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I Like to Clap to the Beat
This weekend as I was brainstorming ideas for today's new song, I thought back to a lesson I helped a teacher at my former job teach to his students. The topic was clapping at appropriate times, which may seem very basic to most, but for students with developmental...
Friday Fave: Smash
I'm a sucker for Broadway musicals, so it comes as no surprise that I'm a fan of a show all about the behind-the-scenes drama of creating and producing a Broadway musical. Katharine McPhee, who was an American Idol finalist back when I still watched that show, stars...
Penguin Party
Are you ready for the most info-packed song about penguins you've ever heard in your life? Okay, so I probably didn't have much competition when I wrote this, but I do have to admit I'm pretty proud of the amount of penguin facts I managed to include -- and they...
Sunday Singalong: Left & Right
This song is an oldie, but honestly, it might be one of my favorite Listen & Learn originals. I like the melody, and I also like that it explains the concept in a relatively easy-to-understand manner. I debated including a picture-in-picture view of the actions as...
Friday Fave: Square Credit Card Reader
There have been many occasions on which I wished I was able to accept credit card payments. Here are just a few: when selling my CDs and songbooks at conferences, peddling demos at gigs, when a parent of a student forgets his or her checkbook and has no cash...the...
Clackin’ On the Ice
Last week's song featured a picture of a ukulele on a sandy beach...so this is just about as opposite as it gets! But it is January, after all, so I'm getting in those wintery songs while I can. I actually wrote "Clackin' On the Ice" in just a few minutes while...
Friday Fave: The ULTIMATE Fake Book
I love fake books -- so much so that I have an entire shelf of them here in my studio. The latest in my collection, pictured above, was a Christmas gift from my brother and sister-in-law. And like most non-musicians, I'm pretty sure they have no idea what a fake book...
“It’s Like a Lightning Bolt With a C at the Bottom!”
Last night at Jake's lesson, we were talking about quarter rests. As I was trying to describe how to draw one for an exercise in his theory book, Jake said, "I know...it's like a lightning bolt with a C at the bottom!" I looked at the quarter rest, and realized he was...
A Little Ukulele Tune
Every January, I find it so funny that my students are so interested in hearing about what I got for Christmas. This year has been no exception, and I've been playing a lot of show-and-tell with my new ukulele. Of course, just seeing it isn't enough -- my students...