Music Therapist Vincent Chanco Delivers Joy To Patients

Vincent Chanco, MT-BC, is a board-certified music therapist practicing for a hospice organization in the Bay Area. I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Chanco about his career journey and how he helps patients and families through his love of music. Read on to learn about preparation for this unique career, the types of settings where music therapists work, and what personal qualities would make someone a good fit for music therapy.

How did you get involved in playing music?

I started as a little kid, my mom saw that as a kid I wasn’t playing outside, she saw you know those little books that light up when you press the buttons that make sounds, she saw that I was into that. My mom was a pianist, so she was a piano teacher, so she had me take piano lessons. At the age of 3, or something really early. I was involved, but I moved from the Philippines at age 4 or 5, and then you know, you get older and your friends start to not like to play, or my brother didn’t want to play, so then I didn’t want to play anymore. But yeah, I’ve played piano since I was really young, and then I started playing guitar at 16,17, and learning other instruments, so it’s been a lifelong part of my life.

Could you explain what music therapy is?

So, music therapy is a really cool job. It’s basically a clinical use of music to connect a patient or a client, you’re trying to use music as a way to reach a therapeutic goal. With other forms of therapy, specifically talk therapy or cognitive behavior, or different techniques, you’re using it to reframe the idea or this and that, but with music you’re able to unlock some memories that they would not be willing to talk about otherwise, through a song. So it can look like a variety of different venues or methods, but we are using music as our tool to help the client.

What was your idea of what your career would be in high school and college and how did it evolve into becoming a music therapist?

High school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I come from a lineage of dentists, so my mom wanted me to be a dentist, and basically I was pre-dental. I went to Cal State East Bay here in Hayward, and just kind of followed that path. It just wasn’t really clicking for me. I started teaching piano and guitar in college, and I saw a flyer, and thought, “Oh cool! I can apply for that job!” and so I started getting back into music in college. In high school I formally quit piano lessons. I told my mom, “I don’t want to do it anymore, I’m done.” I think every musician goes through that; there’s this kind of love for it and then it’s hard, so why do we work so hard at it? But I fell back in love with it and one thing I learned was paying for my own stuff makes me value it more. Paying for my own lessons, my own teacher, my own equipment, made me actually practice and use it. Long story short, after college, I was working in accounting and different office kinds of jobs. My friend is a music therapist, and I got to shadow her and I was like, “Wow, this is a job, this is a field!?” So that kind of got me on that path. So shadowing and learning from others was really important to me.

What is the typical day in the life of a music therapist?

It depends on where you work. I work in hospice, and we have clients all over the Bay Area. In my day, I don’t really start my day until 9 or 10 because our patients are sleeping, so in the morning I get my stuff ready, and I schedule it out. I visit probably 3 to 5 patients a day depending on geographical location. So I’ll go to the facility, and I’ll visit a patient one on one, or in a group setting. Typically I’m playing the guitar; guitar, piano, and voice are the primary instruments for music therapy, so if that’s something you’re interested in you should brush up on those skills. Yeah, so about 4 patients per day and then a lot of driving!

What degree or certification do music therapists need?

The minimum requirement is a bachelor’s degree, and after the bachelor’s degree, you go specifically to music therapy. So if you’re in California, or the Bay Area, there’s two schools; University of the Pacific and CSU Northridge. There’s other schools, if you don’t go right out of school the Bachelor’s route, you can do the equivalency program, and there’s also a doctorate, but a Bachelor’s is the minimum requirement. Afterwards, you have to take the exam to earn the credentials. The initials are MT-BC, and it stands for Music Therapist Board Certified.

What was your experience like at the University of the Pacific?

The University of the Pacific is a great school. I went to the equivalency Master’s program in San Francisco, so I didn’t get the full Stockton, the main campus, the “Motherland,” as we call it, but it’s a great school. With the equivalency program I was already working full-time in not music therapy, so it’s a program meant for working folks, and you have classes at night and on the weekends. The unique thing about the music therapy program is we have what’s called fieldwork, where you get to shadow the practicing music therapist and learn from them. There’s all these different populations that we serve, I work in hospice, but you can work in geriatric care, or kids with developmental disabilities like Down Syndrome. The University of the Pacific allows us to be connected with different music therapists in the field.

What types of organizations employ music therapists?

So, hospitals, hospice agencies, skilled nursing facilities where some of the jobs are like activities directors, and you could get into management in memory care and those types of fields. It is definitely something that like other music jobs, you just have to be kind of open and willing to hustle, so sometimes the opportunity might not look like your dream job right away but those are important experiences. I currently work full-time for a hospice agency, but I started off part time, so you just need to be willing to earn your stripes, in a way. A lot of music therapists end up starting a private practice, so they can see patients on their own. It’s kind of the same thing but it’s a different avenue as an independent contractor or business owner.

Do you do other things with music outside of therapy?

I mostly play for church. I’ve played as a church accompanist in both traditional settings, but also in more of the band settings, like more of the worship band. Playing with friends is really important. I think one thing I’m learning is that when music becomes your job, you have a different relationship with music. Trying to find the joy in music is really important, otherwise you’ll get burned out. You’ll just accept all these gigs and it won’t really be fun anymore, so trying to find a song that you like to play outside of work is really important. A big part of my job is listening to music, because I need to learn the songs that my clients want, and I get confused- is this a song that I like, or is this a song that somebody wants me to learn- those are two separate things. But yeah, playing with friends is important.

What qualities would make someone a good match for this career?

Music skills have to be good, you have to be a good musician. But you also have to be willing to learn about yourself and the therapy part of it. A lot of the time, I am mistaken as the music man, the piano man, the guitar man, but it’s a lot more than that. You have to be willing to talk to people, to get to know them on a deeper level, and there's going to be a lot of emotion. If you’re not in tune with yourself and aware of what triggers you, you won’t be able to process a lot. Somebody who’s aware of their emotions and is also sociable in a way would do well.

Would you say dealing with the emotional side of the job would probably be one of the bigger challenges of music therapy?

Definitely. Yes, because in hospice there’s a lot of patients passing away, and then you have to deal with those emotions. It can be difficult if you don’t have ways to self-care. If I’m not taking care of myself, I’m going to burn out, like I can’t go to work today because I’m really sad. So being aware of that there were special moments and that was something to honor. I think for middle school and high school folks who are reading this blog, if you get a chance to volunteer in hospice or in a medical setting, it is really eye-opening and shows you that there’s more to life than what’s in front of you. Actually, we do always look for volunteers in hospice, so that is something that is a good place to get experience.

"... if you get a chance to volunteer in hospice or in a medical setting, it is really eye-opening and shows you that there’s more to life than what’s in front of you."

What do you love most about your career, and what are the challenges?

Just seeing that I get to drive around and deliver all this joy and happiness. A lot of people don’t get to do that, so I’m in my car and as soon as you play that song, seeing a patient, and they’re sleeping and their eyes are closed, most people would think that they are not responsive and that’s just how they are. But then you play their song and their eyes light up and there’s all this joy and happiness.

"But then you play their song and their eyes light up and there’s all this joy and happiness."

Also my families, it’s challenging now with COVID, when families get to visit with me and they get to see their mom or dad or their loved one in a different life, because every time they visit they don’t remember their names, they are very confused, but we sing a song like Que Sera Sera for example, and it’s like, “Wow, I remember this song, my mom used to sing this song for me.” So being able to bring that to people is really important.

Do you have any advice for those who are looking to explore this field?

Check out, depending on where you live, look up music therapy schools. There aren’t a lot, so look up some schools. I can be a resource if any of the readers are interested in shadowing and that type of stuff. You could be any instrument, and come from any music background, but guitar, piano, and voice are the main primary skills. Be open minded to therapy for yourself, and I know therapy is kind of a taboo type of topic, but going to therapy for myself was really eye opening. There’s a lot of issues and emotions that are helpful to talk out. Brush up on your skills, shadow, and go to therapy.