If you follow us on Instagram or Facebook, then you know our team has been busy providing music therapy this Summer!  In June, we hosted two weeks of our own creative arts camp, Movie Camp.  In July, we have been providing Summer programming to adults at Deepwood, REM and ResCare and to campers at Camp Sunshine of Aurora and campers at STAR Camp hosted by the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland.

Here at GG, we have not been shy about the value technology can bring to music therapy, specifically how it can compliment and support individualized treatment plans no matter the ability level or age of the client(s) we serve.  This Summer has been no exception.

One app that has been getting lots of use between Ellen, Sarah, Bri and myself is Incredibox.  It’s been a long time since I shared an app review on the blog, so consider this the first of many more to come with added content like the “Why use _____ app in music therapy?” section and “How we’ve used _____ app in Music Therapy” section.  My hope is it provides context, rationale and value to your efforts in supporting your clients toward the goals you’ve created for them.

Incredibox

Cost: $3.99

Available: App Store and Google Play

Read the Reviews:  iTunes Review and Google Play Review (rated #6 in Music Apps by Apple)

Description: The tagline for Incredibox is “Express Your Creativity” and that is absolutely the case.  The only addition I would make is, “no music experience necessary”.  Incredibox is essentially a music making app that allows you to create beatboxing loops with the swipe of a finger. And they are cool.  Like, really cool. 😉  The app has a vibrant interface making it quick and easy to create music in seconds.  When the app opens, simply choose a style from the main menu and then drag “outfits” onto the beatbox characters to bring them to musical life.  Each outfit represents a looped beat, melody or sound effect.  Mix and match to create different musical loops.  That’s it.  Start, stop and record as you like. Incredibox also has a SOLO feature which allows you to tap and hold on a beatbox character (or as many characters as you want) which “mutes” the remaining characters loops.

Why use Incredibox in Music Therapy? 1) It’s PERFECT for groups. In my opinion, Incredibox is one of the best apps out there for music therapy groups.  Apps that are appropriate for varying group dynamics are hard to come by, but this one really does seem to transcend all ages and abilities more than any other app I’ve used (with maybe the exception of Garage Band!).  2) It’s ACCESSIBLE.  Swiping is all that’s required and that can be done with fingers, hands, palms, cheeks, elbows or hand over the hand support. 3) THERE ARE NO WRONG CHOICES.  Each group member can add a beat and it’s musically AWESOME. Like, really awesome.  Refer to my description notes above. 😉 4) Everyone gets EQUAL partnership in the creative music making process.  The way this app is designed you can give each group member equal opportunity to add a loop, which let’s be honest, is really important no matter the age, ability or diagnosis of the clients you serve.

How we’ve used Incredibox in Music Therapy Groups: 1) Create original music in a group with each group member adding a loop. 2) Music therapist creates a loop ahead of time and uses it as grounding for instrument playing, singing, improvisation or songwriting  (this week Ellen and I created a chant in which group members inserted their favorite ice cream flavor and we all joined in on the refrain “Scoop There It Is”, a variation on “Whoomp There It Is”).

Goal Areas we’ve targeted with Incredibox*: turn taking, following directions, fine motor development, choice making, color matching, sequencing

*Remember, YOU are the music therapist.  You have done the assessment.  You have created the goals and objectives. And only YOU can determine if using an iPad is supportive for your client(s).

Our Demo of Incredibox:

Looking for more iPad resources and app recommendations for your clients and practice??? Check out my iPad CMTE at www.musictherapyed.com or click over to my App Resource Page for music therapists.