Sound Expression

13/11/2025

Just wrapped up Day 1 of the Asia Pacific Autism Conference (APAC) 2025 in Perth and we’re feeling inspired.

Professor David Amaral took us through what we do know and what we still don’t know about autism research.

Professor Stephen Shore took us through his very thought-provoking, lived experience of the “4 As of Autism: Awareness to Acceptance to Appreciation to Action” which was very affirming and moving.

It was fascinating to see these and so many other perspectives converging around how we support autistic individuals across ages, settings and needs.

Looking forward to two more days of soaking up knowledge 💙

09/11/2025

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Registered Music Therapist Winnie Choy is playing the djembe drum with 'Emma'.

BUT if you look a little closer, here's what’s really happening:

What looks like a simple drumming activity is actually a carefully planned session where Winnie is working on several goals at once:

• Building finger strength and coordination through tapping and “tickling” the drum
• Supporting Emma's ability to take turns, listen and share ideas
• Encouraging Emma to communicate in her home language

These are all skills Emma will need for kindy and group play next year.

So how do these skills carry over at home?

Winnie then gives Emma a little 'homework': to practise tickling her parents with separated fingers!

Music therapy — helping children develop key skills in a fun, meaningful way, and supporting families to use those skills at home. Additionally, it nurtures joy and bonding for the family alongside their therapy journey.

06/11/2025

🎵 DID YOU KNOW?

Music therapy in Australia has a rich history — with early mentions dating back as far as 1903. The field has come a long way since then. In 1975, the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) was founded by Dr Ruth Bright AM RMT and Emeritus Prof. Denise Grocke AO RMT, paving the way for professional practice across the country.

This year marks 50 years of AMTA, and we’re proud to celebrate this milestone. At Sound Expression, we’re honoured to be part of Australia’s evolving music therapy story.

Back in 2015, we opened one of the first dedicated, privately run music therapy clinics in NSW — and possibly in Australia. At the time, signing a commercial lease for a music therapy space simply wasn’t common practice!

By 2018, we were invited as guest speakers at the AMTA Conference to share our experience and encourage other Registered Music Therapists to consider creating their own community-facing clinics.

It’s been inspiring to see more clinics open since then — each helping make music therapy more visible, credible, and accessible for the people who need it most.

💡 Interested in reading more about the history of music therapy in Australia?

To learn more, visit:https://www.austmta.org.au/public/151/files/A%20collaborative%20history%20of%20music%20therapy%20in%20Australia%202025.pdf

Here’s a little snippet about Sound Expression featured in the e-book 👇

02/11/2025

🎶 Music therapy songs are usually born in sessions and it gets passed on from one therapist to another.....

Our team of music therapists are always creatively thinking of songs to help bring out the best in their clients.

This happened recently:

Eudora: Hey Iani, how does your song go? The one that has… “this is a song…” in it???
Iani: Hmm...that doesn't ring a bell, can you sing a bit of it?
Eudora: (hums a bit of the song)
Iani: Oh, that one! I made that up in a session some time ago. It goes something like this — (starts singing)
Eudora: (scribbling on manuscript paper)
Five minutes later...
Eudora: Here it is!

The joy of working with musicians as colleagues 😊🎵

Here's the lyrics, feel free to use in your sessions!

C Am Dm G C Am Dm G
This is a song about you (name), this is a song about you!
C C7/Bb F/A Fm/Ab G C C7
This is a song about you (name), this is a song about you!

(this is the bit you make up to suit the person, maybe something like:)

F C Dm G C C7
(name) likes to go to the beach but she doesn't like the sand
F C D7 G G7
(name) likes to go to the park to have a picnic with mum

(and back to the top!)

29/10/2025

28/10/2025

The Phelan Good Trio has done it again this morning!

We love it when our community comes together to connect and support one another. This morning’s gig at our local café, Dining & Co, was a perfect example. David (on flute), RMT Pete (on piano) and Music Therapy Student Anna (on vocals and djembe) jammed to some much-loved classics like Fly Me To The Moon, Autumn Leaves and Watermelon Man.

It was wonderful to see the Sound Expression community — participants, families, therapists and past students — gathering to share in the joy of music.

A big thank you to The Dining & CO North Ryde for always welcoming us and providing a space for this to happen.

And thank you, David, Pete and Anna, for bringing such a warm, feel-good start to our morning! ☕🎶

22/10/2025

21/10/2025

Re-connecting with our past colleagues is always special! 💫

At the AMTA Melbourne conference, we caught up with RMT Edmund Ma, who shares the same Nordoff-Robbins improvisational approach that we love. Edmund then flew to Sydney to visit us at Sound Expression, spending the day joining our sessions and sharing meaningful conversations.

Thanks for visiting, Edmund — it was wonderful to reconnect! 🎶

18/10/2025

Day 2 of the AMTA National Conference - two of our team members, Samantha Lee-Shipley and Edwin Chian presented papers on their other work at the hospital and school.

We heard many inspiring presentations over the last two days - lots of things to reflect on and take back to our clinical work at Sound Expression. Thank you !!

17/10/2025

What an amazing 1st day at the AMTA National Conference in Melbourne - connecting and reconnecting with our music therapy friends and colleagues, celebrating our association’s 50th birthday!

12/10/2025

🎵 Ever wondered where “Lots of Different Sounds” came from?

Music therapy songs often start in the most organic way… right in a session!

One day at Sound Expression, RMT Pete McDonald was exploring animal sounds with ‘Mike’:

🐶 “A dog goes woof woof”
🐱 “A cat goes meow”

…and then came the hilarious twist:
👶 “People go… BLAH BLAH!” 😝

That playful moment sparked creativity, and the song “Lots of Different Sounds” was born. Pete shared it with our team, music therapy students learned it, and before long it was spreading like a folk song — from one session to another.

Want to hear it? Pete recorded it along with many other practical, interactive songs. Together with RMT Grace Elliott, they released a Spotify album “New Songs for Music Therapy” — a treasure trove for parents and music therapists alike.

🎧 Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3r7mEMdWOeHEqVbV15srhv?si=jn9gfJWpT8-zhNFDt--c1w

To RMTs and MT students: click here to buy the tipsheets for the songs https://www.petemcdonald.com.au/mtsongs.html

09/10/2025

THE PHELAN GOOD TRIO from Sound Expression will be back again at The Dining & CO North Ryde - come and join us!

TUESDAY 28 OCTOBER 11am
Dining & CO North Ryde

Good coffee. Great food. Live jazz. The perfect morning combo. Bring your friends!