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.
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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.
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Six Months of Breastfeeding (2.0)
Technically I could call this post “almost eight months of breastfeeding” because, you know, second baby…but let’s pretend I wrote this two months ago just like I did the first time around.
The thing about breastfeeding for the second time is that you actually know what you are doing from the get-go. I get that all babies are different, and Parker and Mia are no exception, but I learned from my rookie mistakes and have had a much smoother experience this time.
I thought Parker was a good nurser, but Mia has been an even better one since day 1. Her latch was perfect from the start, and she is nowhere near as distracted as he was (even at almost eight months). She took longer to get used to bottles, but now she takes them like a pro when I’m at work.
My body has also gotten much better at feeding, for which I am so grateful. I had some supply issues with Parker a few months in, and I dealt with plugged ducts on a weekly basis. This time around, I can count on one hand the number of plugged ducts I’ve had, and my supply has been great. Having both experiences has helped me to really appreciate the smooth sailing with Mia — especially since life is busier and more demanding now.
We introduced Mia to solid foods at a little over six months, and so far, she’s not a huge fan. If she’s anything like her brother, she may not come around for a while longer, which is okay. I’m not going to sweat it like I did with Parker, because now I know that eventually she’ll enjoy eating food and for now, she gets everything she needs from breastmilk.
I’m planning to continue nursing at least through Mia’s first birthday, if not longer. Parker self-weaned at 15 months, on the same day I found out I was pregnant. Since I’m pretty sure there are no more babies in my future, I won’t mind going even longer with Mia.
We don’t have much downtime other than when she’s nursing, so it’s wonderful to have quiet moments built into our day. The bittersweet thing about the second baby is that now I know how fleeting this time is, and every second I spend snuggling and rocking her is so precious.
2016 Stays for 366 Days
It’s okay, you can admit it: you’ve been waiting with bated breath for this song, right?! :) January is more than halfway over, but better late than never. I actually had the song written two weeks ago, but my voice is just now getting back to normal after my never-ending bronchitis.
“2016” is the 9th — yes, you read that correctly! — song I’ve written to represent the current year in my calendar song collection. It’s my 3rd one to fall on a leap year, which gives me an excuse to change up the lyrics a bit.
I know I said I didn’t have any hard and fast resolutions for 2016, but I’m the kind of person who is very motivated by big goals…which is why I have my entire editorial calendar of new songs lined up through September.
I’m pretty excited to get into a regular blogging routine, though I’m giving myself permission to take a break from it when needed (see: my 2016 motto).
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have access to all of the above in our shared Dropbox folder. Membership includes just about everything else in my resource library and collection — come over and join us!
5 Productivity Apps I Use Every Day
I hate to admit it, but my phone is my lifeline. I rely on it for communicating with my family and colleagues throughout the day, managing my calendar, consulting my to-do list, completing business tasks, and so much more.
I know I’m not alone here, which is why I want to share 5 of the apps I use daily when it comes to work and productivity. These have been game changers for me, so hopefully you’ll find them helpful, too.
1. Slack (free)
This tool has basically become the command center of my business. Katey and I started using it when we became overwhelmed by the DOZENS of emails we were sending back and forth every day, and now our entire team uses it to communicate with each other.
We share files, use the IM feature instead of text so that we have searchable records of our conversations, and take our meeting notes there. Slack is completely free, and you can access it on the computer as well as all mobile devices.
2. Word Swag ($3.99)
I used to create all of my social media graphics and images on the computer, but now that I’m opening my laptop less and less, I have become a HUGE fan of this app. Word Swag lets you add text and graphics (such as a logo or watermark) to their collection of lovely images and backgrounds, or you can upload your own photos.
The variety of fonts and styles is truly impressive, and you can customize the colors and layout however you want. It’s really fun to use, but let me warn you that it can be addictive! Totally worth it, though, for the end result.
3. Google Drive (free)
In addition to Slack, my team also uses Google Drive to share documents back and forth and collaborate on them. I have multiple Google Drives for the different areas of my work and life, and this app lets me manage and access all of them in one place.
I can quickly pull up spreadsheets of class rosters when I’m getting ready to lead a class, look over documentation my intern has submitted, check my team’s availability when I’m scheduling a new client, and the list goes on.
4. Music Teacher’s Helper (free)
For almost 5 years, I’ve been singing the praises of this software for managing my studio and private practice when it comes to scheduling, invoicing, billing, tracking expenses, and so much more. The app is so powerful that I can do most of those things right from my phone.
When I have a few minutes of downtime, I can input payments, reconcile sessions and lessons, email invoices to clients, and check the studio calendar.
5. Wunderlist (free)
I have experimented with SO many different ways to keep track of my to-do items, including pen and paper, documents on my computer, and a few different apps. But this one is my favorite, by far.
It’s a great list-making app, especially since you can set up multiple lists (I have one for all my different work projects and one for home) and you can share lists with people and assign tasks (I share one with Katey for business-related to-dos). You can also set reminders in your calendar for specific items.
This is definitely not an exhaustive list of my favorite productivity apps, and I’m thinking there will be a Part Two to this post in the near future. Which apps are your favorite for helping streamline your life?
Simplify, Streamline, Self-Care
I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions or set any big goals for 2016. Instead, my business partner Katey and I came up with a motto. “Simplify, Streamline, Self-Care” are the three words that will dictate my approach to work and life this year, which will be quite a change from 2015.
I’m taking great care to identify my priorities and eliminate the noise, but that’s really hard to do when you’re dealing with a business, a toddler, and a baby. I feel like my life is a giant puzzle whose pieces are scattered all over the floor, and I’m trying to fit them all into place. It’s hard to even know where to start sometimes.
So I pick up a piece at a time, examine it, and try to figure out where it fits into the puzzle that is my life. Some pieces get tossed back into the pile because they just don’t have a place right now, which was hard at first but has gotten easier as I’ve dedicated myself to this motto.
I finally finished reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I want to devote a day in the near future to applying that method in my house. I think it will really help me simplify and streamline my life in general, because I am one of those people who gets anxious when the space around me is cluttered. And the act of tidying up my house totally counts as self-care, because I am a total organization nerd.
2015 was a rollercoaster year that left little time for considering my own happiness and well-being, and I’ll admit that it’s still not easy putting those things at the forefront. But I’m at least taking the first step by being more mindful about it, and continuing to come back to my motto when I start to feel overwhelmed.
Cabasa Bossa Nova
The cabasa is one of those instruments I use all the time, in both my music therapy sessions and classes. Its tactile qualities make it interesting and fun for kids to play, and doing so is great for working on those fine motor skills.
This is only the second dedicated cabasa song I’ve written (here’s the first), though I definitely see more in my future since it’s such a frequently used instrument. I will warn you, sometimes I get this song stuck in my head…and it’s reeeeally hard to get out ;)
The cabasa makes a great passing instrument, which is how we use it in our classes since we don’t have enough for every child. It’s an excellent exercise in sharing, since most kids aren’t too happy to give it up — we may need to invest in a full set of cabasas eventually.
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have access to all of the above in our shared Dropbox folder. Membership includes just about everything else in my resource library and collection — come over and join us!
Making CONNECTIONS Every Day
I used to be self-conscious of the fact that my company offers other services in addition to music therapy. As much as I loved providing typical and adapted lessons as well as early childhood classes, I wondered if that somehow made Music Therapy Connections less than other music therapy practices.
But it didn’t take long for me to realize that providing those other services in and of itself was a hugely effective way of advocating for music therapy. Families who brought their children for piano, voice, or guitar lessons would often ask what music therapy was all about, and they were responsible for the bulk of my referrals. The awareness of music therapy in my community was growing as a result of their word of mouth.
This started happening in the early days, when my studio was still located in my home. Moving our business into the music store in 2014 was a gigantic step for music therapy, because now the store management and employees were witnessing and referring our services.
But the game-changer was having a sign — easily visible from a highly trafficked street — with the words “MUSIC THERAPY” on them.
For my partner Katey and I, our role as “connectors” when it comes to advocating for music therapy has increased tenfold since turning our private practice into a brick-and-mortar operation. At least a few times a week, people walk through our doors wanting to learn more about music therapy and how it can help their family member.
Our families who are there for services other than music therapy are seeing and learning about what we do as music therapists just by being in the building, and they in turn are connectors as well.
This is Social Media Advocacy Month in the world of music therapy, and I’m proud to be playing my part by spreading the word not only on a local level just by going to work every day, but also by blogging and posting on social media about our field regularly. You can help, too:
If you’re a music therapist yourself:
- Develop your music therapy “elevator speech” and give it. Often.
- Share information about the work you do with friends and colleagues in related fields.
- Give our your cards and brochures to anyone and in anyplace you think might benefit from music therapy.
- Seize every opportunity to participate in fairs, expos, and other public events.
- Take to social media! Use and follow the #mtadvocacy hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to stay current with the latest happenings.
If you have benefited from music therapy or know someone who has:
- Spread the word about what music therapy can do.
- Share music therapy success stories with your healthcare providers and other professionals.
- Support and attend music therapy-related events and programs. Invite your friends.
- Give referrals to others who you think may be able to benefit from music therapy.
Be sure to visit the Music Therapy State Recognition website for more posts about #MTadvocacy throughout the month of January.
Out of Reach from Little Hands
One of the biggest frustrations we faced during early childhood classes at our previous location was the placement of our instruments and equipment. We were constantly redirecting our students away from the guitar, which sat in a floor stand when we weren’t using it, and trying to keep little hands out of the drawers of our rolling instrument cart.
So when we moved to our new studio and had complete control over how the room was designed, our first priority was to structure the room in a way that instruments and equipment were out of reach and no longer a distraction for everyone.
We considered a few different solutions, and then one day Katey sent me a photo of the slatwall that was hung all over the walls of the music store in which we were previously located. Why didn’t we think of that sooner!?
So we picked up sheets of slatwall from our local hardware store, which were easy enough to drill into the walls and then stock with accessories for hanging and storing, which were purchased here.
We also installed guitar wall mounts in our group rooms and in our individual lesson/session rooms so that our guitars and ukuleles could be kept out of reach.
Our storage solutions have not only allowed us to keep our instruments and equipments better protected, but they have also made lots more floor space for our students and families during classes. This has come in very handy as our numbers have grown quite a bit since moving to our new studio!
Hibernation
I am a self-confessed homebody. If there is no reason I absolutely have to leave my house, I don’t. Those few years where I worked solely from home were pretty wonderful, and as much as I love my current work situation, there have been times when I miss being holed up all day long.
But lately I have sort of a love/hate relationship with being home. The combination of an infant, toddler, and really cold weather makes it much easier to just stay in, which can lead to honest-to-goodness stir craziness. The hours tick by incredibly slowly some days, especially when there are messes, tantrums, and an overload of noisy toys involved.
I feel so, so lucky to have so much time with my kids during the week, but last Friday when the babysitter came over and I met a friend for coffee, I came home afterward feeling like a new woman. I’m beginning to realize that this chapter in my life may eventually change my homebody tendencies…after the winter is over.
Today was the first time it actually snowed and stuck on the ground, and I was happy not to have anywhere to go all day. When Zach took the kids to a playdate this afternoon, I took a nap on the couch, worked on my computer, and then had a long hot shower — only to change into new pajamas.
It was the kind of hibernation day I loved before having kids, and I enjoyed every second of it. And tomorrow, I’ll enjoy a different kind of hibernation day, complete with footie pajamas, applesauce all over the kitchen table, many trips to the potty, and a couple episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse thrown in for good measure.
{Guitars & Granola Bars} Episode 48
It’s hard to believe almost an entire year has gone by since launching this podcast. I have loved getting the opportunity to interview 48 amazing guests and learning so much about parenthood and music therapy along the way.
But in accordance with my motto for 2016, I’m taking some time off from the podcast before launching season 2. Knowing this would be the last episode for a while, I reached out to someone who I greatly admire as a clinician, business owner, and person in general. I was thrilled when Jamie George agreed to be my final guest of season 1, and as expected, this is one of my favorite interviews yet.
Jamie talks candidly about the premature birth of her son and how it affected her, providing music therapy to him in the NICU, and life as a business owner after becoming a mom in Episode 48 of the Guitars & Granola Bars podcast.
Be sure to check out the show notes page for more information about Jamie, along with links to the resources she mentions in the episode. And so that I can better plan Season 2 of the podcast, please take just a minute to answer 4 quick questions.
Three Words for 2016
Happy New Year! Another year has flashed before my eyes, as they all seem to do. I’ve been looking forward to sitting down and writing about my thoughts on 2016, but first I want to reflect on 2015.
At the start of what has proved to be the craziest year of my life thus far, I vowed to give myself more grace. However, I managed to do just the opposite: instead, I tried to be superwoman right out of the gate.
In the midst of settling into a new house and growing a baby, I took on two huge projects (creating a podcast and writing a songbook) all while growing my studio and private practice exponentially. I pushed myself mercilessly, staying up way too late and getting up early to fit it all in. I tricked myself into thinking I could handle ALL THE THINGS, and that I wasn’t sacrificing my own health and sanity.
But in December, I was done. The lack of sleep, along with the pressure I’d been putting on myself for the past 11 months, caught up with me, and I spent pretty much the entire month dealing with bronchitis, a bout of the flu, and just generally feeling terrible.
So at the end of the month, when my business partner Katey and I got together to plan for 2016, we came up with three words that would become our motto for the year:
Instead of adding to my plate, I’m putting things on the back burner. I’m focusing only on what matters most, with my family and health at the top of the list.
2015 was a lesson in what happens when self-care goes out the window, and it’s one I don’t want to learn again…ever. There will come a time when I’m not caring for an infant around the clock, when I’m sleeping through the night, when I have chunks of time for myself; but that time is not now. 2016 is about embracing that reality and adjusting my expectations accordingly.
I’m not setting any hard and fast resolutions or goals for myself this year, but there are some things I’d like to do that fit well with my 2016 motto, including:
- exercising regularly
- eating healthier
- going to bed earlier
- writing more often
- spending less time scrolling (internet/social media)
Every time I sense my proverbial plate starting to get a little too heavy, I’m coming back to those 3 words: simplify, streamline, self-care. I have a good feeling about this year, and I’m excited to see where it takes me. As I say every year, thanks for reading and coming along for the ride!