Sunday Singalong: The Rhythm Of Love

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I heard this song for the first time as I was driving home from work a couple of weeks ago, and I was immediately hooked.  It was simple, beautiful, and happy…my three favorite ingredients when it comes to music.  I knew then and there that I just had to add it to my Sunday Singalong playlist.

My adapted version is less a love song about another person and more a love song about life.  I can’t wait to introduce it to my students next month — I envision creating all kinds of rhythms of our own using drums, shakers and whatever else I decide to throw into the mix.  Did you notice that my Rhythm Ring made another guest appearance in the video?  I can’t get enough of it!

Earlier in the week, I asked my Facebook and Twitter friends to guess which current, love-themed pop song I would be covering today.  Props to Kristen Bozard for nailing it, and an honorable mention to Jess Kaps for lots of awesome guesses.  Jess, you gave me some great ideas for future videos!  If the rest of you have additional suggestions, please leave them in the comments…because I am a total sucker for overplayed radio hits.

You Are Loved

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Valentine's Day Song

Happy Valentine’s Day! I know that lots of people regard this as a “Hallmark holiday” and I do, too…for the most part. But there’s nothing wrong with having an excuse to show the people in your life — not just a significant other — just how much you care about them.

One of my favorite ways to do that is to write songs. I’m constantly writing them for my students, but I’ve also written many for my friends and family. There was the Valentine’s Day song for my husband, the 50th birthday song for my mom, and the 80th birthday song for my grandma, among many others.

But the one I want to share today was written for my two good friends as a wedding gift last year. I was listening to it over the weekend and realized that it could apply to anyone…even YOU. Because it’s true :)

Look around,
Take in the sound,
You are loved, loved, loved.

Breathe in it,
Feel it on your skin,
You are loved, loved, loved.

Not only for today,
But happily ever after.
Let it guide you along your way,
Through the tears and through the laughter.

Know this one thing is true,
In all you do,
You are loved.

When this moment’s gone,
And time ticks on,
You are loved, loved, loved.

Near or far,
No matter where you are,
You are loved, loved, loved.

CHORUS

Love will keep you warm,
Be your shelter from every storm,
Lighting your path,
Wherever it leads,
Whatever your journey.

CHORUS

You are loved, loved, loved.
You are loved, loved, loved.

Again, I’ll say it: Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovebirds. I hope my song has inspired you to remind the people in your life that they are loved today and always!

Free “Feelings” Visual Aide Download

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Girl Showing Love

I love to sing The Feelings in My Heart around this time of year, what with so much talk about Valentine’s Day, hearts, and love.  This is one of my favorite Listen & Learn songs — it’s even featured on my studio album.

And that leads me to the highlight of this post: a visual aide download to go along with the song. I like to give my students an example of each emotion as it is mentioned in the song, and while in the past I’ve used illustrations, this year I wanted to use stock pictures of real children to which they could better relate.

Visual Aide Download: The Feelings in My Heart

As described in the PDF download above, I laminated the pictures, cut them out, and single-hole punched them so that I could keep them together with a binder ring. They were a hit when I used them for the first time yesterday afternoon with a group of young music therapy students. We used sign language for each emotion as we looked at the pictures during the song — talk about a multi-sensory experience!

Here’s the full song and lyrics, as well as the instrumental version.  I hope you can make use of this visual aide (and if so, please let me know in the comments how you plan to do so).

Speech Therapy + Music Therapy = <3

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Speech Therapy and Music Therapy

That’s the emoticon version of a heart, in case you were wondering.  Valentine’s Day is a week away, so this is the perfect time to talk about what a great pair speech therapy and music therapy make.

I love collaborating with the speech therapist at my school, so much so that I recently gave a presentation about music therapy for communication goals to her speech and language pathology association.  The children with whom we work respond to music above everything else, so incorporating music into speech interventions makes them even more effective.

This month, speech and language goals for our students are centered around the theme of friendship, and target words include I, you, friend, heart, and the colors pink, red, and white.  Our speech therapist put together some simple song ideas, and my job was the add the music.

I am your friend,
You are my friend,
We are all friends together.
Everywhere we go,
At work and at play,
We are all friends together.

I’m going to the store to buy candy hearts,
To buy candy hearts,
To buy candy hearts.
I’m going to the store to buy candy hearts,
To give to my friend on Valentine’s Day.

Some of the hearts are pink or red or white,
Pink or red or white,
Pink or red or white.
Some of the hearts are pink or red or white,
All for my friend on Valentine’s Day.

Both the speech therapist and I include these songs in our sessions so that the students are exposed to these concepts frequently throughout the month.  Collaboration is key in the classroom setting…plus I love being part of a team.  How do you collaborate with other professionals to enhance students’ progress?

Sunday Singalong: Winter All Around Us

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I know what you’re thinking…not another song about winter!  Trust me, I don’t like winter any more than you do, but my students (and yours as well, most likely) need to hear about and understand it as it’s happening.

As I mentioned in the video, this is an older song that I don’t use very often these days.  (Here’s my latest song about winter.)  But it’s still fun to sing, and I like that it’s so short.  It’s also a great one for use during songwriting activities — it’s easy to come up with additional verses.

Who else is counting the days until spring is here?  As the midwest prepares for yet another winter storm, I’m assuming I’m not alone in my countdown.  Stay warm, stay safe, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Jumping for Joy

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Jumping for Joy During Music Therapy

Sometimes I wonder if I’m really making a difference.  That question ran through my head just last night, in the middle of a music therapy session.  I’ve been working with this particular child since she was 4 months old; she’ll turn 4 years old in May.  She’s making big strides, but how much of that progress can be attributed to music therapy?

Towards the end of the session, I decided that we needed to get up and move a little.  I could see that she had energy to burn, and I wanted her to use it productively.  So I sang the following song, which I adapted from the wonderful Cathy Bollinger:

I’ve got a wiggle wiggle wiggle in my feet
And I wiggle wiggle wiggle to the beat
I’ve got a wiggle in my toes, a wiggle in my knees
And when the music stops everyone freeze!

I’ve got a march march march in my feet
And I march march march to the beat
I’ve got a march in my toes, a march in my knees
And when the music stops everyone freeze!

I’ve got a jump jump jump in my feet
And I jump jump jump to the beat
I’ve got a jump in my toes, a jump in my knees
And when the music stops everyone freeze!

I’ve got a tiptoe tiptoe in my feet
And I tiptoe tiptoe to the beat
I’ve got a tiptoe in my toes, a tiptoe in my knees
And when the music stops everyone freeze!

I’ve got a tap tap tap in my feet
and I tap tap tap to the beat
I’ve got a tap in my toes, a tap in my knees
And when the music stops everyone freeze!

I’ve got a hop hop hop in my feet
And I hop hop hop to the beat
I’ve got a hop in my toes, a hop in my knees
And when the music stops everyone freeze!

My student’s big sister was participating in the session, so both girls danced, jumped and marched (and played the nearby tubano drum, which wasn’t part of the song but added a nice beat!) while I sang and modeled the movement.

After the song ended, my student motioned for her mom to bring my music stand over to our rug. (For some reason, my little ones really enjoy standing in front of it while they sing.) As I strummed my guitar and sang the goodbye song, she sang right along with me, pronouncing the words as best as she could.

After she had taken “goodbye” off of the schedule and chased after her sister into the hallway, her mom turned to me — and that’s when I realized she had tears in her eyes.

She told me that today was the first time she’d ever seen her daughter jump, which surprised me immensely, considering she’d made it look so effortless. She also told me that the way she sang the goodbye song was leaps and bounds above her usual level of word pronunciation, not to mention the length of time for which she sang. And then she told me that it was all because of music therapy.

So much for those doubtful thoughts I’d been experiencing just minutes earlier. If my next student hadn’t already been waiting for me in the next room, I might have run outside and jumped for joy myself!