Spanish Songs, Blues & the Oud

Multicultural Music for Music Therapists

I’ll bet you’re wondering what these three things have in common…right?  These are the topics about which I learned (along with many other music therapists) at last weekend’s CMTE, Multicultural Music for Music Therapists. The event, held at The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, was a fabulous collaboration between music educators and music therapists which resulted in an exchange of valuable knowledge.

Music Therapists

My favorite aspect of all three workshops we attended was that they were interactive.  We didn’t just sit and listen; we played our guitars, drummed, and sang our way through each one.  (Okay, everyone else did those things; I was videotaping the entire time.  But when I go back and watch the videos, I’ll be participating.)

Not only were the presenters full of energy and talent, but they provided us with new ideas to take into our music therapy sessions.  I can’t wait to apply some of the blues guitar techniques we learned, and I know that lots of my students will really enjoy some of the Spanish greeting and movement songs we were taught.

Music Therapist Playing Guitar

Members of the Illinois Association of Music Therapy had a chance to mingle with Old Town faculty during registration in the morning, throughout the lunch hour, and afterward at an all-participant jam session.  How cool is that?  Most of us had our guitars with us, so we joined others who were playing fiddle, piano, accordion, harmonica and many other instruments to make some pretty spectacular music.

Old Town School Jam Session

It was so neat to see such a big group of non-music therapists so interested in learning not only about what we do, but how to apply it to their teaching.  This was the first event of its kind that our association has put on, but I’m sincerely hoping that it’s not the last!

You Are Loved

Valentine's Day Song

Happy Valentine’s Day! I know that lots of people regard this as a “Hallmark holiday” and I do, too…for the most part. But there’s nothing wrong with having an excuse to show the people in your life — not just a significant other — just how much you care about them.

One of my favorite ways to do that is to write songs. I’m constantly writing them for my students, but I’ve also written many for my friends and family. There was the Valentine’s Day song for my husband, the 50th birthday song for my mom, and the 80th birthday song for my grandma, among many others.

But the one I want to share today was written for my two good friends as a wedding gift last year. I was listening to it over the weekend and realized that it could apply to anyone…even YOU. Because it’s true :)

Look around,
Take in the sound,
You are loved, loved, loved.

Breathe in it,
Feel it on your skin,
You are loved, loved, loved.

Not only for today,
But happily ever after.
Let it guide you along your way,
Through the tears and through the laughter.

Know this one thing is true,
In all you do,
You are loved.

When this moment’s gone,
And time ticks on,
You are loved, loved, loved.

Near or far,
No matter where you are,
You are loved, loved, loved.

CHORUS

Love will keep you warm,
Be your shelter from every storm,
Lighting your path,
Wherever it leads,
Whatever your journey.

CHORUS

You are loved, loved, loved.
You are loved, loved, loved.

Again, I’ll say it: Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovebirds. I hope my song has inspired you to remind the people in your life that they are loved today and always!

Reflections From a Music Therapy Intern

Reflections from a Music Therapy Intern

Karen Herzel, a graduate student at Illinois State University, joined me back in August as The Hope Institute’s first-ever music therapy intern.  I asked her to share some reflections as we approach the six-month mark of her internship (she’ll be with me through May), and she graciously agreed.  Here they are, in her own words:

As the second half of my internship evolves, it is a good feeling to reflect on the journey to this point. I can say, without a doubt, that the greatest part of the internship on a personal level has been the positive change in my belief in myself as a competent music therapist.

I am consistently challenged to discern the needs of our clients, and then consider how best to address those needs within a group music therapy setting. I am continuously learning how to more effectively combine creativity and structure, and rejoice in the small effects for the students as well as the larger ones.

I am blessed to have a supervisor who believes in and encourages individual growth. Her wise and patient choices to allow flexibility within specific parameters, in addition to her honest and timely feedback have been, in my opinion, the keys to a truly worthwhile and educational opportunity for me.

We talk through so many facets of music therapy itself, as well as how to most efficiently apply it to our specific special educational setting. She is also an amazing musician and therapist, and her example has been a strong catalyst in strengthening and broadening my own musicianship and therapy skills.

This has been, and will continue to be, a truly joyful journey. I feel confident that the excellent training and supervision I have received during this internship will allow for me to provide worthwhile services to clients in the future.

Thank you, Rachel, so very much, for so graciously putting wind under my music therapy wings.

Friday Fave: Thesis Theme for WordPress

Thesis WordPress Theme

When Listen & Learn made the move from Blogger to WordPress last summer, there was no question as to which theme I was going to use.

Not only did my good friend the Music Therapy Maven use and recommend the premium theme Thesis, but I saw it pop up all over the blogosphere on a daily basis.

I wanted a theme that I would be able to customize myself to keep Listen & Learn’s signature look, not to mention one that would help boost my presence in the search engines.  Thesis was a bit of a financial investment at $87, but it didn’t take long before I shelled out the additional $77 for the Developer’s Option Upgrade, which allows me to install Thesis on any and all of the domains I own.

I’m in love with my theme, which is why I saved this “Friday Fave” for Valentine’s Day week.  From the many font options, to its search engine optimization capabilities, to the sheer ease of use, Thesis truly takes the intimidation factor out of WordPress.

In fact, I’m using Thesis to roll out yet another website — but more about that another time.  A girl’s got to keep some of her secrets under wraps! ;)

Free “Feelings” Visual Aide Download

Girl Showing Love

I love to sing The Feelings in My Heart around this time of year, what with so much talk about Valentine’s Day, hearts, and love.  This is one of my favorite Listen & Learn songs — it’s even featured on my studio album.

And that leads me to the highlight of this post: a visual aide download to go along with the song. I like to give my students an example of each emotion as it is mentioned in the song, and while in the past I’ve used illustrations, this year I wanted to use stock pictures of real children to which they could better relate.

Visual Aide Download: The Feelings in My Heart

As described in the PDF download above, I laminated the pictures, cut them out, and single-hole punched them so that I could keep them together with a binder ring. They were a hit when I used them for the first time yesterday afternoon with a group of young music therapy students. We used sign language for each emotion as we looked at the pictures during the song — talk about a multi-sensory experience!

Here’s the full song and lyrics, as well as the instrumental version.  I hope you can make use of this visual aide (and if so, please let me know in the comments how you plan to do so).