I first learned of a neurological disorder called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC) a few years back, when a mother of a child with ACC contacted me to tell me how much her son enjoyed my music. Sandie and I have kept in touch since then, and she writes a wonderful blog that serves as an invaluable resource for the ACC community.
So I was naturally moved to share the note that I received earlier this week from a father of a child with ACC:
Hi, Rachel. I’ve recently recorded an album of songs that was released today and I’m going to give all of the proceeds from sales to the National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum. My son, Bowie, has ACC and though he’s doing wonderfully, I remember not having many resources to collect on the disorder. Your website was one of the sites that helped my wife and I learn more about how music can help children with ACC. My aim, with this album, is to promote awareness as well as raise funds. I hope you like the music. Thanks so much, Michael Fitch.
I had a chance to listen to a portion of the album, titled Après La Guerre (you can do so on iTunes or CD Baby) and was impressed! It’s not a children’s CD, but many children will benefit as a result of it.
I’m always moved by people who use their talent to help others. That’s why I became a music therapist in the first place. Thank you, Michael, for the work you’re doing, and sharing it with us. For more information, you can visit his blog, Songs-I-Meant-To-Say.
This picture basically sums up my childhood (well, minus the ridiculous sweater and growing-out-the-bangs hairstyle) — me getting ready for yet another holiday performance, which my poor, tortured brother is forced to sit through. His face really says it all, don’t you think?
As much as he disliked them, those holiday performances were something I looked forward to every year. Christmas concerts, special church choir programs, elementary school tours with my high school show choir, Madrigal dinners while in grad school — I loved it all! And now that my students are telling me all about their own holiday musical performances, I’m getting a bit nostalgic.
I would have to say that my very favorite holiday music memory actually took place while wearing the outfit pictured above, as it was my “uniform” for 6th grade show choir performances that season. I had my very first solo ever — a few lines from the song “Let It Snow” — and boy, did I take them seriously! I’ve had much bigger and better solos since then, but will always remember my first fondly.
I’d love to hear about your own holiday music memories, whether it is one from your childhood or adulthood. Please share in the comments!
This past weekend was a bit of a bummer for me. I started losing my voice in the middle of the week, and woke up on Saturday with a full-blown cold. Turns out I’m not the only one: when Michelle, Kimberly, and I got together via Skype to record this month’s episode of our podcast, we realized that all three of us were under the weather! It’s just that time of year.
Being sick meant I had to cancel most of my weekend plans, which included providing music activities at Breakfast with Santa, recording some new songs for my students, singing in the choir at church, and making a “Sunday Singalong” video (thank goodness for my special guest this week!).
But even though I was stuck at home with no voice, I still managed to make the most of my weekend while getting the rest I needed to start feeling better. Here are the ways in which I stayed productive…and none of them involved leaving my couch!
Learn new music. I’ve got some holiday gigs coming up, so I spent some time going through my Christmas songbooks and working on a few tunes. By working, I mean listening to recordings of them, and then playing them either on the guitar or piano (okay, so this does involve leaving the couch). It was hard to resist singing along, but the sound of my voice was so pitiful that even I couldn’t stand to hear it, let alone my husband in the next room :)
Make lead sheets. I fell a little behind on making lead sheets both for performances and music therapy work, so I took this down time as an opportunity to catch up. Michelle Erfurt recently shared some excellent tips for making lead sheets here.
Go shopping. And by this, I mean online shopping! I was able to buy almost all of my holiday gifts for friends, family and students over the weekend without stepping foot outside of my home. No traffic, no lines, no sales tax, and (in most cases) free shipping? It doesn’t get much better than that.
Clean out the ol’ email inbox. All those unanswered emails that piled up throughout the week have now been replied to, and that’s a great feeling. I may have been a little cross-eyed last night from all those hours staring at the computer screen, but they were worth it.
Tackle boring administrative tasks. There are many such items to do both on my computer and in my office that don’t require much thinking at all. I was suffering a bit from “sick brain” this weekend, so even when my head wasn’t so clear, I was able to cross a lot of these items off my list.
Above all else, REST! None of the things I did over the weekend were overexerting, but I made sure not to go overboard. I took plenty of naps, drank hot tea with honey and lemon, and used my voice as little as possible. Now here I am on Monday morning, feeling one hundred times better and ready to take on a brand new week.
Do you try to stay productive when you’re sick, or do you prefer to hibernate both physically and mentally? (There are most definitely times that I have done the latter.) Let’s raise our cups of tea and toast to a (hopefully) healthy holiday season!
I am pleased to welcome another special guest to the “Sunday Singalong” series: Michelle Erfurt! Michelle contacted me early Saturday morning, asking if she could share one of her favorite Christmas tunes here at Listen & Learn. And since I’m battling a particularly nasty cold and laryngitis, I was more than happy to oblige.
And what a fun song! I’d never heard it before, so now thanks to Michelle, I have another one to add to my ever-growing list. I’m looking forward to sharing some holiday songs myself in the coming weeks. Now if only my voice would return…then I’ll be all set to crank out a few videos before Christmas day (which, FYI, is exactly 3 weeks from now).
One of my favorite December traditions is providing music activities for children at my church’s “Breakfast With Santa” event. This year’s breakfast is happening tomorrow, and it will be my 4th time putting on those reindeer antlers and making music with lots of excited children (while their parents take lots of pictures).
Reindeer have been the theme of the music room since year one, mostly because “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a guaranteed holiday hit with children and I have written quite a few reindeer tunes, myself. I’ve changed my approach through the years, though; here’s my 2009 version, and my variation on a theme for 2010.
I’m looking forward to Breakfast with Santa because it’s always a super cheerful, no-pressure, chaotic-in-a-good-way morning. What better way to truly kick off the holiday season? I’d love to hear about your favorite December traditions and events…feel free to share them in the comments!
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
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