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!
Friday Fave: Getting Things Done
This book was recommended to me by the lovely Music Therapy Maven at the perfect time in my life. Last year around this time, I was just a little stressed (and by a little, I mean so much so that I wrote this blog post). But I listened to the audiobook version of Getting Things Done, and immediately implemented the system.
My biggest problem before reading this book was carrying my to-do list around in my head and letting it cause anxiety day in and day out. It was a total “duh” moment for me when I read the part about getting the tasks out of my mind and down on paper. Not a huge list, as I was used to compiling on a weekly basis, but a single action step I could take towards completing a task or project.
That’s where the tickler file comes in. A simple concept, really: file folders for each month of the year, plus one for each week of the current month.
That phone call I needed to make this week? I wrote it down on a sticky note and put it in this week’s folder at the beginning of the month so that it was waiting for me. The conference I’m presenting at next September? All of that info is in the August folder, so when it’s time to start thinking about it, I can pull it out and do so. No longer do random papers, forms, and bills clutter my desk’s main inbox and cause me stress on a daily basis.
There’s one more folder in my tickler file, and that’s the “Someday/Maybe” folder. What goes in there: ideas I don’t have time for right now, information that may become useful at some point, lead sheets for songs I find that I might want to adapt and use in the future, etc. It’s my go-to place when I have some spare time and might be able to take action on any one of those items.
It’s so much easier to look at a project as a list of steps, rather than one big scary cloud hanging over my head. Of course, I still experience stress, but nowhere near the levels at which I once did. And anything that can lower my stress is effective, trust me! That’s why I always recommend Getting Things Done to everyone.
What about you? Have you read the book, or do you have another system for getting organized and keeping your to-dos from overwhelming you?
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 ;)
Adapted “Rhythm of Love” Lyrics & Chords
I covered this song in yesterday’s “Sunday Singalong” video, and have been getting requests for my version of it ever since. What a compliment! So for those of you who want to use it with your own students or just for fun, I’ve got you covered.
Click below for a free download of my adapted lyrics, plus the chords. Please note that when I sing and play it, I capo the 2nd fret.
Lead Sheet Download: Rhythm of Love
One of my Twitter friends reminded me how great it would sound on the ukulele, so I’m going to play around with that next. Oh, and feel free to adapt the lyrics further if you’d like. I hope you have as much fun with this song as I do!
Sunday Singalong: The Rhythm Of Love
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.
All Keyed Up!
It’s that time of year again…my chapter of the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Junior Festival! As a member, I have the opportunity to invite my students to participate; I’m super excited for the 9 who will be playing in the piano solo category on Sunday. I kept the group small this year being a relative newcomer (this is only my 2nd year as a member), but I plan to enter most of my students in 2012.
Last year was a learning experience for both my students and I — in fact, I’m pretty sure that I was more nervous than they were. (For the record, each of them received a superior rating.) But now that I know what to expect, I’m looking forward to two weekends full of beautiful piano playing. I have the best job as auditor, since my work happens after each performance.
My studio has been Festival-focused since October, and we are all ready to move on to new music. But all of the hard work will be 100% worth it when I have lots of new pictures on the bulletin board of my students holding their certificates and wearing big smiles on their faces :)
Friday Fave: Dropbox
I love this illustration (source), because it totally reflects my feelings about Dropbox and how it has changed the way I share files. I split my work between my laptop at home and my laptop at work, so up until recently, I’ve relied on USB flash drives, sending emails to myself, and uploading files to MobileMe in order to access them in both places. Not anymore!
I have to credit Kimberly S. Moore with introducing me to Dropbox, which is a free application you can download from the internet to any computer (both Mac and PC) or mobile device. The free account gives you 2 gigabytes of storage, though you can pay a monthly fee for more.
What I love is that Dropbox works just like another folder on your computer, so now instead of saving a copy of a document or project on both my computer and in another location, I can simply save it to Dropbox and then it’s right there when I need to access it from another computer.
Another cool feature is the ability to share folders with other people. I share a folder with my Music Therapy Round Table cohosts and another with my husband. It’s like magic: new files just appear in the folder when other people add them!
Just yesterday, I recorded instrumental tracks for 9 new songs at work. Instead of compressing the Garageband projects into a zip file and saving them to my USB flashdrive, I simply saved them to Dropbox as-is and then opened them right up on my home computer to record the vocals. Then I saved the WAV files to Dropbox, and am listening to them now as I type this :)
Have you used Dropbox yet? If you work on multiple computers like I do, or want to access files on your phone, give it a try. And then come back and tell me how much you love it!
Happy Birthday, Music Therapy Round Table!
It’s a big month for the Music Therapy Round Table podcast, because we are celebrating our first birthday. It seems like only yesterday that we tossed around the idea in San Diego at the 2009 AMTA Conference, and now here we are…13 episodes deep.
We’ve been contemplating a website redesign for the last couple of months now, and what better time to do so than a birthday? So not only does our website look different, but so does our logo. We’d love to know what you think of both.
While you’re there checking out the new digs, you can catch up on Episode 13, in which we discuss music therapy for the early childhood population. Thanks for listening and contributing your feedback!
Spanish Songs, Blues & the Oud
I’ll bet you’re wondering what these three things have in common…right? These are the topics about which I learned (along with many other music therapists) at last weekend’s CMTE, Multicultural Music for Music Therapists. The event, held at The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, was a fabulous collaboration between music educators and music therapists which resulted in an exchange of valuable knowledge.
My favorite aspect of all three workshops we attended was that they were interactive. We didn’t just sit and listen; we played our guitars, drummed, and sang our way through each one. (Okay, everyone else did those things; I was videotaping the entire time. But when I go back and watch the videos, I’ll be participating.)
Not only were the presenters full of energy and talent, but they provided us with new ideas to take into our music therapy sessions. I can’t wait to apply some of the blues guitar techniques we learned, and I know that lots of my students will really enjoy some of the Spanish greeting and movement songs we were taught.
Members of the Illinois Association of Music Therapy had a chance to mingle with Old Town faculty during registration in the morning, throughout the lunch hour, and afterward at an all-participant jam session. How cool is that? Most of us had our guitars with us, so we joined others who were playing fiddle, piano, accordion, harmonica and many other instruments to make some pretty spectacular music.
It was so neat to see such a big group of non-music therapists so interested in learning not only about what we do, but how to apply it to their teaching. This was the first event of its kind that our association has put on, but I’m sincerely hoping that it’s not the last!
You Are Loved
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!
Reflections From a Music Therapy Intern
Karen Herzel, a graduate student at Illinois State University, joined me back in August as The Hope Institute’s first-ever music therapy intern. I asked her to share some reflections as we approach the six-month mark of her internship (she’ll be with me through May), and she graciously agreed. Here they are, in her own words:
As the second half of my internship evolves, it is a good feeling to reflect on the journey to this point. I can say, without a doubt, that the greatest part of the internship on a personal level has been the positive change in my belief in myself as a competent music therapist.
I am consistently challenged to discern the needs of our clients, and then consider how best to address those needs within a group music therapy setting. I am continuously learning how to more effectively combine creativity and structure, and rejoice in the small effects for the students as well as the larger ones.
I am blessed to have a supervisor who believes in and encourages individual growth. Her wise and patient choices to allow flexibility within specific parameters, in addition to her honest and timely feedback have been, in my opinion, the keys to a truly worthwhile and educational opportunity for me.
We talk through so many facets of music therapy itself, as well as how to most efficiently apply it to our specific special educational setting. She is also an amazing musician and therapist, and her example has been a strong catalyst in strengthening and broadening my own musicianship and therapy skills.
This has been, and will continue to be, a truly joyful journey. I feel confident that the excellent training and supervision I have received during this internship will allow for me to provide worthwhile services to clients in the future.
Thank you, Rachel, so very much, for so graciously putting wind under my music therapy wings.