Music Therapy | Educational Children’s Songs

Songbook: Tapping, Shaking, Music Making!

Rock, Rock, Rockin’ Around

March 20, 2013

What do fish, turtles, ducks, and pigs have in common? The answer: they all have starring roles in my latest song, Animal Rock. I’ve already written about my new favorite instruments and how they inspired me to write this tune, but there are lots of other objectives that can be targeted at the same time. [...]

Animal Rock

March 18, 2013

Most of the time, my songs are inspired by specific goals and objectives. But every once in a while, I’ll write a song for a specific instrument — and this is one of them! Last month as I was going through the West Music catalogue choosing instruments for my early childhood music class, these animal [...]

Music Therapy on TED.com

March 15, 2013

Tim Ringgold is a music therapist in California with an amazing story to tell. But if you watched the video above, you know that already. I met Tim a few years back at an AMTA national conference, and we’ve kept in touch ever since via social media, email, and seeing each other once a year [...]

I Like to Move It, Move It

March 13, 2013

Movement songs are SUCH an important part of my repertoire, as they should be for anyone who works with children. It’s just impossible to make it through a 30-minute or hour-long session or class without giving them a chance to get moving (even just a little goes a long way). I recently pulled out this [...]

Top Five “Baby” Questions Asked Every Day

March 11, 2013

With spring less than two weeks away, it’s beginning to hit me that this baby boy will be here not long after. As I approach my third trimester of pregnancy, I thought I’d share my thoughts thus far on working as a music therapist while expecting (a ‘la Michelle Erfurt, who wrote the Pregnant MT [...]

After ‘While, Crocodile

March 8, 2013

Thinking about the songs that I’ve written lately, it seems that I’m on quite the animal-themed kick (you’ll see what I mean after another month or so). Maybe that’s because baby boy Rambach has me knee deep in cute animal printed clothing, bibs, and blankets…not that I’m complaining! Seeya Later, Alligator has an old-timey feel [...]

Seeya Later, Alligator

March 6, 2013

After a few years of relying on the same old goodbye songs for my music therapy sessions and classes, I decided it was high time for a new one. The phrase “seeya later, alligator” popped into my head immediately, so I went with it. Seeya Later, Alligator by Listen & Learn Music I tried this [...]

Wave Goodbye to Winter

February 27, 2013

Wishful thinking — that’s what this post is all about. It’s another snowy day here in the Midwest, but I am giving myself permission to start thinking about spring now that it’s less than a month away. So even though the ground is covered in white and the air is freezing, I’m digging Wave Goodbye [...]

Music, Movement, Fun!

February 21, 2013

Every so often, I invite my favorite amateur photographer (aka my husband Zach) to join one of my early childhood music classes, where he captures some great action shots for the families to have as keepsakes from the class. The kiddos were as animated as usual last Sunday when Zach visited, and the photos turned [...]

Snowflakes, Snowflakes

February 19, 2013

As I type this blog post, there are snowflakes flying outside my office window. It’s no secret that I am not a fan of winter, and luckily the Midwest hasn’t been hit too hard with the white stuff so far this year. I shouldn’t speak too soon, though, because we are expecting almost two inches [...]

Friday Fave: Festival Time!

February 15, 2013

Every February, many of my students participate in the Illinois Federation of Music Clubs’ Junior Festival. This will be my fourth year as a member of the federation, and it’s no less nerve-racking than it was when I first started! At the end of October, I help my students choose their two pieces (one required, [...]

Listen & Learn for Little Ones

February 14, 2013

Today really couldn’t get any better: not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it’s also the day that I finally get to launch my brand new class! For over a year now, I’ve been working on securing a space to hold early childhood music classes, and this week has proved that the wait was worth [...]

Ring Ring, Count to 20

February 12, 2013

As much as I love writing my own completely original tunes, sometimes you just can’t beat a good old fashioned piggyback. I’ve adapted the song “Boom Boom, Ain’t It Great to be Crazy” several times in the past, and now I’m doing it yet again. I started using this as a counting song way back [...]

The Month of Love

February 5, 2013

I like to ignore the fact that February usually brings ice, snow, and winter colds, and instead focus on one of my favorite topics: love! Of course, we associate Valentine’s Day with romance, but I take the opportunity to celebrate all kinds of love this month. That’s why I put together Listen, Learn, Love! — [...]

Listen, Learn, Love!

February 4, 2013

Here’s the truth: February is not my favorite month of the year. It’s bitterly cold, and my stress levels are higher than usual since our local National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival takes place over two weekends later in the month. But February does have its redeeming qualities. For one, it’s short. And two, [...]

I’ll Play a Rhythm and You Play It Back

January 29, 2013

The little chant I came up with this month is one of the many settings I use to incorporate rhythm sticks into my music therapy sessions and early childhood music classes. “Clatter Clatter Clackity Clack” is just a framework for using all of those skills — listening, grasping, reproducing a pattern, and more — while [...]

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