Thrive Music Services

05/07/2026

Today’s fun fact about Music Therapy from your local, professional music nerd! 

05/03/2026

When your lovely friend offers to record you playing a bride‘s favorite song, and makes you feel like Julia Andrews on an Austrian mountaintop.

The song is “In Dreams” from LoTR. Apologies to any diehards out there, as I am fairly certain that I improvised a few notes around the modulation. 😆

12/22/2025

In true, ADHD style, I’ve barely updated my page in a year. Now, I’ll upload TWO videos at once!

In all seriousness, this is some very pretty Schumann that I enjoyed playing last weekend! Thrive Music Services

12/22/2025

The bride of last week's wedding didn't want Christmas music included in her ceremony. I'm totally happy to accommodate!
However, after the guests trickled out, I looked around at this beautiful sanctuary that was built in the mid-1800s, and I needed to play an impromptu Christmas carol. It's not perfect, but what is? And this is the time of year to celebrate things that are both flawed and beautiful.

11/19/2025

Moving to musical rhythm significantly improves gait and other motor functions compared to self-paced movement in neurorehabilitation.

Using brain network science, a recent collaborative study between researchers at the University of Toronto Music and Health Research Collaboratory (MaHRC) and Wake Forest University sheds new light on why this occurs:

✨ Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS)® optimizes how neurons talk to each other and harnesses them into a more closely connected and well synchronized brain network in the Basal Ganglia, a critical region for rehabilitation in Parkinson’s disease. Stable, tightly coupled, and efficient neural connections are necessary engines to improve timing, consistency, and spatial control of movement. This evidence of strong plasticity in connectivity in neural networks is key in understanding why music/rhythm based Neurologic Music Therapy® interventions are powerful neuromodulatory tools.

You can read the full paper here:
Lavigne S, Burdette J, Bahrami M, Laurien P, Lyday R, Thaut MH. 2025. Altered
basal ganglia networks topology associated with auditory-motor
synchronization. Brain & Behavior, doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70695
Available at: nmtacademy.co/research-publications/

Additional studies:
Pranjic M, Braun Janzen T, Vuksic N, Thaut MH. 2024. From sound to
movement: Mapping neural mechanisms of auditory-motor entrainment
and synchronization. Brain Sciences, doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14111063
Koshimori Y, Thaut MH. 2023. Rhythmic auditory stimulation as potential
neuromodulator for Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson and Related Disorders,
doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2023.105459

10/22/2025

02/09/2025

I’m Little Rock famous! 😉 I have a brief cameo in a commercial where I’m facilitating a music therapy group at the wonderful, local memory care facility, Wellington Woods!

I’m so, so lucky and blessed to get to share music with these amazing humans every month! Wellington Woods Memory Care

01/19/2025

Come see me at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s Wedding Show! I’ll bring the tunes!

01/19/2025

Come see me tomorrow at the Statehouse Convention Center! I’ll bring the tunes!

01/16/2025

Come see me at Thrive Music Services’ first, solo wedding show! Find my booth next to David’s Bridal! I would love to make your big day even more special! 

01/08/2025

Come see Thrive Music Services at its first wedding show!