Personal Statement/Bio:

We serve children and adults with a variety of special needs in the Greater Nashville area. Our mission is to use music to look beyond limitations and to discover the ability of each child and adult we serve.

Education/Training:

Kevin Bolton, MT-BC, a native of West Virginia, received his Bachelor’s of Music in Music Therapy degree in 2003 from Radford University in Radford, VA. Following his coursework, he completed a six-month internship at Catawba Hospital in Catawba, VA. He now specializes in working with children with special needs in the school system. Since 2003, Kevin has provided group and individual music therapy services in Warren County and Giles County schools. Kevin also provides guitar lessons to children and is on staff at Camp Will with the Williamson County Parks and Recreation Department.

Teaching Philosophy:

We provide individual and group music therapy service and guitar and piano lessons for beginner students. We also offer adaptive lessons for children with special needs.

Music therapy is the use of music by a trained music therapist to reach non-musical goals for clients with a wide range of special needs. Music therapy can be used to address cognitive, social, communication, academic, and motor skills. Music is non-threatening, fun, communicative, emotional, and non-verbal, making it an ideal intervention for many clients. We design interventions to be success-oriented, so that all clients, regardless of their level of ability, can participate in a meaningful way. All of our services are completely individualized to meet the needs of each individual child. Interventions used include cooperative music making, improvisation, movement/dance, instrument play, singing, songwriting, lyric analysis, and music listening.

A music educator is primarily concerned with teaching music for the sake of music. Goals include learning to read music, learning to play an instrument, or learning about music theory, history, and literature. The end goal is often to perform a recital with as few errors as possible or to pass an exam. As a music therapist, we use many of the same techniques, but are concerned with other skills learned along the way rather than with the end product.

The difference between regular and adaptive lessons mirrors the differences between music education and music therapy. In regular lessons, students learn to play an instrument for the sake of learning music. The end goal is often to play in a recital. Adaptive lessons can refer to many things. First, the materials can be adapted - instruments and mallets can be adapted for clients with physical impairments, and other adaptations such as wheelchair stands or other specialty aides can be used. Second, methods can be adapted. If a child cannot read music on a staff, music can be adapted to incorporate numbers, letters, or colors. Third, adaptive lessons often focus on different goals, including increasing attention span, addressing academic concepts, or improving fine motor skills.

Cancellation Policy:

There are no long term contracts with Bolton Music Therapy. We remain as flexible with our clients as we can. Clients can choose to pay monthly or weekly, depending on what is easier for them.

Your therapist should be given 24-hour advance notice regarding cancellations. In the event of illness, please notify your therapist before 8:00 a.m. on the day of your child’s session. Failure to do so may result in a “No Show” fee being assessed on your child’s account as outlined below. Please be aware that therapy may be discontinued if there is a pattern of cancellations or no-shows (2 or more per month).

Fees for no-shows or late cancellations (less than 24 hours notice) may be charged, at the discretion of the therapist, as we understand that emergency situations arise, or a child may get sick during the day. No-shows will be charged the full session fee; late cancellations will be charged one-half of the session fee.

Promotions:

We are currently offering a free introductory lesson for guitar and piano. We are also offering $25 off the initial music therapy assessment.