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Mammals In the Water (A Custom Song)
First came The Texas Pledge song, then Help Me, Rhombus, followed by A-Z (What You Mean to Me). My #1 customer when it comes to custom songs is Rene, and she was back this month in need of a song that combined info about water mammals with specific speech sounds. ...
Sunday Singalong: Wave Goodbye to Winter
It's here! It's here! Hellooooo, SPRING! My students and I have been singing Wave Goodbye to Winter all month long in anticipation of the new season, and though I had planned to feature this song in last week's video, laryngitis got in the way. As you can tell by...
Friday Fave: Weekend in Chicago
Confession: this post has nothing to do with music therapy, education, or children. But I'm so excited for my trip to the Windy City this weekend that I couldn't resist writing about it. It's been a long winter full of work-related weekend obligations, which means...
The Rhythm Sticks Waltz
Every time I use this song in a class or music therapy session, I start by having my students count to 3. We do it once to begin with, very slowly, and use our fingers as well as our voices. Gradually we get faster, counting to 3 again and again in rhythm. Then I...
Every Little Thing is Gonna Be All Right
My husband and I spent our honeymoon on the island of St. Lucia back in summer of 2008, and had an amazing time. The weather was perfect, the scenery was gorgeous, and the music was...well, repetitive. It's a good thing we like Bob Marley, because that is what we...
Finding Music Therapy
I have this man to thank for my career in music therapy. Dr. John Sinclair, or "Doc" as everyone calls him, was the head of the music department at Rollins College during my undergraduate years, and still is today. He directed the ensembles in which I sang, and I...
Friday Fave: ‘Sing You Home’ by Jodi Picoult
There's been a lot of buzz about this book in the music therapy world for the last few months. Why? Because the protagonist is a music therapist! That doesn't happen very often (in fact, I only know of one other book where that is the case), which is why it has...
A Letter To Music Therapists From a Teacher
Today, I'd like to share a letter I received from a teacher in Texas on behalf of her students past, present and future. I've mentioned her several times, and she is a member of Listen & Learn Plus. As music therapists, these are just the words we need to hear...
The Music Therapist Who Lost Her Voice
I came down with laryngitis for the first time as an 11-year-old in the 6th grade. Little did I know that it would be the first of many, many cases that would disrupt auditions, performances, competitions, and eventually, work responsibilities. As someone who makes...