschool families:
My name is Ryk Groetchen, and I’ve been cultivating creative musical spaces for over 20 years. Neurodiverse families have made a point over the years of reminding me how they have felt included in these spaces. I just want to emphasize that now that i have secured space 6 mornings and 2 afternoons per week, … Read more