The Shakin’ Song

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Yesterday as I was making plans for summer music therapy, I decided that I needed a new song to rock out to with shakers. Because you can never have enough of them, you know? I wanted something upbeat (obviously…we’re playing shakers here!) and fun; luckily this tune came pouring out.

Shakers are for shakin’,
Shakin’ right along,
This song is all about shakin’,
You might call it the shakin’ song.
Ba-doo-ba dop, dop, da dop dow,
Shake-a those shakers now!

We’re gonna shake shake shake
Like a puppy’s tail.
Side to side, it never fails
To shake the whole day through, ooh, ooh ohh!
Shakin’ like me and you.

CHORUS

We’re gonna shake shake shake
Like a scaredy-cat,
Who’s scared of this, and scared of that.
He shakes until he’s blue, ooh, ooh ohh!
Shakin’ like me and you.

CHORUS

We’re gonna shake shake shake
Like two hands that greet,
And say hello, it’s nice to meet,
‘Cause that’s the right thing to do, ooh, ooh ohh!
Shakin’ like me and you.

CHORUS

I had all kinds of ideas for how I was going to spend the weekend, but here it is, Saturday morning, and I’m right back in my office, blogging away. What can I say; I just can’t resist!

Friday Fave: Twitter

by | Uncategorized

It’s just about quitting time, but I wanted to get in one last post before I tear myself away from the computer for the weekend. I haven’t done a Friday Fave in a while, so I decided that today’s would be dedicated to a little website you may have heard of: Twitter. What’s not to love about a site that’s all about networking, staying up-to-date with friends, and talking about yourself, all in 140 characters or less?

You may have noticed the Twitter icon I’m sporting in my left sidebar. If you’re not following me already, you should be! I’m a little ashamed to say that “tweeting” has become one of my favorite online activities…time that could be better spent writing and recording new songs. I’m sure the novelty will wear off soon, but for now I’m enjoying making connections with other music therapists, educators, and parents all over the country.

So to sum up: find me on Twitter, introduce yourself, and we’ll share in the fun together :) Other than that, enjoy your weekend! New songs coming next week!!

America, the Beautiful

by | Uncategorized

I’m always looking towards the next major (or minor) holiday with anticipation, because holidays mean special songs to go with them. And everyone knows that one of the biggest days of summer is the Fourth of July. I love this particular holiday because there are so many great songs just waiting to be played and sung. Recently, Songs for Teaching asked me to record a few for their website, and I was more than happy to do so. Follow the links to listen to a sample of each:

America the Beautiful

The Star-Spangled Banner

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

I have strong memories that accompany many of the patriotic songs we all know and love, and I bet you do, too. A few include being the designated high note hitter whenever my high school choir performed the “Star-Spangled Banner” (though I doubt I could hit that note these days!), playing “Yankee Doodle” obsessively on the piano as a little girl, and middle school choreography to “You’re A Grand Old Flag”. Ahh, memories!

What are your favorite patriotic tunes?

Positive Affirmations

by | Uncategorized

Sometimes being a music therapist is hard. Music therapy, like parenting or teaching, is seldom a cut-and-dried job, and every once in a while I have to question whether what I’m doing is right, or best, or even working at all. Since I don’t have any music therapists as colleagues in my proximity, it’s almost always my students and their parents who provide that feedback.

As the summer begins and I prepare to take on several new clients and students in my private practice, I find myself second-guessing my work more frequently than usual. This can be a little overwhelming, but it’s actually a useful tool that I think is helping me grow as a music therapist. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and rely on the interventions that have worked in the past, but I hate the thought of being like those teachers who teach the same lessons, assign the same homework, and give the same tests year after year. I’m much too creative for that :)

In the last few days I’ve had the opportunity to do quite a bit of self-reflecting, and in that time I’ve also been lucky to have several positive affirmations passed my way. The first was in the form of my end-of-the-year evaluation at school, where the music therapy program rests in my hands. Talk about pressure! But the wonderful feedback I received gives me great peace of mind. I had a similar experience with several parents of children who attend my music therapy class at The Autism Program…one even said that it was the “best music experience” her child ever had. That was huge.

But the best affirmation I’ve received all week, I think, came from my 2-year-old niece Kaitlin, who lives in Denver. Her mom accidentally left the CD I recorded and sent her at home, instead of bringing it to play in the car on the way to daycare as usual. Well, Kaitlin was not having this at all, and threw a tantrum all the way there. “I want Aunt Rachel singing!!!” were her words, I believe. Upon hearing this, I made a second CD (with all new songs for my sister’s sake) and sent it out immediately!

These are the things that inspire me every day, and assure for me that I’m in the right place. My job might not be the easiest, and it may not be the highest-paying, but the benefits are countless.

The Story of My Feelings

by | Uncategorized

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have a lot to do today, as my private practice’s summer session begins on Monday and this afternoon is my second round of music therapy classes at The Autism Program. But before I get to work on all of that, I wanted to share one of my very favorite resources with you: The Story of My Feelings. It comes from one of my very favorite artists, Laurie Berkner, a name that should be very familiar around here!

I use this book with children of all ages and levels of development, as it appeals to almost everyone. I remember using it with a group of young children for the first time, and by the end of the story, several of the moms were tearing up. The illustrations in the book are great, and this is such a wonderful way to address emotions with children.

I have an older group of kids with whom I use this book, and they love to imitate each action in the book as I sing about it (especially YELLING!). It is definitely a resource that I will never retire.