by Rachel | Uncategorized
Did you know that Texas state law requires all students to memorize and recite the state pledge each day at school? Neither did I, until I received this email from Rene, a Listen & Learn reader from the Lonestar State:
What I have wanted, what my kids have requested for several years, is a song to help us learn the Texas Pledge (which is required of all students by state law). When I saw on your site that you wrote a song for the Pledge to the American Flag, I thought you’d be perfect for writing this song for our Texas pledge. The song we sing for the American pledge is quite long and we dance to this, I have added lots of motion crossing the midline, up/down, bending, leaning, etc. I know the reason my kids learned the U.S. pledge within the first two weeks of school is because we sing it!!! The Texas Pledge is short. I know you will know best because that is your gift.
Rene went on to include quite a bit more information about her students and her expectations for this custom song, and I was more than excited to get to work on it.
Rene’s students are young (Pre-K) and for many, English is their second language. So I kept the lyrics simple but engaging, emphasizing the most important lines — the pledge, of course. Here is what I came up with:
Stand up where you are,
Place your hand over your heart,
And look to the flag that has one star:
Honor the Texas flag,
I pledge allegiance to thee,
Texas, one state, under God,
One and indivisible.
The Texas pledge is what we say,
Each and every single day.
To show our respect for the Lonestar State,
A state so great we have to celebrate.
By waving our arms in the air, up high!
Back and forth like our flag they sway.
Now we’ll bring them down, right by our sides,
As we say the pledge today.
I also created an instrumental version without my vocals. Rene has not only been using this song with her students since receiving it, but she has also purchased downloads to pass out to her colleagues throughout the state. If you live in Texas and have students who are still learning the pledge, hopefully this song can be helpful to you, too.
I’m already hard at work on Rene’s next custom song (she has enough ideas to keep me busy for months!). If you’re in need of a song for a specific topic, skill or concept, click here to learn more about my custom song package.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
My plans for a brand-new “Sunday Singalong” video were thwarted by this icky cold I’ve been fighting for a week, and I am not happy about it. I haven’t been doing any singing this weekend, but I have been busy writing…including my first guest post at Kids Sing Studio!
Lisa Casciola, MT-BC, is the owner of Kids Sing Studio in St. Louis, Missouri, where she has over 50 students. Impressive, right!? Lisa was one of my supervisors during my internship with Midwest Music Therapy Services, and I learned so much from her not only about music therapy, but also about running a private studio. I was thrilled when she invited me to be a guest blogger. My post, Young Musicians and the Importance of Self-Confidence, tells a funny story that happened during one of my college auditions and the lessons I learned from it.
So in lieu of a video today, go check out my guest post on Lisa’s blog. I’ll be back next week with a new video next Sunday — just as long as my vocal rest pays off and I kick this cough!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
This week, professional association membership has been a hot topic in the digital world among music therapists. It all started when music therapist Kat Fulton posted a link to an article she wrote in which she listed 10 reasons why she is a member of the American Music Therapy Association.
Kimberly, Michelle and I (also known as the Music Therapy Round Table) were so inspired by Kat’s article that we decided to continue the conversation on our podcast. So in Episode 9, we each discuss why we are members of various professional associations (both music therapy-related and otherwise) and what the benefits — and drawbacks — are.
So if you want to hear all about our thoughts on professional association memberships (among other things), head over to the MTRT and listen to Episode 9 or download it for free from iTunes. A perfect way to spend your Friday morning, in my opinion!
Speaking of Friday…what are your plans for the weekend? While my husband is in New Orleans for a guys’ weekend, I’m going to catch up on some recording I didn’t get done this week (thanks to a nasty cold) and spend some quality time with my dog. I’m so exciting, I know :) Have a good one!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Do you listen to the Music Therapy Round Table? It’s a free monthly podcast hosted by myself along with fellow music therapists Kimberly S. Moore and Michelle Erfurt. While normally our communication takes place via the internet and Skype (we live in three different states), next month we’ll be coming together in person at the AMTA National Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
Not only will we be presenting a CMTE course entitled “Music Therapy in a Web 2.0 World: Technology for Advocacy & Marketing” (CMTE Q, for those of you interested in attending!), but we have an item on the silent auction block that is up for grabs now. The winning bidder will receive a co-hosting opportunity on our podcast PLUS an hour-long coaching session with the three of us. This item is valued at $350, and the minimum bid is $115. Click here to read more or place a bid.
Will you be at conference this year? If so, I’d love to meet you! I’ll be hanging out at the Erfurt Music Resource table in the exhibit hall (come pick up a CD or songbook) and we’ll even be recording episode 10 of the podcast there. Only a little over a month until the fun begins!
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized
I heard the original version of “The Right-Left Song” for the first time last fall when Kimberly Sena Moore presented it at AMTA National Conference. Kimberly has a great video of this song, which was actually written by another music therapist named Michelle Hardy.
I’ve used it many times as Kimberly demonstrates in her video — it’s wonderful for kiddos who need to work on crossing the midline — but I decided to change it up recently when I was in need of a new shakin’ song.
We’re going right and left,
And right and left,
We’re shaking, we shake.
We’re going right and left,
And right and left,
We’re shaking we shake.
(Repeat, getting faster each time.)
The real challenge is making sure to shake in the right direction as the tempo of the song increases! I’ve enjoyed using this song so much that I may have to adapt it for other instruments, too. I love being inspired by other music therapists — thanks Kimberly and Michelle :)
