Sunday Singalong: I Like Halloween

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The title of this post is a bit deceiving, because as I’ve stated — oh, a thousand times or so — I don’t really like Halloween at all!  But I put on a happy face for my students this time of year, and sing “I Like Halloween” with plenty of (believable) enthusiasm.

Lisa Casciola, MT-BC (owner of Kids Sing Studio) is my former internship supervisor who turned me on to this song and Cathy Bollinger’s music in general.  Cathy was a huge inspiration to me as I began songwriting, and even responded to an email I sent her a couple of years ago asking for some advice.  Her words of encouragement went a long way, and now my music is listed right alongside hers on Songs For Teaching.  Pretty amazing!

Anyway, getting back to this song.  I love its versatility, not to mention that it’s short, memorable, and catchy.  A nice one to have in your bag of tricks, for sure.  I’ve learned all kinds of new things about my students through this song, and I now know what each of them are planning to dress up as for Halloween and what kind of candy they are hoping to receive.  So much Halloween fun, so little time…only one more week until we move on to Thanksgiving.  Thank goodness!

Friday Fave: Sticky Productivity

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online-sticky-notes

My favorite method of staying organized and on top of my life is making lists.  But sometimes it’s just so much more convenient to scribble a note on a sticky pad and stick it somewhere I know I’ll see it later…like on my computer.  I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that my computer screen at work looked nearly identical to the one pictured above, with just a little more visible screen space, until I discovered the online resource I’m going to share with you today.

Lino It provides a virtual blank canvas to which you stick post-it type notes — simple as that.  You can color code the notes, like I do for different areas of my life:

online sticky notes 2

That’s a snapshot of part of my current to-do canvas.  When I complete a task, I simply click the little checkmark and the sticky is “peeled” off.  It’s much more satisfying to see a sticky disappear than it is to cross an item off of a paper list :)  I set Lino It as my homepage so that each time I open my browser, the first thing I see is my to-do canvas.  Let me tell you…it is quite effective!

Another cool thing about Lino It?  Not only can you post sticky notes, but you can also post pictures, videos, and documents right to your canvas.  I have another canvas that I use as an inspiration board; I post my goals, pictures that motivate me, and anything else that boosts my happiness level just by glancing at it.  I look at my inspiration board throughout the day and add new items all the time.

This “Friday Fave” isn’t music-related, but hey, everyone needs to stay organized!  Have you tried Lino It or another online tool to boost your productivity?

Peanuts Pumpkin Carols

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peanuts-pumpkin-carols

I have a Halloween tradition with one of my classrooms at school, and that is singing Peanuts Pumpkin Carols the week leading up to the big day.  What are Peanuts Pumpkin Carols, you ask?  They are a group of cleverly penned Halloween songs set to the tune of traditional Christmas carols.

So “Deck the Halls” becomes “Deck the Patch”, “Silver Bells” becomes “Pumpkin Bells”, “The 12 Days of Christmas” becomes “The 12 Days of Halloween” and so on.  The teacher of that classroom found these songs online, and you can get them for yourself right here.

I absolutely LOVE Christmas music, but I usually try to hold off until November 1st to start listening to it.  Preparing and singing these pumpkin carols is an excuse to start dusting off the familiar melodies I’ll soon be singing and listening to throughout the holiday season :)

In addition to the Peanuts Pumpkin Carols, you can check out my own original Listen & Learn Halloween songs.

Get in on the Music Therapy Round Table!

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MTRT-Silent-AuctionDo you listen to the Music Therapy Round Table?  It’s a free monthly podcast hosted by myself along with fellow music therapists Kimberly S. Moore and Michelle Erfurt.  While normally our communication takes place via the internet and Skype (we live in three different states), next month we’ll be coming together in person at the AMTA National Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

Not only will we be presenting a CMTE course entitled “Music Therapy in a Web 2.0 World: Technology for Advocacy & Marketing” (CMTE Q, for those of you interested in attending!), but we have an item on the silent auction block that is up for grabs now. The winning bidder will receive a co-hosting opportunity on our podcast PLUS an hour-long coaching session with the three of us.  This item is valued at $350, and the minimum bid is $115.  Click here to read more or place a bid.

Will you be at conference this year?  If so, I’d love to meet you!  I’ll be hanging out at the Erfurt Music Resource table in the exhibit hall (come pick up a CD or songbook) and we’ll even be recording episode 10 of the podcast there.  Only a little over a month until the fun begins!

The Right-Left Song for Shakers

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

right-left-shakers-song

I heard the original version of “The Right-Left Song” for the first time last fall when Kimberly Sena Moore presented it at AMTA National Conference. Kimberly has a great video of this song, which was actually written by another music therapist named Michelle Hardy.

I’ve used it many times as Kimberly demonstrates in her video — it’s wonderful for kiddos who need to work on crossing the midline — but I decided to change it up recently when I was in need of a new shakin’ song.

We’re going right and left,
And right and left,
We’re shaking, we shake.
We’re going right and left,
And right and left,
We’re shaking we shake.

(Repeat, getting faster each time.)

The real challenge is making sure to shake in the right direction as the tempo of the song increases!  I’ve enjoyed using this song so much that I may have to adapt it for other instruments, too.  I love being inspired by other music therapists — thanks Kimberly and Michelle :)

Sunday Singalong: ‘Dem Dry Bones

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Out of all 480+ posts I’ve written, one I wrote last year titled ‘Dem Bones, ‘Dem Bones happens to be one of the most viewed pages of this entire website.  And not just around Halloween time; it’s popular all year ’round.  I’m assuming that this must be an in-demand song, which is why I decided to feature it as a “Sunday Singalong” video this week.

I figured out this version myself after using a recording of the song one day with a group of students.  I really liked how the music in the recording modulated up as the bones in the body were named, and I wanted to do something similar.  But I like to keep my guitar playing super simple when I’m working with kids, because I want the focus to be on them (not my fingers).  My method of playing this song could pretty much be used by anyone who knows 3 chords: D, A, & G (and if you want to add the key change at the end, E & B7).

Rhythm sticks are my instrument of choice if anything; but most of the time, my students are more than happy just to sing along and point out each body part, or “bone” if you will, as it is mentioned in the song.  I love to mix it up by adding other bones (like hand, elbow, arm, shoulder, etc.) and speeding up the tempo for a bit of a challenge.  Hope you can use and enjoy this song, too!