Marshall Democrat News: March 6, 1999 MUSIC THERAPIST TAPS OUT BEAT OF UNITY By Chris Post Clad in purple with hand-painted shoes and a trout sticking through his hat, Barry Bernstein moves about the growing group of elementary and middle school children and their parents. He is soft spoken and draws easy laughter from the children. The therapy has begun. Bernstein, a registered music therapist for 20 years, was at Bueker Middle School Thursday evening delivering his "Unity With a Beat" presentation. The 50-minute assemblies are a mixture of sing-along and self-affirmation. In addition to singing, Bernstein played acoustic guitar and several styles of hand drums. Bernstein was not the only performer, however. Each member of the audience was given percussion instruments and invited to join in. Throughout the performance, Bernstein offered advice to students and parents on how to use music as a release of the stress in their lives. He also distributed a list of tips to form a "harmonic family." Among the tips were such things as including everyone and using imagination. Finding a part for everyone can take a little thought, Bernstein said, but it can be done. "Keep in mind the person's abilities and the desired outcome of the activity, give them an instrument that will best allow them to be part of the group," he said. Using imagination means being open to new possibilities, Bernstein said. "Find new things to make sounds with in the kitchen or garage," he said. Bernstein said his own life-long love of music began in the kitchen, beating out rhythms on pots and pans. From the kitchen he went on to study at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where he earned a bachelor of sciences degree in music therapy. As a music therapist he had worked with the Colmery O'Neil Veterans' Affairs Medical Center in Topeka, Kansas and was working with Alzheimer's patients when he began the "Unity With a Beat" school assemblies about four years ago. He is the founder of Healthy Sounds, a Lenexa, Kansas-based company "dedicated to spreading the word of the power of music and rhythm." He also co-founded the Rhythm For Life Foundation with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead in 1991. That organization seeks to explore the healing properties of percussion music. In addition to the evening assembly, Bernstein presented assemblies during the day Thursday and Friday to students at BMS, Eastwood and Northwest elementary schools in Marshall.
	• TOP • (913) 888-5517 barry@healthysounds.com P.O. BOX 40304 • OVERLAND PARK, KS • 66204

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