Following brain injuries and other similar conditions requiring rehabilitation, individuals often experience challenges with literacy and cognition.
BPM is pioneering rehabilitation approaches through electronic music-based therapy, integrating lyric writing and production as key components, which have considerable efficacy in enhancing literacy and cognitive outcomes.
Lyrics and literacy in the literature
To understand the effects of lyric production on literacy and cognitive outcomes, we must first consider the inextricable link between song lyrics and standard literacy learning experiences.
Firstly, the smallest unit of literacy itself, the graphemes of the alphabet are taught in song.
The phonemes of phonics come next in language acquisition, and these too are traditionally associated with a singsong teaching approach.
Coupled with this, young children learning their phonics are encouraged to use nursery rhymes to fortify their phonics learning.
Consider the use of singing ‘Old MacDonald’- the young person gets ample practice of their vowel sounds with the e-i-e-i-o (García-Valverde et al., 2019).
Therefore, the notion that lyrics and literacy are intertwined is not far-fetched, considering how inherently linked the two domains are through language acquisition.
We have been aware of the link between these two domains for a long time, and this has been reflected in literature (Smith, 2000). Page (1995) discusses the use of music and lyrics in sounds and letters, whilst Yopp and Yopp (1997) and Ericson and Juliebo (1998) present it’s benefit within growing phonemic awareness.
Following these more baseline language acquisition components, music and lyrics have also been used for building vocabulary (Jalongo & Ribblett, 1997) and understanding basic spelling patterns (McCracken and McCracken, 1998).
The literature presented here demonstrates that we have had understanding of the link between literacy and lyrics for a quarter of a century.
Therefore, BPM’s initiative in using lyric production within electronic music-based therapy provides individuals with literacy or cognitive difficulties a modern spin on this learning approach, aligning with longstanding research findings in the field.
As well as re-acquisition of literacy, the repetitive nature of songs and the cognitive processes in creating lyrics can help practice other key literacy difficulties that individuals may face following brain injury.
Common literacy difficulties include dysarthria– reduced clarity and control of speech, and dyspraxia of speech- the difficulty in saying what one is consciously thinking about (Headway, 2024).
Furthermore, particularly with brain injuries that affect language-concerned areas of the brain (Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, angular gyrus, frontal lobe, prefrontal cortex), individuals may have difficulty with certain phonemes, longer words and word order.
The process of lyric creation encourages thought around the semantic and phonemic aspects of words, whilst attempting to convey both meaning and rhyme to a lyrical phrase.
This alternative conceptualisation of language encourages ‘hidden learning’ as the lyric writing task has underlying literacy practice opportunity embedded within it.
This alternative literacy intervention through the breakdown of words into their semantic and phonemic elements encourages practice into control of speech and into saying what one is consciously thinking about.
This can help with the above-stated common literacy difficulties following brain injury (Gfeller, 1987).
Finally, literature clearly demonstrates the positive effects of poetry on individuals facing challenges with literacy or other cognitive tasks (Kahmi, 2015).
Lyric writing shares significant overlap with poetry, employing similar linguistic techniques such as rhyme, meter, imagery, and metaphor, suggesting plausible generalisability of this approach.
Bonanni (2018) found that poetry interventions were successful for students with traumatic brain injuries, and multiple case studies have shown similar therapeutic benefits in other contexts (Slaton & Johnstone, 2022).
Moreover, poetry has proven effective for individuals with dementia and schizophrenia, highlighting its broad utility across various conditions (Swinnen, 2016; Kahmi, 2015).
This may seem surprising as discussed when used in a population of individuals with dementia: “The use of poetry might seem counterintuitive, given that people with dementia lose their language abilities and that poetry is regarded to be the most complex literary form.” (Swinnen, 2016), but it has yielded remarkably positive outcomes.
“This success is attributed to poetry’s ability to provide “words where there are no words,” effectively restoring the language needed for expression, by giving us “back the words we need” (Shewell, 2020).
BPMs approach
Building on the literature discussed above, BPM offers MC’ing and Lyric Writing courses, allowing students to experiment with writing their own lyrics.
These courses provide an alternative way for young people to practice and address any literacy difficulties they may have, through the engaging and creative process of lyric production.
By incorporating structured lyric writing exercises, students can work on speech clarity, control, and articulation, helping to overcome common post-injury literacy challenges.
Furthermore, these courses offer a valuable avenue for self-expression, empowering individuals to feel more in control of their lives, by -allowing them to articulate their thoughts and emotions through music (Pinhasi-Vittorio, 2015).
BPM’s innovative approach combines the educational and expressive potential of lyric writing, fostering both personal and academic growth in a supportive environment.
To find out more, please visit this link: https://www.bpm.rehab/our-services or contact BPM: https://www.bpm.rehab/contact
Article Credit
Sarah Lake, Research Assistant for BPM Rehab.
Email: sarahlake@goalmanager.co.uk
References
Bonanni, J.M. (2018). The Effect of Project-Based Poetry Writing Intervention on Writing Attitudes among Students with Severe Learning Disabilities. The Graduate Review 3, pp. 8-22. https://vc.bridgew.edu/grad_rev/vol3/iss1/6
Ericson, L. & Juliebo, M.F. (1998). The phono- logical awareness handbook for kindergarten and primary teachers. International Reading Association
García-Valverde, E., Badia, M., Orgaz, M. B., & Gónzalez-Ingelmo, E. (2019). The influence of songwriting on quality of life of family caregivers of people with dementia: An exploratory study. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 29(1), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2019.1630666
Gfeller, K. (1987). Songwriting as a Tool for Reading and Language Remediation. Music Therapy 6(2), pp. 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1093/mt/6.2.28
Headway (2024). Speech Difficulties. Retrieved July 12, 2024, from https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/effects-of-brain-injury/communication-problems/speech-difficulties/
Jalongo, M.R. & Ribblett, D.M. (1997). Using picture books to support emergent literacy. Childhood Education 74, pp. 15-22.
Kahmi, K. (2015). Advances in Poetry Therapy. Scriptum 4. https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/82211/1/K%C3%A4hmi%20Advances%20in%20Poetry%20Therapy%202015.pdf
McCracken, R. & McCracken, M. (1998). Stories, songs, and poetry to teach reading and writing. Peguis.
Page, N. (1995). Music as a Way of Knowing. Stenhouse Publishers.
Pinhasi-Vittorio, L. (2008). Poetry and Prose in the Self-Perception of One Man Who Lives with Brain Injury and Aphasia. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 15(3), 288–294. https://doi.org/10.1310/tsr1503-288
Shewell, C. (2020). Poetry, Voice, Brain, and Body. Voice and Speech Review, 14(2), pp. 143–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2020.1743502
Slaton, M.R. & Johnstone, B. (2022). Reconciling Mystical Experience with Concept of the Self: The Poetry of an Individual with Right Temporal Lobectomy. Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation. https://openurl.ebsco.com/EPDB%3Agcd%3A13%3A26494077/detailv2?sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Ascholar&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A177140219&crl=c
Smith, J. A. (2000). Singing and Songwriting Support Early Literacy Instruction. The Reading Teacher, 53(8), 646–649. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20204857
Swinnen, A.M.C. (2016). Healing words: A study of poetry interventions in dementia care. Dementia 15(6), pp.1377-1404. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301214560378
Yopp, H.K. & Yopp, R.H. (1997). Oopples and boo-noo-noos: Songs and activities for phone- mic awareness. Harcourt Brace.
