Thanks so much for watching my video and heading over to Listen & Learn Music! I’m excited to share “The Toolbox Song” with you because it truly is one of the most effective tools in my musical toolbox (pun totally intended).
My students and clients request this song time and time again, and I am always happy to oblige, because it allows me to work on so many goals at the same time.
To receive the mp3, instrumental track, lyrics/chords and facilitation guide, simply enter your first name and email address below. Then I’ll deliver the download link to your inbox.
Until Next Time
Once upon a time, I had a rotation of 2 or 3 hello and goodbye songs that I used across the board. But now that Katey and I write a new class curriculum every few weeks, I have amassed quite a collection of greeting songs.
This is one of the simpler goodbye tunes I’ve written. In fact, I realized this morning that I didn’t even have it written out (it only took a few minutes to create a quick lead sheet since the chords are nice and easy), nor do I have an instrumental track since I just used bare-bones ukulele accompaniment.
Clap, Clap, Clap
I wrote this song a WHILE back, but it’s kind of perfect that I waited until now to share it with you. My baby girl has been attempting to clap her hands for the last couple of weeks, and then this morning in music class, she totally nailed it!
This song was written for young children to encourage them to clap their hands, which is pretty obvious when you listen to the song! The lyrics are to the point, and allow each child in the group to take his or her turn clapping.
Clapping is such a joyful skill, especially as children first master it and then practice nonstop. And Mia will surely get LOTS of practice, as her big brother loves to instruct us to clap for him after his singing and dancing performances :)
Members of Listen & Learn Plus! have instant access to this album. Membership includes just about everything in my collection along with tons of helpful resources — come over and join us!
My Top 10 Music Therapy Instruments
Any music therapist will tell you that it’s really hard to pick favorites when it comes to instruments. After all, they are our tools, and we choose them based on the specific needs and goals of our clients.
That being said, there are definitely certain instruments I tend to gravitate to more often than others. And since I frequently receive emails from students, interns, and new professionals asking which instruments I recommend, I’m sharing them here with you. I left off the very basics (shakers, tambourines, rhythm sticks, jingle bells, etc.) as those are a given.
Click Like This, Clack Like That
We bring out castanets quite often in both our classes and music therapy sessions, which means I’m always writing new songs to help target all the goals they can address. This is one such song: it gets those fingers moving, and it also touches on the concepts of high and low.
This song is included in my songbook collection, Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum. The download contains the notated sheet music (as opposed to just the lyrics and chords) along with the full and instrumental recordings.
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!
Streamlining My Digital Life
As you may remember reading earlier this year, 2016 is all about self-care, simplifying, and streamlining. I spent the last few days concentrating on that 3rd “s” word, and the result is what you are looking at right now.
I’ve been at a crossroads for quite some time when it comes to my online presence. Between this blog, my private practice, my personal site, and my podcast, I was starting to feel like an octopus trying to manage it all.
Not only that, but I wasn’t sure how to move forward with Listen & Learn Music. Since starting this blog almost 8 years ago, I’ve used it as a space to share the songs I write and my professional journey — along with my personal journey, too.
But as Listen & Learn Music has grown and become a resource destination, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the blog to serve as the landing page anymore. So I took a big leap, and now listenlearnmusic.com leads you directly to the store. That way, people in search of songs can quickly find what they are looking for without having to search through tons of blog posts. And people who want to read the blog can still easily do so, since there is a link right at the top of the page.
Mainly, though? I wanted to feel more comfortable continuing to write anything I want in this space without feeling like I always have to relate it back to my work. I mean, I usually do that anyway since my work is such a huge part of my life, but I needed that sense of freedom. So I renamed the blog, rewrote my about page, and gave myself permission to make this place mine.
Will I still write about my songs? YES. They are the heartbeat of this blog. Will most of the content here be tied to music therapy and my professional life in general? YES. But I’m excited to write more about what’s going on inside my head and heart, no matter what the topic.
Thank you, as always, for continuing to read as this site has evolved throughout the years. I always welcome your feedback, especially when it comes to the content you would like to see here. Feel free to drop me a line or leave a comment.
Making New Families Feel Welcome
Attending a group activity for the first time can be intimidating — not only for the child, but for the parent or caregiver as well. I speak from experience, having done this many times since becoming a mom.
It can be especially intimidating to walk into a room where everyone else knows each other and has attended the activity before. This happens time and time again in our music classes, since many of our families attend sessions on a regular basis. The adults become friendly with each other, the children get along well, and we as instructors get to know everyone.
So when a new family comes to music for the first time, there are a few things we can do to help them feel just as welcome and part of the group as everyone else.
Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star
As much as I love writing new songs for my music therapy sessions and classes, I think it’s equally important to share familiar songs my clients, students, and their families can sing right away. Sometimes I like to put my own spin on traditional repertoire, but in this case, I kept the recording very straightforward and simple: just the melody and ukulele accompaniment. Depending on the setting, I’ll add sign language or simple movements, though many times we’ll sing this as a cooldown at the end of a session or class.
Everybody who uses music with children should have a solid catalog of familiar tunes, and I’ve found this one to be the most often requested (including by my son, who has been asking for the “Twinkle Twinkle book” every night at bedtime lately). I’ll continue sharing more of the familiar songs I’ve recorded — sprinkled in with lots of originals, of course. What are your favorite songs to pull out when you want to get everyone singing along?
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!
Five Swirling Snowflakes
My little students should be experts at counting to 5 by now, because we have included a song for that goal in every single one of our early childhood music classes since August. So far we’ve counted apples, pumpkins, and trees.
This session we’re counting snowflakes, and of course we have our visuals (laminated snowflake cutouts) to accompany the song. Our kiddos love gathering around and pointing to each snowflake as we count, and then they ALL want to help take one away at the end of each verse. It’s times like this that I’m happy to have my intern, Alisabeth, by my side managing the chaos ;)
We have another counting song in the works for our next session, which begins in mid-February. At the end of the summer, it will be so neat to have an entire collection. In the meantime, if you want a colorful and musical resource for counting to 10, check out this resource I put together a few years ago.
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!
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?