Sunday Singalong: Boogie Baby

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This song was a staple right out of internship, when my repertoire was still small and I hadn’t yet thrown myself into heavy-duty songwriting.  So my students heard it a LOT that first year, and it climbed to the top of the “hits list” right away.

But as my repertoire grew and most of the songs I used in music therapy sessions were my own, “Boogie Baby” fell by the wayside.  In fact, during one class’s Total Request Live edition of music therapy, we all racked our brains but for the life of us, could not think of the song everyone used to love so much.

They finally did think of it, and then the following week, another class made a list of “Rachel’s Hits” for a CD to play in the classroom.  Sure enough, “Boogie Baby” was on that list!  Since it came up twice in such a short time span, I figured it was time to feature the song in a video.

Are you familiar with this fun little tune?  If so, maybe you can clue me in on its origins, since I heard it for the first (and last) time from my internship supervisor.  I think it will be making an appearance in some of my upcoming sessions!

Mammals In the Water (A Custom Song)

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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.  Thus, “Mammals in the Water” came to be.

Rene chose to highlight manatees, narwhals, walruses, and seals in this particular song, and I had a lot of fun doing the research necessary to write the verses about each creature.  The rhyming was a little tricky, but both Rene and I are happy with the results…and hopefully her pre-kindergarten students will be, too!

Ooh, mammals – they’re everywhere.
You and I are mammals, we have hair and breathe air.
So are lots of animals you’d find at the zoo,
And even some that live in the water, too!

MAH, MAH, MAH…MANATEES!
They live in the water and they swim so slow,
They’re gray in color and eat plants, you know.
Manatees are gentle even though they’re really big,
With their flippers and their tail and snout (like a pig).
Mah, mah, mah.

CHORUS

NAH, NAH, NAH…NARWHALS!
They travel through the sea; their long tusk leads the way,
They eat fish and shrimp and squid all day.
Narwhals are a special kind of whale,
They swim in groups and their bodies are pale.
Nah, nah, nah.

CHORUS

WAH, WAH, WAH…WALRUSES!
They live in the Arctic, on the ice so cold,
But their blubber on their body keeps them warm, I’m told.
Walruses have whiskers and tusks so long,
Their bodies are brown and huge and strong.
Wah, wah, wah.

CHORUS

SAH, SAH, SAH…SEALS!
They live both on land and in the sea,
And their whiskers help them find lots of fish to eat.
Seals can be black, or gray, or brown,
And they make a funny grunting sound.
Sah, sah, sah.

Ooh, mammals – they’re everywhere.
Just like us, these animals have hair and breathe air.
But they don’t live in a house or at the zoo,
Mammals live in the water, too!

Sunday Singalong: Wave Goodbye to Winter

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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 listening, the song was written to be sung before spring actually begins.  But I’ll continue singing it for the rest of March with just two minor lyric changes:

Sing because spring is finally here.
Sing because the sky is blue and clear.
Sing with the birds, up in the tree,
Sing and clap your hands with me.

When I started writing this song last year, I didn’t intend for it to be a movement song.  But it’s hard not to move and dance around when you’re singing about something as happy as waving goodbye to winter…am I right?

The Rhythm Sticks Waltz

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Song for Children Counting to 3

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 explain that they’ve just counted a type of song called a waltz.

Rhythm sticks are a great instrument for this type of activity, because the beat can be heard very clearly.  Younger students seem to have better impulse control while playing sticks as opposed to drums or other types of percussion instruments, though I may experiment a little.

This is a relatively new song, but so far I’ve had lots of fun and success with it.  The concept of counting to 3 over and over again is a bit difficult at first, but once my students can do that, they have laid the foundation for some pretty important music (and non-music) skills.

If you can count to three (1, 2, 3)
Then you can do the rhythm sticks waltz with me.
Just click your sticks and feel the beat,
The rhythm stick waltz is so sweet.

1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, go,
Keep tapping, don’t stop yet,
Just feel the flow.

If you can count to three (1, 2, 3)
Then you can do the rhythm sticks waltz with me.
Just click your sticks and feel the beat,
The rhythm stick waltz is so sweet.

1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, pause,
And take a rest,
Let’s hear the applause!

Of course, when I use this song in a live session or class, we make our own applause :)  We also vary the tempo, going very slowly at first and then seeing how quickly we can play and sing while keeping the steady beat.

I don’t write many songs in 3/4 time, especially not songs meant to be played along to with instruments.  But it’s good to have a few in the mix.  Which waltz-tempo songs do you sing and play with your students?

Sunday Singalong: Red, Yellow & Green

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Happy Sunday! I had a bit of a hard time trying to decide which song to feature in this week’s video. There was the option of another Valentine-related tune since this is the last Sunday in February, but truth be told, I’m ready to move past this month and get to March (specifically Spring). There was also the option of talking about the cold, snowy weather, but I’m over that, too.

So I took the path less traveled: a song about the traffic lights. I’m going to introduce Red, Yellow & Green to my students at school this week, so this gave me a chance to practice and re-memorize it :)

Another great song I use in conjunction with this one is Red Means Stop by Mr. Heath.  It really deserves its own blog post…my students love it because it lets them flex their creative muscles while still learning traffic safety.  Any other songs you recommend on this topic?  Share them in the comments!

Turn the Beat Around

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Turn the Beat Around

Why yes, I am referring to that old song made famous by Gloria Estefan in the 90s.  I used to love it way back in the day, especially trying to sing along with the crazy fast syllable-full verses.

While I was brainstorming new instrument songs last week, this one just popped into my head and refused to leave.  But it turned out to be a good thing, because I ended up tailoring the lyrics just enough to make it the perfect rhythm sticks song.

I predicted that when I played it with my Church Mice on Sunday, the parents would get a kick out of it…and I was right.  Most of them knew the song and were singing along with me right away.

Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up so loud!
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up so loud!

Turn the beat around,
Love to hear the percussion.
Turn it upside down,
Love to hear the percussion.
Love to hear it.

Oh, you sure sound pretty,
Your rhythm keeps movin’ to the nitty gritty
When you hear the tap of the wood a-tappin’
Then you’ll know that rhythm carries all the action,
Woah, yeah!

Turn the beat around,
Love to hear the percussion.
Turn it upside down,
Love to hear the percussion.
Love to hear it.

Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up so loud!
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up so loud!

Turn it down, turn it down, turn it down so soft…
Turn it down, turn it down, turn it down so soft…

Turn the beat around!

I had a lot of fun with this recording, in case you can’t tell by listening to it.  I’m thinking about tweaking the lyrics to make it a drumming activity for my students.  And that’s the best thing about this song — it could be used with or without any instrument, not just rhythm sticks.  Even keeping the original lyrics would work, because they’re all about music.

How would you use it?  Or maybe you wouldn’t at all.  It didn’t cross my mind as a good song for kids until just recently, but I’m sure glad it did!  Except for the part where it is permanently stuck in my head, that is ;)