At what point are you a therapist and when are you a loved one? I believe that would be a hard question for me to answer if I was caring for a loved one during their last days. Jacob Beck, in his article All Things Must Pass: Utilizing Music Therapy in the Transition of a Dying Loved One, discusses the role he played in his father’s passing as a son sharing a musical heritage with his father and as a professional music therapist desiring to ease an individual’s journey. He speaks of his father’s love of music and recalls previous music experiences that were used as a link or connection in working with his father. Beck makes it clear that he was not practicing music therapy with his father, but instead was drawing on learned music therapy techniques to assist him in easing his father’s passing. As a student music therapist getting ready to enter my internship, I often think about how to be most effective when working with an actively dying client. I think on previous clinical experience in hospice care and recall the treatments and delicate techniques we used to both ease the passing of the individual, and aid the family and close friends to gain acceptance and closure. I wonder how I would respond if my father was actively dying. What type of music therapy elements would I pull from to better aid him? I am for certain that if I am ever faced with this situation I will pull this article out of the archives, using it as a guide. I appreciate the humble and delicate way that Beck approaches this subject. As a reader, you gain the understanding that he would use the same care and detail when working with a client. In my limited experience I have begun to understand the value in having a balance between the use of silence, passive listening, and active listening. I think about my musical history with my father and our shared love for the Beatles, barbershop harmonies, and a good old gospel song. I realize, now more than before that my musical self is greatly influenced by my heritage. The message I am taking away from this article is that the musical bond that we share with those whom we are close to should be used as a tool to make us more receptive music therapists. In taking the time to find out what musical connections we have with individuals, we can learn to better relate and empathize with those we are treating.