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 ;)

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.