Ready…Set…Wait!

by | Listen & Learn Music

As I mentioned last week, my husband and I went on a quick getaway this weekend and while we had a great time, it’s always nice to get back into the regular routine. This week is already off to a busy start, with an even busier weekend ahead…I’m performing this Friday evening, playing for a birthday party on Saturday, and then my children’s choirs are singing in church on Sunday morning. Phew, I’m tired just thinking about it!

But let’s get to today’s subject: impulse control. This is always an issue when working with any child, whether he or she has a disability or not. Last year I wrote a fun little song to target impulse control skills, called Ready, Set, Wait!

Let’s wiggle our fingers, when I say go.
We’ll wiggle wiggle wiggle them, to and fro.
Let’s wiggle our fingers, when I say go.
Ready…set…WAIT!

When I say wait, don’t go just yet.
Listen for what comes after “set”
But when I say go then you will know…
To wiggle those fingers to and fro.
Ready…set…GO!

Wiggle wiggle, wiggle wiggle wiggle,
Wiggle those fingers to and fro.
Wiggle wiggle, wiggle wiggle wiggle,
Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle them to and fro…now STOP!

REPEAT:
Knees
Feet
Elbows

My students are always surprised when they hear “WAIT!” in the first verse, and then they are so excited to hear “GO!” so that they can wiggle whatever body part is called. They love to freeze when they hear “STOP!” and with a little practice, they can follow all three commands easily.

Friday Fave: CD Baby

by | Uncategorized

A random google search several weeks ago led me to a site called CD Baby, which is an online music store for independent musicians who want to sell their albums. Intrigued, I did some exploring and came to the conclusion that this site may be one of the greatest resources out there for musicians who want to share their talent while earning a little money at the same time.

Any regular person (like me!) can sign up with CD Baby and have their albums sold on the site. All you have to do is sign up, provide information about yourself and your CD, and then send five copies of the CD you’re selling. For a one-time fee of $35, CD Baby will set up a page to display your CD, handle all sales, and ship your CD to customers who buy it. The best part is that the company only keeps $4 per CD and a measly 9% per digital download. Oh, and CD Baby makes your music available to iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon, and the like.

I’m in the process of compiling my first CD, and CD Baby seems like the perfect market for it. I came across some great children’s music while perusing the site, so mine would be in good company. I will keep you posted as to my progress on this project – it’s very exciting!

So that is this week’s Friday Fave. I’ll be enjoying a mini-vacation in Florida for the next couple of days, so look for a new song right here at Listen & Learn on Monday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Musical Scarf Activity

by | Uncategorized

I’m back again today to share a song that I wrote to use with my youngest children in music therapy. I like to stick with a general theme each month, so October focuses mainly on fall and Halloween-related topics. This particular song accompanies a scarf activity, in which the child is asked to listen for the color of his/her scarf and then wave it in the air. The scarves I use are from West Music and can be found here.

There are twelve different colors, and the kids absolutely adore them and are always coming up with new ways to use them. So I wasn’t completely surprised when a couple of kids draped their scarves over their heads and began floating around even before I started playing this song:

Not all ghosts are scary,
And not all ghosts are white.
Listen for the color I choose
And let your ghost take flight!

If your friendly ghost is red,
Wave him in the air.
Wave him right and wave him left,
Wave him everywhere!

Not all ghosts are scary,
And not all ghosts are white.
Listen for the color I choose
And let your ghost take flight!

I change the color of the ghost each time I sing the verse so that every child has a turn. Not only is this a super-fun activity, but my kids are working on color discrimination, listening skills, and turn-taking at the same time. It’s a beautiful thing!

Cloudy Day

by | Uncategorized

It’s Monday, but I’m not in school…because it’s Columbus Day! Thanks, Christopher Columbus, for discovering America, and creating an excuse for a day off to do all of the things I didn’t have time for this weekend.

This work-week is an especially short one for me, as my husband and I will be spending a long weekend (Friday through Sunday) with friends in West Palm Beach. We need a mini-vacation after the whirlwind of the past couple months! So please try to contain your disappointment at my absence; I will try to make up for it by posting some great stuff in the next few days :)

Today, however, is not a very exciting day here at Listen & Learn. I had a very busy, family-filled weekend, which did not allow much time for all the recording that I have yet to do. So I will leave you with a song reflecting the current weather: cloudy, with a little gloominess on the side.

Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The sky is dark and the sun’s gone away.
Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The only color that we see is gray.

When the clouds finally pass us by,
The sun will come back to light the sky.
But until then we’ll have to sit and wait,
for the clouds to part just like a gate.

Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The sky is dark and the sun’s gone away.
Cloudy day, it’s a cloudy day
The only color that we see is gray.