You’re Invited!

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These invitations went out in the mail last week, so if you live in the Springfield area, there’s a chance you’ve already received yours. But if not, consider yourself invited to my Time to Sing Hello CD Release Party!  Here are the details:

CD Release Performance & Reception
Sunday, July 11 @ 2:00 pm
Westminster Presbyterian Church
533 South Walnut Street

I’ll be performing songs from the album as an interactive experience for the children (and adults!) in attendance, followed by a cake-and-punch reception.  It should be a fun afternoon, and a chance for all the wonderful people in my life to gather in one place and celebrate.

If you’re in my neck of the woods, I hope you’ll bring your family.  To RSVP, send me an email and be sure to include a head count.  Oh, and this is a completely casual affair, in case you were wondering.  Let’s kick back and have a great time!

In the Swimming Pool

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

From the time I started elementary school until I graduated high school, most of my summer days were spent at the neighborhood pool. My friends and I would ride our bikes there as soon as it opened, and we’d usually stay until our parents made us come home late in the afternoon. And if there is anything I remember from those carefree days, it is my mother’s daily reminders to “wear sunscreen and reapply” as I walked out the door.

Of course, wearing sunscreen is just one of the many important rules associated with swimming. I was sure to include that, among others, in my newest song on this topic. “In the Swimming Pool” was inspired by my fun memories, as well as my students, who come through the door in swimsuit cover-ups and wet hair for their music lessons all summer long.

In the summertime, when the weather is hot,
You can usually find me at my favorite spot.
I’ll be splashing around and staying cool,
In the swimming pool.

Doggypaddlin’ from end to end.
Playin’ Marco Polo with my best friend.
Backstroke, freestyle, butterfly,
Swim, swim, swimming by.

CHORUS

Wearin’ my goggles, now I can see,
Underneath the water so clearly.
Backstroke, freestyle, butterfly,
Swim, swim, swimming by.

CHORUS

Listen up and follow each and every rule,
Like walk, don’t run, by the swimming pool.
Wear lots of sunscreen and reapply.
Don’t wanna get burned by the sun in the sky.

CHORUS

I know that for many children, swimming can be scary at first. It can take quite a bit of coaxing to get a hesitant child into the pool; I kept this song light-hearted and upbeat to reflect for such children that swimming is actually fun!

Do you have any go-to tunes about water activities for summer? I’m thinking this might make a fun series…I just might have to come up with songs about sprinklers, water parks, and boating to round it out. Any other ideas?

Sunday Singalong: Mia’s Composition

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This week’s “Sunday Sing-Along” is more aptly titled a “Play-Along” since there isn’t actually any singing involved. But anytime I have a chance to showcase my students’ creativity, I’ll take it! Mia came to her lesson this past week bursting with excitement; she had composed this tune over the summer break and couldn’t wait to share it with me.

As important as it is for my students to learn the songs in their lesson books and do their theory exercises, I think it is equally important for them to create, whether it is through songwriting, improvisation, or otherwise.  I have one student who comes to almost every single lesson with an original song, transcribed on notebook paper on handwritten staves, and another who has written not one, but two songs about bugs (her favorite subject).

Mia wants to add to her composition, and we’re turned it into somewhat of a summer project.  Once the music is finished, we’re going to use Sibelius to create sheet music (a hidden theory lesson), Mia is designing cover art to be scanned, and then we’ll print the final product out to look like a “real” song, as she says.

How do you encourage your own students’ creativity?  Fill me in…I’m always looking for new ways to do so!

Catch This "Days of the Week" Download!

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Photobucket97% of the songs I use in my music therapy sessions and music classes are those I’ve written myself. But it’s a pretty safe bet that the other 3% are borrowed from Laurie Berkner, who I’d have to say is my songwriting role model.

Some of my favorite Laurie Berkner Band songs include Buzz Buzz, Walk Along the River, The Story of My Feelings, and I Know a Chicken. But one song in particular that both my students and I are extremely fond of is I’m Gonna Catch You.

If you’re not familiar with this particular tune, follow the link and listen to an audio sample.  It’s upbeat, catchy, and best of all, it’s about the days of the week.  Now I’ll admit that this is a silly song, but I use it as an opportunity to sneak in a group calendar lesson.

I created a full-sized (8.5 x 11) picture for each day of the week, including the name of the day and a graphic + text for the description in the song.  If I’m working with a large group, I’ll ask for volunteers to be in charge of each picture.  Then as we listen to and sing the song, each child holds up his or her picture as that day is mentioned.

If the students are just beginning to learn the days of the week, I’ll have them sit in order so that they know when it’s their turn. But as they become more familiar with the order of days, I’ll arrange them randomly. For those who don’t or can’t yet read, the pictures serve as a visual cue.

My students really enjoy (and do very well with) this activity, so I thought I’d share those pictures with you today. Here they are in a nice, neat PDF download:

Download: “I’m Gonna Catch You” Visual Aide

Are you a Laurie Berkner superfan like me?  It’s hard not to be; her songs are super singable, easy to play on the guitar, and can often be applied to my objectives as a music therapist.  Fill me in on your favorite tunes of hers!

1 Cool Bass Line = 2 Singable Stories

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Down by the Station Children's Book

One of my favorite ways to engage my music therapy students is through children’s books. I have a sizable collection of what I call “singable stories” – books with words that translate nicely into sung lyrics.  Singable stories, along with the pictures that illustrate them, provide a wonderful opportunity to address goals such as identifying colors, objects, numbers, sight words, and answering “wh” questions.

A book that I find myself pulling off the shelf again and again is Down by the Station by Will Hillenbrand. The pictures are colorfully captivating, and the song is familiar to most children.

I’ve found that if I set the story to a cool beat, my students are even more apt to listen and participate.  This acoustic bass line (available in Garageband) does the trick nicely.

Another book I enjoy, and find effective in addressing the previously stated goals, is Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen.  Again, the story is familiar, and like the first book, there is quite a bit of onomatopoeia (words that imitate the sounds they represent).

We're Going on a Bear Hunt Children's Book


This book is new to my collection, and as I sat down to record it the other day, I realized that I could use the very same bass line as accompaniment!

When I want to jazz up my singable stories a little bit during a music therapy session, I actually play the accompanying bass line on my ipod as my student(s) and I explore the book. I make the track much longer than the length of the book, allowing for questions and conversation as we go through it. You are more than welcome to download it (for free) and use it in your own music therapy, classroom or home setting.

For those of you who have Garageband, this is “Cool Upright Bass 18” in the Loops section. You can adjust the tempo, key, and length to suit your needs. And of course, there are many more loops and beats to explore…I could (and sometimes do) spend hours playing around with them!