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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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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Hello, New Year!
Happy New Year, friends. I hope 2015 is off to an amazing start for you. This year has already been a bit of a whirlwind for me — we ended 2014 by moving into a new house and started 2015 surrounded by lots and lots of boxes waiting to be unpacked. Needless to say, I’m just a little exhausted from my “vacation” as I head back to work today.
As I sat down to write this post, I started thinking about the big work-related goals and plans I’ve made in years past. A new song every week, a new blog post every day…yep, those were definitely in the pre-baby era.
Instead of making resolutions this year, I’m going to continue focusing on the goals I’ve been working toward over the last few months: 1) continuing to grow my early childhood classes; 2) establishing a new contract with our local hospital; 3) expanding the Music Therapy Connections team; and finally, 4) writing more songs and creating more resources for music therapists.
But in 2015, I’m going to give myself more GRACE as I work towards those goals. Last year was full of changes and growth and challenges, and I know that I stretched myself a little too thin at times. Now with a baby girl (!) on the way in May, I need to be kind to my body and soul both for her sake and for my own sanity.
I’m grateful to have a place to share my thoughts with you, as well as all my creative endeavors. Thank you for taking the time to read, and I hope this year brings you nothing but the best. Up next: a brand-new song for and all about 2015!
Christmas Song Round-Up!
It’s holiday crunch time: those last few days before winter break when I try to fit in as many seasonal songs and activities as I can, because I know I won’t have the chance again for an entire year. I love, love, love Christmas time, especially the music, which is why I have been inspired to write so many original songs over the year.
I’m doing my best to make use of them, many of which I’m sharing with you below in case you need a little extra inspiration in the remaining days before Christmas.
It’s hard not to “catch the spirit” when you work with children every single day. This time of year feels so magical, which I try to capture and put into words with this song. It’s a great way to share in the excitement of this time of year with my little ones.
I wanted to write a song that includes all of the winter holidays, and one thing that they have in common is the lights — whether they are on the Christmas tree or glowing on top of lit candles. “Lights, Lights, Lights” has a mellow feel to it, which is a nice contrast to most of my more upbeat seasonal songs.
“Red and Green” is a song I’ve been having so much fun singing and playing in my holiday-themed early childhood music class this month. We use red and green colored shakers so that there is a visual component to the song, and take turns holding up and shaking the correct colored shakers as we sing about each.
You know I love a good counting song, and aside from the old standby, “The 12 Days of Christmas”, I rely on this one. “Ten Twinkling Trees” is all about picking out the perfect tree, and also works on counting backwards from 10 to 1.
My students seem to have a LOT of extra energy right about now, which of course is completely understandable! That’s where a movement song comes in handy, especially one where they can help come up with fun ways to work out all that energy. “Spread Christmas Cheer” is set to the tune of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, and I always sing the traditional lyrics at the end of the song.
One of the big topics of discussion with many of my students is how they will spend their holiday break. This song is a great way to get the conversation going, and prompt them to share their plans for spending time with family, traveling, or whatever other fun things they’ll be doing over those two weeks I won’t see them.
We all know the traditional song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, but there aren’t many songs out there dedicated to those other reindeer that help fly Santa’s sleigh. I wrote two songs just for them, both of which are included in this little album (which, as a bonus, also comes with the lead sheets and instrumental tracks).
I have just 5 more working days left to enjoy these songs along with the other many classics we all know and love. Let’s all go forth and “spread Christmas cheer” with all these musical goodies!
A New Addition on the Way
Almost exactly two years ago, I shared the news that I was expecting my first baby. It’s hard to believe, because that feels like just yesterday, but I’m thrilled to announce that baby #2 is coming in May!
I wrote all about finding out the news on my family blog, where I plan to journal occasionally about this pregnancy just as I did with my first.
My due date is May 26th, just two weeks shy of my son Parker’s 2nd birthday. I had heard that pregnancy isn’t exactly a walk in the park with a toddler underfoot, but I wasn’t quite prepared for just how exhausting and challenging it would be. After a not-so-pleasant 1st trimester, I’m so happy to be feeling better now that I’ve reached week 17.
The most common question people ask is “are you hoping for a girl?” — and in all honesty, I really don’t care either way. I know it sounds cliche to respond that it doesn’t matter as long as the baby is healthy, but it really is true.
That being said, we WILL be finding out the sex of the baby…on Christmas day! We have a cute plan for a gender reveal with our families, and I’ll be sure to share the results with you.
It’s been a whirlwind pregnancy thus far, and the whirlwind continues as we are closing on a new house at the end of the week. Never a dull moment around here, I tell you. I’m looking forward to getting settled in and regaining some semblance of normalcy.
I’ll be posting baby news here every so often, but mostly I want to focus on the gigantic pile of new songs I’ve been stockpiling these last couple of months. Thanks as always for reading and your generous support!
Rudolph & Co.
Every December, I get to sing reindeer songs with lots of excited children at my church’s annual Breakfast with Santa event. This year just might have been the most fun yet, because my little boy was old enough to attend. He joined right in with the rest of the kids, playing instruments and singing along.
There are a few key ingredients to our reindeer singalong: castanets and rhythm sticks (because how else do you make reindeer hoof sounds!?) and the perfect tunes. “Do You Hear the Reindeer?” and “The Other Eight Reindeer” are two original songs that I wrote just for this occasion, and we round out our singalong with the classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.
Since I get so much use out of these songs every year, I bundled them up — along with their instrumental tracks and notated lead sheets — into one little album. Listen to the songs below, and click through to get it for yourself.
Here We Go Again! (Baby #2 Arrives in May)
Confession: I was ready to have another baby mere months after Parker was born. Luckily, Zach was the voice of reason and convinced me that we should wait until at least his 1st birthday, and the logical side of me agreed.
We ended up waiting until July, since June was full of birthdays and travel (including Zach’s 10-day trip to Brazil). Those first two months were disappointing, especially since it only took one try with Parker. But I chalked it up to the fact that I was still breastfeeding a couple times a day, and life went on.
In mid-September, I could tell something was up. Parker was refusing to nurse, which was very unlike him, and I just felt…off. So the morning of September 16, I took a test. The second line wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been two years ago, but it was there!
Zach was still at the gym, so I dressed Parker in a “big brother” shirt I had bought MONTHS ago, and we waited for him to come home. When I heard the garage door open, I set up the video camera on my phone to record his reaction — but it was a total fail because he didn’t even notice the shirt! I had to point it out to him, and then I got the reaction I was waiting for.
I was so excited, I could barely focus enough to teach my morning early childhood class. Afterwards, I headed straight to the lab to have my blood drawn; I wanted to make sure the test was telling the truth. A couple hours later, my aunt (who is also my OB’s nurse) called with the results: I was definitely pregnant!
It’s almost as if Parker knew, because that very day he weaned completely. We made it to 15 months, and I would have loved to keep going, but he was done. I had been preparing myself for this day to come, and had I not been pregnant, it would have been a million times harder.
Keeping quiet about my pregnancy was a much bigger challenge this time around. I wanted to tell everyone from the very beginning, but I kept my lips sealed to all but close friends and family. After two and a half months, I am SO relieved that the secret it out!
Next up, all about my 1st trimester. (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t pretty…neither literally nor figuratively.)
Elmo’s Halloween Adventures
By the time October 31st rolled around, I completely lost count of how many times Parker had already worn his Elmo costume. My mother-in-law bought it at the beginning of September, and every time Parker saw that red fur, he’d beg for it. Needless to say, we didn’t have to twist his arm to participate in a little pre-Halloween photo shoot with Zach’s cousin Matt.
On the afternoon of Halloween, Zach and Parker met up with our friend Jose Carlos and his twin boys to do a little indoor trick-or-treating. Thank goodness they had that option, because we decided it was too cold to go visit our neighbors like we had originally planned.
Zach treated Parker to his first taste of Halloween candy, and that little bit of sugar really got him going (as evidenced by his feat of strength below). All in all, Parker’s 2nd Halloween was a big success for everyone — he slept reeeeally well that night :)
Thanksgiving Song Round-Up!
The holidays are here! This time of year is so much fun — I love the anticipation of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the fresh start that the new year brings. With only a few days left before Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a quick round-up of the songs I’ve written to celebrate the first big holiday of the season.
I came up with this adaptation of the holiday classic “The 12 Days of Christmas” several years ago, and it has been my go-to Thanksgiving tune ever since. The download also includes an instrumental version and PDF visual to accompany the song.
At Thanksgiving time, it’s easy to get caught up in turkey talk…which is why I always try to include songs about the real reason we are celebrating. “Count Your Blessings” is a great way to start a conversation about the things we’re thankful for, and on top of that, there’s some counting practice thrown in ;)
Hands down, the best part about Thanksgiving is spending time with family. This song is devoted to that very topic.
Thanksgiving is as good a time as any to work on identifying those colors. I sing about several of the foods and objects we see on Thanksgiving and their colors in this song.
This song asks, “What are you thankful for?” I use it as a conversation starter with my older students, and it has spurred some wonderful dialogue about the blessings in our lives.
Okay, okay, so I have to include at least one totally turkey song. I’m not sure why, but this one is ALWAYS a hit with my younger kiddos. I included it in my current early childhood class, and we have so much fun singing and counting down the turkeys.
I only have 5 working days left to make the most of these and the rest of my Thanksgiving songs. If you have any favorites to add to this list, please feel free to share them in the comments!
#AMTA14: Conference Recap (With Pictures)
Last week I took a solo road trip to Louisville, KY for the 2014 AMTA national music therapy conference. As all conferences seem to go, it was a complete whirlwind of meetings, meals with friends, sessions, and exhibiting. Although it seems like just yesterday I was attending my first one in San Diego, I now have 6 national conferences under my belt!
I arrived in Louisville on Wednesday evening, and the first item on my agenda was our annual Music Therapy Pro “fancy dinner”. This tradition started back in Cleveland ’10, and is one of my favorite parts of conference. Kimberly, Michelle, Matt and I ate at Proof on Main, which was ridiculously good. Almost as good as the company and conversation.
Thursday morning came quickly, since my technology committee meeting started at 8 am. I’ve served on this committee since 2011, and this was by far the most productive meeting we’ve had yet. There are some exciting things coming in the next year, which we actually wrote and filmed a video about during our meeting. Details coming soon!
The majority of my time was spent in the exhibit hall, where Music Therapy Pro hosted a booth for the 4th year running. This is the best place to scope out familiar faces (including that of my friend CJ Shiloh, owner of Annapolis Music Therapy).
We were super lucky to score a prime location in the hall, right between Metro Music Therapy and Music Therapy Book Club. Music Therapy Ed was just down the row, as well. When I wasn’t visiting with my lovely booth neighbors, I was reuniting with old friends, making new ones, and spreading the word about all that Music Therapy Pro has to offer.
Michelle is our roving reporter, and spent much of her time interviewing music therapists for our mini-podcast, MT in 3. Among her interviewees were Jody Tucker, inventor of the Guitten, and Kat Fulton, curator of Music Therapy Ed.
Even though I’ve been to quite a few conferences at this point, I still feel like a relative newbie in the music therapy world. So it’s pretty awesome to get stopped in the hall by people who have either read my blog, connected with me via social media, or have otherwise crossed paths with me virtually. Shout-out to Caroline West, who I ran into on the way to the exhibit hall Thursday night.
Of course, I have a list of people I can only hope to rub elbows with at conference — the “rockstars” if you will. Petra Kern is one of those music therapists who inspires me with her innovative and creative work; I had the chance to visit with her during the exhibit spectacular on Thursday.
Petra is a professor at the University of Louisville, and I had the opportunity to meet with a group of her students during conference this year. We spent an hour discussing private practice and music therapy entrepreneurship (a topic I could spend days taking about) for their senior project. That was a conference highlight!
Speaking of conference highlights, there were lots of others: lunch at Hillbilly Tea with Michelle, Mallory Even, and Sarah Seo (our friends at Metro Music Therapy); Julie Palmieri’s “Enhancing Your Online Presence” session; music therapist mama talk with too many colleagues to name; lunch with Illinois task force members to discuss upcoming state recognition endeavors, and late-night powwows with my lovely roomies, Michelle and Kimberly.
All in all, it was a fantastic conference that left me exhausted, fulfilled, inspired, and recharged. I’m grateful to AMTA and the music therapy community for reminding me how exciting it is to be in this field, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference in Kansas City!
{Mama Moment} Joining in the Fun
The following is a guest post by Gretchen Chardos Benner, MSW, MT-BC. Gretchen is the owner of Piedmont Music Therapy, whose mission is to engage, empower and accompany individuals to reach their goals grounded in the frameworks of music therapy and social work.
My children remind me of the best ways to get a job done while having fun and learning a lot in the process. Let’s take my recent guitar project as an example. Having my private practice’s office within my home grants opportunities for my children to learn more about the field of music therapy. Replacing the six strings on my work guitar was a long overdue task.
My children’s precious involvement made the routine task more of an accomplishment when it was restrung and tuned. My son (17 months) and daughter (3 1/2 years) transformed a work project into a time of bonding. We counted the strings, pegs and our fingers. We talked about what Mommy does with music therapy at a school or hospital and other children I teach through private music lessons. We compared strings with my primary instrument, the viola, and wove them in with some of their favorite requests, Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, Wheels On The Bus and family creations about our dog.
As my children grow and develop, their curiosities and personalities help remind me to include them more often with kid-friendly projects related to work. They enjoy learning and exploring newly purchased instruments, improvising or working through compositions for clients. We have more time spent with each other while identifying colors, sharing, and being respectful with others’ properties.
Music therapy is the field that I initially joined as a student in 2003 at Duquesne University. A year later my path crossed with my future husband because of our neighboring music instrument storage lockers and experiences through Spiritan Campus Ministries. With our current musical interests and pursuits, there is often music in our home.
I’m enthused that our children have been able to learn about my work by joining in the fun of counting inventory such as egg shakers or sorting visual aides. Our children have opportunities to learn about buzzing their lips to play their “trumpets” (recorders and harmonicas), preparing posters with song lyrics for active music engagement interventions or organizing the materials used for my business.
I am grateful for my children’s curiosities and eagerness to join the fun of preparing items for work and packing instruments for group contracts. They joyfully remind me to be proud to be their working momma.
Are you a music therapist with a “mama moment” to share? If so, please submit your story, along with a photo and short bio, via email.
Off to Louisville for #AMTA14
November is one of my favorite months of the year, because it means I get to reunite with all my music therapy friends at AMTA national conference. I always look forward to a few days away, recharging my batteries and getting pumped up about my career field. I always come home completely inspired and ready to dive back into work.
This year’s conference is being held in Louisville, KY — a city I’ve never visited but am looking forward to seeing. Bonus points that it’s close enough to drive! I’m heading out this afternoon and meeting up with my good friends Michelle, Kimberly, and Matt for our annual “fancy” dinner.
Thursday will be spent in meetings and preparing our Music Therapy Pro booth in the exhibit hall, which is where I’ll be spending the majority of my time for the duration of conference. This year will be pretty chill compared to years past, when I’ve presented, attended trainings, and had other big responsibilities.
Last year I brought an entire entourage along with me to conference, since my son was only a few months old and still nursing. It was a lot of fun having them there, but I didn’t really have the full conference experience since my time and attention were divided. As hard as it will be to leave my husband and toddler, I’m excited to have a few days to myself. (Remind me of that on Saturday when I’m missing Parker like crazy and counting the minutes until I get home!)
I have yet to look through the conference program and decide which sessions I want to attend, but hopefully I’ll have a chance to do that before they start on Friday. At this point, I’m just happy to be all packed and ready to hit the road.
If you’re heading to Louisville, I hope to see you there. Be sure to stop by the Music Therapy Pro booth in the exhibit hall and say hi. Coming up next: my 6th annual AMTA conference recap!