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!
97% 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.
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:
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!
The Music Therapy Round Table is a monthly podcast series hosted by myself, Kimberly S. Moore, and Michelle Erfurt. In case you haven’t already read the back-story, here’s a recap: Michelle and I met back in 2008 after she visited my blog. Kimberly and I met in mid-2009 through Twitter. The three of us came together for the first time at the AMTA national conference in San Diego last year, and decided to collaborate on a new podcast centered around music therapy. We recorded our first episode via Skype back in February, and now here we are, three months (and three episodes) later.
In Episode 4, we discuss a topic every single therapist will have to deal with: change. Whether moving to a new studio, moving out-of-town, or going on maternity leave, what’s the most appropriate way to handle these major life transitions with your clients? Listen in as we share stories of how we handled change and discuss things that helped us and our clients. You can either listen directly on our blog, or find us on iTunes and download the episodes to your iPod or iPhone.
We make this announcement in the episode, but I also thought I’d share with you here that at this year’s AMTA national conference, the three of us will be presenting a 5-hour CMTE (that stands for “continuing music therapy education” for you non-MTs) course on the topic of using the internet and social media for business and advocacy. We’re super excited about this opportunity – it’s a big one!
So if you haven’t already, check out our podcast. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of podcasts, I should mention two others that I’d recommend. Janice Harris’ Music Therapy Show and Wade Richards’ Time for Music Podcast are excellent, so check them out as well!
Guess what? I’m a podcaster! Along with my friends and fellow music therapists Kimberly Sena Moore and Michelle Erfurt, we have started the Music Therapy Round Table, a podcast in which we discuss all kinds of topics related to music therapy that are important to us.
Michelle, Kimberly and I live in three different time zones across the country, and we met via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The idea to start a podcast manifested when the three of us finally got together in person, at last year’s AMTA National Conference in San Diego. A few months later, after lots of research and several Skype sessions, our podcast is up and running!
We even have our own blog, where we post both the audio and transcripted versions of each episode. Episode 1 is live now; in it, we introduce ourselves and share how we became music therapists, as well as outline our goals for the podcast series.
You can also find us on iTunes! Just search “Music Therapy Round Table” and you should see what I have pictured above. Subscribe to receive new episodes as they are published monthly.
Our podcast is geared toward not only other music therapists, but anyone else who is interested in music as a therapeutic means to improving peoples’ lives. I hope that you will check it out, and I can’t wait to hear your feedback!
Today’s edition of “Friday Faves” is brought to you by Twitter, because that is how I discovered Model Me Kids. Little did I know that many of my students already knew all about Model Me Kids, and used their videos at home.
From their website:
Model Me Kids® is dedicated to producing high quality teaching tools for children, adolescents, and teenagers with Autism, Aspergers, PDD-NOS, Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD or NLD), and developmental delays. The videos are used by parents, teachers, and therapists. They are also helpful for teaching children with developmental disabilities such as Down Syndrome and may be used with typically developing younger children. Model Me Kids® videos demonstrate social skills by modeling peer behavior at school, on a playdate, at a birthday party, on the playground, at a library, restaurant, and more. Real children model and narrate each skill. DVDs for ages 2-17.
Shortly after following Model Me Kids on Twitter, I received an email from Sue Klein, MMK’s founder and president. She had visited Listen & Learn and thought my songwriting style might be a good match for a video they were currently producing. I loved the idea, and immediately called her to tell her so. Creating the music for Model Me Faces & Emotions™ became one of my summer projects, and it was so much fun! But the best part was receiving my copy of the finished DVD just last week. Actually, I take that back…the VERY best part was having my students receive their copies only to discover my picture on the back cover and hear my familiar voice narrating the video :)
Model Me Kids currently offers 8 DVDs: Model Me Faces & Emotions, Time for School, Time for a Playdate, I Can Do It!, Model Me Conversation Cues, Model Me Friendship, Model Me Tips & Tricks, and Model Me Confidence. You can view sampleson their website.
Teaching social skills is a huge focus for the students with whom I work, which made this collaboration truly exciting. If you work with or have children (whether they have autism, another developmental disability, or are typically developing) and want to learn more about Model Me Kids, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and their website.
So that does it for today’s Friday Fave. This week has flown by, and I am in disbelief that it is already time for another weekend. I have sheet music to edit, two presentations to prepare, articles to write, and songs to record, but somewhere between that I am going to squeeze in some time with friends. What are your weekend plans?
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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This is the book + course that will help you shape your music therapy career in order to make more money and live your ideal lifestyle. Details here.
