by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
Castanets aren’t your everyday instruments; they usually garner a little more interest than shakers or drums. Yes, they are fun to play, but even better, castanets are excellent for addressing fine motor skills.
We bring out castanets quite often in both our classes and music therapy sessions, which means I’m always writing new songs to help target all the goals they can address. This is one such song: it gets those fingers moving, and it also touches on the concepts of high and low.
This song is included in my songbook collection, Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum. The download contains the notated sheet music (as opposed to just the lyrics and chords) along with the full and instrumental recordings.
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have access to all of the above in our shared Dropbox folder. Membership includes just about everything else in my resource library and collection — come over and join us!
by Rachel | Professional Development
As you may remember reading earlier this year, 2016 is all about self-care, simplifying, and streamlining. I spent the last few days concentrating on that 3rd “s” word, and the result is what you are looking at right now.
I’ve been at a crossroads for quite some time when it comes to my online presence. Between this blog, my private practice, my personal site, and my podcast, I was starting to feel like an octopus trying to manage it all.
Not only that, but I wasn’t sure how to move forward with Listen & Learn Music. Since starting this blog almost 8 years ago, I’ve used it as a space to share the songs I write and my professional journey — along with my personal journey, too.
But as Listen & Learn Music has grown and become a resource destination, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the blog to serve as the landing page anymore. So I took a big leap, and now listenlearnmusic.com leads you directly to the store. That way, people in search of songs can quickly find what they are looking for without having to search through tons of blog posts. And people who want to read the blog can still easily do so, since there is a link right at the top of the page.
Mainly, though? I wanted to feel more comfortable continuing to write anything I want in this space without feeling like I always have to relate it back to my work. I mean, I usually do that anyway since my work is such a huge part of my life, but I needed that sense of freedom. So I renamed the blog, rewrote my about page, and gave myself permission to make this place mine.
Will I still write about my songs? YES. They are the heartbeat of this blog. Will most of the content here be tied to music therapy and my professional life in general? YES. But I’m excited to write more about what’s going on inside my head and heart, no matter what the topic.
Thank you, as always, for continuing to read as this site has evolved throughout the years. I always welcome your feedback, especially when it comes to the content you would like to see here. Feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment.
by Rachel | Resources & Tips
Attending a group activity for the first time can be intimidating — not only for the child, but for the parent or caregiver as well. I speak from experience, having done this many times since becoming a mom.
It can be especially intimidating to walk into a room where everyone else knows each other and has attended the activity before. This happens time and time again in our music classes, since many of our families attend sessions on a regular basis. The adults become friendly with each other, the children get along well, and we as instructors get to know everyone.
So when a new family comes to music for the first time, there are a few things we can do to help them feel just as welcome and part of the group as everyone else.
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by Rachel | Family Life
Before Mia was born, my friend Crystal told me about a photo shoot idea she had. Her daughter had gotten an American Girl doll-sized grand piano for Christmas — a tiny miniature version of the grand piano in their living room. When Mia began sitting up on her own, we created the vision Crystal had been planning for over a year!
Mia was such an angel through the whole shoot. I’m so grateful to Crystal for capturing her so perfectly and in such a meaningful way. Before I know it, she’ll be old enough to sit at that big piano (I can’t even let my brain go there right now) and I will look back at these photos to remember how tiny she once was.
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
As much as I love writing new songs for my music therapy sessions and classes, I think it’s equally important to share familiar songs my clients, students, and their families can sing right away. Sometimes I like to put my own spin on traditional repertoire, but in this case, I kept the recording very straightforward and simple: just the melody and ukulele accompaniment. Depending on the setting, I’ll add sign language or simple movements, though many times we’ll sing this as a cooldown at the end of a session or class.
Everybody who uses music with children should have a solid catalog of familiar tunes, and I’ve found this one to be the most often requested (including by my son, who has been asking for the “Twinkle Twinkle book” every night at bedtime lately). I’ll continue sharing more of the familiar songs I’ve recorded — sprinkled in with lots of originals, of course. What are your favorite songs to pull out when you want to get everyone singing along?
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have access to all of the above in our shared Dropbox folder. Membership includes just about everything else in my resource library and collection — come over and join us!
