For many of us, COVID-19 has upended our lives as we once knew them. It has disrupted our schedules, our plans, our work, our goals, our motivation…everything. It’s okay not to be okay right now.
I wrote this song just as much for grown-ups as I did for children. Whether you’re a parent figuring out how to balance parenting with working from home, a small business owner struggling to stay afloat, a teacher providing distance education, or anyone else who is having a hard time right now, this is my love letter to you.
What’s Up, Buttercup?
It’s been a month. Between launching a new course, starting a new early childhood music class session, and restarting a podcast, I needed some content creation downtime. As a result, the crickets have taken over around here…womp, womp, womp.
BUT — they got their eviction notice today, because I finally feel ready to get back to writing and sharing. Just this week, I added a few new songs to the store, and it felt GOOD. I can’t tell you how much I missed the songwriting and recording process, since to be honest, I did almost none of that over the summer.
As much as I loved creating my Introvert’s Guide course, it took up just about all of my creative energy. I was thrilled at how well it was received, and equally thrilled to get back to my roots after the enrollment period ended.
{It’s Here!} A Look Inside the Introvert’s Guide
Well, this cartoon basically sums up my entire professional life. Every single day, I push outside of my comfort zone in order to be the best music therapist and business owner that I can be, even when I’m feeling completely spent.
If your work day is anything like mine, it probably includes facilitating sessions, teaching classes, leading groups, interacting with client families, speaking with colleagues, networking with other professionals, and attending work-related events. Add to all those face-to-face interactions the inevitable emails, social media exchanges, and phone calls, and I’m 100% “peopled out” by the end of the day (if not sooner).
I absolutely love my career, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But I will admit that it’s been a steep learning curve, becoming good at my job, given the fact that I am a total introvert. I’ve had to challenge myself with uncomfortable and sometimes downright scary situations in order to grow as a music therapist, and after 10 years, I finally feel like I have insight to offer fellow introverts who also experience similar professional challenges.
A Labor of Love
It seems fitting that I decided to release The Introvert’s Guide to Thriving in an Extroverted Career the day after Labor Day. When I committed to creating this course earlier in the summer, I didn’t realize what an undertaking it would be.
While I’ve created many courses in the past, none have required the amount of focus, vulnerability, and transparency that this one has. But I knew that in order for it to be truly beneficial to my fellow introverts, I needed to tell my own story as openly and honestly as possible. That meant sharing my shortcomings, failures, and hard lessons learned throughout the course of my life and career.
One Last Summer Hurrah
This has been one of the most chill summers my family’s ever had. Aside from a few performances and work-related obligations, my weekends were free and clear to spend at the pool or just hanging out at home, and I loved it. Slowing down summer was the best idea ever.
But we did plan one quick getaway to celebrate the end of the season: a trip to Florida that was anything but slow. No, the Rambachs don’t do slow while on vacation, thanks to my husband who likes to plan everything down to the hour.
10 Years of MT-BC
July 2007 was a good month. I got engaged to my now-husband, and then just a few days later, passed the board certification exam to become an official board-certified music therapist. This photo was taken the following month — the earliest one I have in a work setting with those four letters (MT-BC) behind my name.
These past 10 years have been full of learning, growing, and stretching myself in ways I never though possible. I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane, highlighting my music therapy journey from the beginning to where I am now.
8 Songs for Rhythm Sticks
Rhythm sticks are a go-to instrument in our music therapy sessions and classes. They’re not colorful and interesting-looking like some of our other instruments, but they are super versatile and can address so many important skills.
Another benefit of rhythm sticks is that they’re inexpensive, so we always have enough on hand to that everyone can play at the same time, no matter how big our group. We buy these in bulk.
Since we use our rhythm sticks so often, I’m constantly writing new songs specifically for them. It’s been awhile since I shared a song round-up, so here are 8 of my favorite stick tunes for working with children.
“Since When Are You an Introvert?”
It was my dad, of all people, who asked me this question just the other day.
“But how can you be an introvert? You’ve been performing in front of people your whole life. That doesn’t seem very introverted to me.”
That’s when I had to debunk the common misconception that being an introvert means being shy and uncomfortable around other people. I explained to my dad that while I have no problem getting up on a stage and singing, it’s the interaction with many people before and after that completely drains me and necessitates time alone to recharge afterwards.
The Favorite Song Challenge
Can I tell you how excited I am about this week!? We’re getting ready to host Music Therapy Connections’ annual Favorite Song Singalong, which is a free event for families with young children.
The Singalong, which will be held on both Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening, features a variety of our favorite songs (both original and traditional) that we’ve included in music classes over the last year.
One of the reasons I love this event so much is that it allows us to welcome in many new families from the community who haven’t attended our classes before. We also get to see our “regulars” — a big treat since we’ve been on break for the last month.
Add to that the opportunity to share my favorite songs, play our favorite instruments, and make music with lots of excited kiddos…well, it’s basically the recipe for an awesome time.
As I was working on the details of the event this past week, I thought, why not bring a similar concept to Listen & Learn Music? Except instead of sharing only MY favorite songs, I want to hear YOURS. Enter the Favorite Song Challenge.
Slowing Down Summer
Growing up, I loved summer for its perfect blend of laziness and activity. I spent my days sleeping in and hanging out with my friends at the pool, and then, once I was in high school, my evenings were filled with community theater rehearsals and low-key plans with friends.
As an adult, especially the last few years before having kids, summers were a blur. I packed them with full work schedules, gigs, vacations, and obligations to which I felt bad saying no. I barely spent any time in my summer happy place (next to a pool), and let the season slip by because I was so “busy”.
That was my experience even after having kids, as we added all kinds of new activities to the mix. I continued to say yes to work opportunities and performances, even though really, I just longed for weekends completely free of plans.
But this summer is different. I’ve spent the first half of 2017 slowly paring down commitments and work to that which most fulfills me and suits my family life, and now, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I have more white space than plans on my calendar.
“Under the Sea” Adapted for Castanets!
Last summer as I was planning an ocean-themed music class, I thought, “what better song to adapt than a Disney classic that’s perfectly on topic?!” So I did exactly that.
The tune is (mostly) the same, but the lyrics got a little makeover so that now, “Under the Sea” can be used to facilitate castanet playing.
My new version is a bit less wordy than the original, so it works well in an early childhood or music therapy setting. You can also easily switch out “castanets” for “rhythm sticks” and keep the rest of the lyrics the same. I love a great multi-purpose song!
Download the mp3, instrumental track, and chords here.
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