Tapping, Shaking, Music Making!

by | Listen & Learn Music

There’s a little over a month remaining in the school year, and if you’re anything like me, it’s right about this time that your repertoire needs a boost. Whether you work as a music therapist in the classroom or one-on-one setting or you are a music educator, my newest creation might be just the boost you need.

Tapping, Shaking, Music Making! is a digitally downloaded songbook containing 12 Listen & Learn songs for playing instruments — including rhythm sticks, shakers, bells, drums, castanets, cabasa, ukulele, and more. Not only does the PDF songbook provide the notated melody line, chords and lyrics, but you also receive full and instrumental mp3s for all 12 songs:

“Animal Rock”
“Click Clack”
“I Can Do It By Myself”
“The Lollipop Bop”
“Play the Cabasa”
“Rhythm Sticks Waltz”
“Ring to the Music”
“The Shakin’ Song”
“Shaky Fruit”
“Tap Your Rhythm Sticks”
“The Ukulele Song”
“You Can Strum Too”

Purchasing the lead sheet and mp3s for each individual song would cost you $3 a pop; multiply that by 12 songs and you’re out $36. But since I’m all about sharing the love, I’ve priced Tapping, Shaking, Music Making! at a mere $12.

Get it now and instantly increase your arsenal of songs.

1-2-3, Tap With Me

by | Listen & Learn Music

1-2-3, Tap With Me | Rhythm Sticks Song

I have been on an “instrument song” rampage lately! It seems like I go through cycles when it comes to choosing song topics, and all of those instruments stashed throughout my studio are currently getting plenty of use.

I went back to the basics — good old rhythm sticks — with my latest song, because there is just so darn much you can do with them. As far as addressing goals and objectives, the possibilities for motor development are endless. At one of my classes recently, the mom of one of my tiny kiddos commented on how much progress she had seen her daughter make when manipulating a pair of rhythm sticks.

1-2-3, Tap With Me offers specific directives for playing the sticks, but I always change it up when using this song in a class or music therapy session. It’s also fun to let my students take the lead, choosing different ways to play.

1 – 2 – 3, tap with me
Tap your sticks together
1 – 2 – 3, tap with me
Tap your sticks like this

On the ground, on the ground
Tap your sticks with me
On the ground, on the ground
Tap your sticks with me

CHORUS

In the air, in the air
Tap your sticks with me
In the air, in the air
Tap your sticks with me

CHORUS

On your knees, on your knees
Tap your sticks with me
On your knees, on your knees
Tap your sticks with me

CHORUS

Single and Teen Numbers

by | Listen & Learn Music

This is one of those songs I wrote on the fly about an hour before a session, but still find myself using consistently month later. The student for whom it was written is working on identifying numbers 1-20, but she was having trouble telling the difference between single digits and the “teen” versions of those numbers.

What number is this? (3)
3 is all by itself

What number is this? (13)
Thirteen has a 1 in front

This number is (3)
This number is (13)
They are different because (13) has a 1 in front

{Repeat for numbers 4/14-9/19}

I use the song Single and Teen Numbers in conjunction with a visual — a simple PDF I made and display on the iPad — so that my student can see the numbers and point to them as we sing about them. The PDF is included in the download, along with the lead sheet and both full and instrumental mp3s.

Rock, Rock, Rockin’ Around

by | Listen & Learn Music

Animal Rock

What do fish, turtles, ducks, and pigs have in common? The answer: they all have starring roles in my latest song, Animal Rock. I’ve already written about my new favorite instruments and how they inspired me to write this tune, but there are lots of other objectives that can be targeted at the same time.

Animals fly
Animals walk
Animals run
And animals rock
They move to the music
Rock, rock, rockin’ around

All the fish are splashin’
Splash! Splash! Splash!

All the turtles are crawlin’
Crawl! Crawl! Crawl!

All the ducks are quackin’
Quack! Quack! Quack!

All the pigs are oinkin’
Oink! Oink! Oink!

CHORUS

Just a few of those objectives include sound and movement imitation, taking turns, vocalization, creative expression…the list goes on. One of the coolest parts of being a music therapist is developing interventions that address several different goals at a time. It’s no coincidence that so many of us are master multitaskers!

Seeya Later, Alligator

by | Listen & Learn Music

Seeya Later, Alligator

After a few years of relying on the same old goodbye songs for my music therapy sessions and classes, I decided it was high time for a new one. The phrase “seeya later, alligator” popped into my head immediately, so I went with it.


I tried this song out for the first time yesterday with my Listen & Learn for Little Ones group, and it went over really well! And now I can’t get it out of my head, no matter how hard I try. But since that’s my gauge for measuring the potential effectiveness of a song, I suppose that’s a good thing!

Now that I have this brand-new goodbye song, my hello songs are feeling a little stale. I think I know what’s next on the songwriting to-do list :)

Snowflakes, Snowflakes

by | Listen & Learn Music

As I type this blog post, there are snowflakes flying outside my office window. It’s no secret that I am not a fan of winter, and luckily the Midwest hasn’t been hit too hard with the white stuff so far this year.

I shouldn’t speak too soon, though, because we are expecting almost two inches on Thursday; good thing I’m prepared with plenty of snow-themed songs! The newest addition to the collection is Snowflakes, Snowflakes.

One of my favorite types of songs to use in music therapy sessions and classes is that with varying dynamics or tempos, and this falls into the latter category (going from slow to fast). My kiddos are always up to the challenge of playing their instruments along “even faster” — sometimes it’s hard to keep up with them!

Snowflakes, snowflakes
Falling to the ground
Down they come without a sound
Little ones, big ones
Swirling from the sky
Faster, faster
Down they fly

(Repeat, getting faster each time)