Free Download: “Little Red Apples”
This is one of many counting songs I’ve written, which focuses on counting both up to 5 and down from 5. I created simple apple visual aides (using red construction paper and then laminating) which my students can then manipulate as we count.
Click here to download the mp3 and lyrics/chords.
P.S. If you want access to my entire collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music, consider joining me over at Listen & Learn Plus!
Look Into My Eyes
One of the goals that I’m constantly targeting with many of my music therapy students is eye contact. And while there are many ways to build this into other interventions and activities, I’ve never written a song specifically for this purpose…until now.
I kept the lyrics very simple and very repetitive, with one main directive: “look into my eyes”. I also included some opportunities for movement — not only to make the song more interesting, but also to show that you can still make eye contact while moving in different ways. As with all of my songs, these verses are meant to be adapted as needed to fit your students’ abilities and specific objectives.
What are your favorite ways to work on eye contact? I would love to hear about specific songs and interventions you use, or even ways you might change up this song to get the most out of it.
Friday Fave: Brown Bear, Brown Bear
My collection of singable stories has grown considerably over the last few years, and continues to do so as I stumble upon new stories and receive suggestions from colleagues and readers. But I can credit my latest addition — and the tune that goes with it — to the parent of one of my music therapy students.
I had heard of the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? but never thought to use it in my music therapy sessions. After our session one day, my student’s mom mentioned that her daughter loves this book and that she had discovered the perfect tune for it: the theme song to the old Nickelodeon show, Pinwheel.
Talk about a blast from the past! I remember watching that show as a very young child, and the tune came right back to me…along with the theme songs for all the other old Nickelodeon shows I was distracted by on YouTube :)
After recording the “Brown Bear” version of the song, I have to agree with my student’s mom. The tune fits this story perfectly and I can’t wait to sing it with my student this afternoon! What a fun way to work on color and animal identification (amongst other things).
Have you added any great singable stories to your collection lately? Please share your favorites — and read more about my full collection of 50+ stories here.
Marching Into Spring
Okay, okay…so spring is still several weeks away. But since it officially begins in March, I couldn’t restrain myself from writing about my second favorite season.
I first used the “march into spring” play on words in my March song, and it amused me enough to base an entire song upon it. As I started recording, I decided to let the music reflect the marching chorus and in contrast, the fun and excitement of spring.
While we’ve had an unusually mild winter here in Illinois, I’m still ready for daily bike rides, open windows, and walks in the park. What do you think: is it too early to start singing about spring?
Friday Fave: Blessed by Brenna
Brenna Westlake was born in December with with a rare skin condition called Harlequin Ichthyosis. Brenna’s skin lacks a certain protein which helps it form correctly, and instead it was formed as thick, white scales with ridges all over. Since her birth, Brenna has proved to be a fighter and won the hearts of my entire community.
Brenna’s mom, Courtney, has kept an almost daily blog since December, which you can find here. In honor of Rare Disease Day on February 29th, Courtney shared a special project she’s been involved with and asked for help as the project moves into the final stage. She wrote:
When Brenna was a couple of weeks old, a friend shared on twitter about an organization called MarbleRoad, which raises awareness about rare diseases, and a “contest” they were doing called the Rare Children’s Storybook Project. The focus of the project was to compose a story involving a rare disease…and then chosen finalists would be asked to create an accompanying video.
At first, I didn’t think I had time to devote to writing a story in a matter of days. But one afternoon, I spent a few hours alone with Brenna at the hospital, and when I came home, the story just poured out of me. I wanted to write something for her and to her, so that she would know how we felt about her birth and her presence in our lives.
The winner for this project (who receives some money for medical costs and is considered for publication) is chosen based on the number of views, comments and “likes” on the video, so I would really appreciate you all taking the time to watch my video and read my story about our sweet girl!
Please take a few minutes to watch this touching video and help Brenna and her family win by liking the video here.
The Magic Word
We all heard it as children, and most likely even say it now: “What’s the magic word?” It’s probably the most frequently used method for reminding a child to say “please” — so I wrote a song about it.
The idea for The Magic Word came to me as I was brainstorming language and social skills topics last week. I was surprised to realize that I hadn’t touched on this particular topic in all my years of songwriting! But now I have, and here is the finished product:
As I was writing the song, I wanted to include specific examples of the “magic word” in use. What I like about the verses is that you can easily replace those examples with your own sentences and questions, targeted to the specific child or group with whom you are working. Or better yet, let them come up with their own!
To check out the entire Listen & Learn song collection, click here. And remember, I’m always up for song topic suggestions, so feel free to share your ideas with me.
Numbers With a “1”
I’ve most definitely written my fair share of songs about numbers. And while it’s not my FAVORITE topic in the world, I do have a bit of a soft spot for it…after all, I was president of the math club in high school (a fact my family will never let me live down).
So when one of my Listen & Learn Plus! members came to me in need of some fresh ideas for teaching the numbers 11-19, I was game. I wrote the song Numbers With a 1 with the idea that when it’s used, the music therapist/educator/parent will have visuals of each number in order to match the name with the number. You’ll understand what I mean after listening:
I made sure to keep the tempo nice and slow, and hopefully the song is interesting enough to keep a child’s attention — especially considering the topic isn’t the most fun! Do you know any other songs for teaching the numbers 11-19?
Friday Fave: Mechanical Licenses Made Easy
Earlier this week, my newsletter went out and included a free song download. (They all do….have you subscribed yet?) Several of the emails I received in response prompted this week’s post on a topic I’ve written about before at Listen & Learn Plus, but never here: mechanical licenses.
The emails I received asked if the free download, A Bushel and a Peck, is in the public domain — meaning it is not protected by copyright or the copyright has expired — and the answer is no. Just like I do with any other cover song (including this one), I went straight to Limelight to purchase a mechanical license.
A mechanical license allows musicians to create, distribute and sell recordings of compositions owned and controlled by another publisher. Even though I was giving my download away for free, I still needed a mechanical license in order to distribute it to others, since I don’t own the rights to the song.
Limelight makes this process quick and easy. You simply enter a few details about the song (title, artist, type and volume of distribution or sale, etc.) and then pay the fee that is determined by that information. My license for “A Bushel and a Peck” cost just $25. You can pay either by credit card or PayPal.
If you want more information, here’s a great article on this topic. Have you had any experience with licensing cover songs? And if so, did you use Limelight or another similar service?
Love, Love, Love (My Family)
Choosing this week’s song topic was sort of a no-brainer, thanks to a certain holiday coming up tomorrow. I’ve written plenty of songs about love, including The Feelings in My Heart (follow the link to get a free visual aide download) and You Are Loved.
But this time I wanted to focus on a very specific kind of love: the kind you feel for your family.
I love the way this song turned out…so much so that I couldn’t wait until today to share it with at least a few people. Any guesses as to which people I sent it to? My FAMILY, of course!
I know there have been many songs written about family love, but there’s always room for one more when it comes to such a wonderful topic. What are your favorite songs about L-O-V-E, either the family kind or just in general?
Friday Fave: The Best Lyrics Site on the Web
Like many other music therapists, teachers, and musicians, I spend a lot of time making song sheets for my students and myself. While in some cases I’ll need the actual sheet music for a song (in which case I head over to MusicNotes), sometimes I just need the lyrics.
If you do a Google search for just about any song, you’ll come up with at least a dozen lyrics sites…but most of them are garbage. Either the lyrics are incorrect, or there are pop-up ads all over the place, or the biggest annoyance of all — the site won’t let you copy and paste.
But I’ve found one site where the lyrics are consistently accurate, there are few to no pop-ups, and I’m able to copy and paste from it every single time: Sing365.
It’s a pretty cheesy looking site, but I could care less how it looks because it has been such a great resource for me. Whether I’m just curious about the lyrics to a song or need to create a lead sheet for a student or myself, it’s my go-to place.
If I’m looking for the lyrics to the song “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, I type this into my Google search bar:
Adele Rolling in the Deep Lyrics Sing365
And I’ll tell you what, I get exactly what I’m looking for just about every single time. No more clicking on link after link in search of usable lyrics. So that’s my quick little tip for you on this lovely Friday. I hope Sing365 saves you as much time as it has for me!
Student Spotlight: Cydney Sings “At Last”
When Cydney returned to lessons after winter break, she informed me that her cousin had asked her to sing several songs at her wedding reception. (If I was Cydney’s cousin, I would have done the same…she has an amazing voice!)
Her cousin had picked out ‘The Only Exception” by Paramore, “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, and “At Last” by Etta James. Cydney already had a good handle on the first two, so we concentrated on the Etta James classic.
Etta James passed away the week following Cydney’s performance at the wedding reception, so as a little tribute, we recorded her rendition of the song.
This girl’s voice gives me chills! “At Last” is not an easy song to sing, but I think she definitely did it justice…especially considering her age (she’s 17). I love that my students are willing to tackle big challenges like this — they make me proud!