This is where all of my interests and skills are combined for one purpose: to make peoples’ lives better through music. Whether it’s through my original songs, serving my community through my business, or singing with my children, this is my favorite place to share my musical endeavors. Thank you for visiting, and I hope to get to know you better.
Performances
Events
Videos
Members of Listen & Learn Plus have access to ALL of my songs, resources, and session plans. Learn more about the perks of membership, and get a free sneak peek inside.
This is the book that will help you shape your music therapy career in order to make more money and live your ideal lifestyle.
Written by Listen & Learn Music creator Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC, Innovative Income for Music Therapists combines her own experiences with those of other trailblazing music therapists to illustrate the virtually endless ways in which to generate revenue using your unique training, knowledge and skills.
Let’s Connect on Instagram
Getting Intentional About Self-Care + Off the Path to Burnout
I left you hanging in my last blog post, which told the story of what happens when an introvert (me) stops practicing self-care. To summarize: I buried myself in my work, and while I was going through the motions of self-care activities, I wasn’t truly caring for my mind, body and soul. The outcome: I found myself headed down a scary path towards burnout.
Thankfully, I realized where I was headed before I actually got there, and I took action to correct course. Turning around at that point was no easy feat, but I knew that if I didn’t, all areas of my life would suffer even more than they already had.
I took a holistic approach to self-care, and I took it seriously. Here are the things I did to get back to a healthy place mentally, physically, and emotionally.
What Happens When an Introvert Stops Practicing Self-Care
To tell this story, I need to take you back in time to last summer. I had just taken a HUGE step in my self-care journey by deciding to no longer teach lessons, so it seemed like I was on the right track. Add to that the mornings I dedicated to biking (my preferred choice of exercise) plus the personal development podcasts I listened to regularly, and I felt like a master of self-care.
I also felt like there was no better time to tackle one of my big goals: creating a course about how introverts can thrive in an extroverted career like music therapy. I sat down and created an editorial calendar — one that I thought was extremely reasonable and also allowed time for other pursuits.
As I dove into course creation mode, I realized just how big of an undertaking it really was. Since I was so passionate about the subject matter, I wanted to put 100% into every aspect of the course. Creating the outlines and writing the chapters were the most stressful tasks, though I loved every minute.
What I didn’t realize was the extent to which creating this course was taking priority over everything else in my life. I’ve let this happen in the past, so you’d think I would have noticed the signs…but I didn’t. I was going through the motions of riding my bike, taking care of my children, and attending to other work responsibilities, but my heart wasn’t in it. I wasn’t letting all of those things do what they should have done for me, which was to nourish my body and soul.
{Song Video} Polar Bear
Tap-tap-clap, tap-tap-clap…that’s the body rhythm pattern that accompanies the verses of this catchy winter song. We change things up during the chorus, rubbing our hands together to create that swishy swimming sound as the polar bear glides through the sea.
New Habits for the New Year
This year, instead of setting huge goals for myself, I came up with some habits I wanted to instill that are in line with my word for 2018 — JOY. None of these action items are brand new to my life, but the difference is that now I’m holding myself accountable.
12 Goal-Based Winter Songs for Children
Nonetheless, winter is a very real thing here in the Midwest, and for some reason, seems to last longer than any other season. So all of my winter songs get LOTS of use in my classes, groups, and music therapy sessions.
I know I’m not the only one in this boat, which is exactly why I decided to bundle up my favorites into one nice little package. Although all of the songs are based around the theme of winter, they also address a variety of goals, objectives, and skills.
Just a few include simple sign language, counting, speech goals, instrument play, academic concepts, body part identification, sequencing, and gross motor movement.
I dubbed this Winter Song Week, because all week long, I’ve shared a video featuring one of the songs from the pack. You can learn more about them as well as listen in the videos below!
While winter definitely is not my favorite topic, singing about it is much better than complaining ;) Oh, and if you live in a place where ice and snow isn’t an issue, consider me a tad bit jealous!
Namaste on New Year’s Day
Happy New Year! I wanted to start 2018 with a little zen, so I snuck off to yoga class first thing this morning. Little did I know that my kids would be eagerly waiting for me to get home so that we could have our own living room yoga session.
My Word for 2018
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if my word for 2018 would reveal itself to me before the New Year began. As I shared in my previous post, I didn’t want to overthink or force it — rather, I decided to trust that it would come naturally.
And it did! Last night while my husband and I were watching a movie, it popped into my brain as clear as could be. JOY. There it was! The funny thing is that it was SO obvious, and has come up multiple times this month in different ways.
Reflecting on 2017
I hope you had a very merry Christmas! This holiday season has been intense and busy, but also filled with joy and celebration. There’s nothing like experiencing the magic of the holidays with my children, especially at their current ages of 2 and 4.
I’m so thankful to have this week before the New Year to spend at home with my kids before we all get back into the swing of school and work. Although they have definitely kept me on my toes (and busy cleaning up endless messes), I’ve had some time to reflect on the past year.
A Grateful December
November was a really good month. Even alongside some professional challenges, the stress of traveling, and a very full calendar, I felt more grounded and happier than usual. I can only attribute that to writing my 23 Days of Gratitude series, which forced me to focus on the wonderful things in my life every day leading up to Thanksgiving.
{23 Days of Gratitude} Day 23 – Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving! Today is the culmination of 22 daily expressions of gratitude, and it is only fitting that my final post focuses on my inspiration for this series.
There will be plenty of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie today, but most importantly, I’ll be surrounded by family. I’m grateful that Thanksgiving gives me the opportunity to celebrate the very best part of my life.