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.
If I Were a Music Therapy Student NOW…
If only we could go back in time and do certain things over again, knowing what we know now. Better yet, having the resources we have now. The years I spent in graduate school studying music therapy (2004-2006) seem like ages ago; SO much has changed in our field, in technology, and the world as we know it.
Recently I’ve received a few emails from students preparing to begin their music therapy studies, and this is the most common question: “What can I do while I’m in school to prepare my career as a music therapist?”
It’s fun to put myself in their shoes and — armed with the knowledge and experience I’ve gained after being in the field for all these years — come up with a list of all the things I’d do as a music therapy student in 2014.
- Start your digital music collection. And by digital music, I don’t mean audio files; I’m talking sheet music, lead sheets, and scores. If possible, purchase in digital form (I love musicnotes.com) so you don’t have to spend half your life scanning. Been there, done that, no fun.
- Find a music reader app that works for you. As a music therapy student/intern/professional, you will most likely have an iPad or similar tablet device on which to access your music. I use a combination of GigBook, the Musicnotes app, and Ultimate Guitar depending on the song type and the context in which I’m using it.
- Play, play, play that guitar. I didn’t even pick one up until the summer before I left for grad school, and after I learned the basics, I only played when I had to. Big mistake. I was able to muddle my way through practicums using my limited guitar skills, but I really had to buckle down when I started my internship. The best way to motivate yourself is to choose songs you really want to learn for yourself, not just the songs you have to learn. That being said…
- Learn and memorize the basic repertoire. There is a pretty universal set of songs for each population that you’ll need to know and play fluently, so save yourself the stress and just go ahead and learn them. Your professor probably has lists, or you can find them on various music therapy sites online. A few years ago, I made a list of music therapy songs I think everyone should know.
- Know your piano chords and be able to play from a lead sheet. Yes, everyone has to take keyboard skills as part of the curriculum, but those classes won’t necessarily prepare you for when a client wants you to play his or her favorite song on the radio without ever having heard it. I strengthened my keyboard and improv skills by choosing songs I know and like, finding the lead sheets (lyrics and chords only) on my Ultimate Guitar app, and then accompanying myself while singing.
- Write your own songs. I cringe when I think about how much time I wasted searching for songs and material to use in my practicums during grad school. Why didn’t I just come up with my own? The only way to become a great songwriter is through lots and lots of practice, so get to work.
- Get as much hands-on experience as you possibly can. Offer to volunteer at practicum sites and ask your professor how you can get involved with/assist/observe other music therapists in the area. Not only is this great for resume-building when it comes time to apply for internships, but it will also help you get a better idea about which population you want to work with in the future.
- Ask for instruments and materials as gifts. This is one thing I actually did start doing as a student, and I’m so glad I did. Each Christmas and birthday, I would make a wish list of music therapy equipment, and by the time I headed off to internship, I had a trunk full of supplies without ever having purchased anything myself.
- Start making connections online. Reach out to the music therapists who are doing work you admire and are inspired by, whether via email, Facebook, or just reading and commenting on their blogs. You never know where these connections might lead down the road. As a professional who has been around for a while, I still love to hear from students who are interested in my work and have questions for me. It’s exciting to watch our field grow, and get to know the students who will one day be our colleagues.
Fellow music therapy professionals: what would YOU add to this list? Please share in the comments. And if you’re a music therapy student, I envy you just a little for having so many resources and pieces of technology at your fingertips!
Civil Wars, I’ll Miss You
I fell in love with The Civil Wars’ music the first time I heard their song “20 Years” randomly on Pandora in 2011. I couldn’t get enough of their album Barton Hollow, and my bandmate and I added several of the songs to our set list.
When they posted on their Facebook page last year that they were taking a break but coming out with new music, I crossed my fingers they would stay together and bought the new album when it came out.
I was crushed to read the announcement on their website this past week.
“The Civil Wars—made up of duo partners Joy Williams and John Paul White—have regretfully decided to permanently part ways. The difficult decision ends a tumultuous period for the four-time Grammy Award-winning band, who has been on indefinite hiatus since late 2012.”
Joy and John Paul are amazing musicians in their own right, but there is something magical about the music they made together. It’s not often that I am as inspired and affected by a musician or group as I was by them. It’s not obvious when you listen to the songs I share here, but my personal songwriting has most definitely been flavored by The Civil Wars.
Nothing lasts forever, but this band is one thing I wish had lasted just a little bit (or a few more albums worth) longer. They did leave us with a parting gift — the saddest version of “You Are My Sunshine” I’ve ever heard. I guess it’s quite fitting.
You can download the song for free on their website. After you’ve done that, go check out my first (and current) BIG musical inspiration, Jason Mraz’s new album. It’s beautiful and uplifting…the perfect music to help cope with a painful breakup.
Summer Projects
I’ve always been a sucker for a full plate, both in the literal sense (ha!) and when it comes to work-related projects. I wasn’t sure if that would be the case this summer, since last year at this time I was on maternity leave and work was not a high priority. But it turns out that the opposite has been true, and I’ve been lucky to strike a good balance between family time and music therapy.
After our weekend summit in California last month, my Music Therapy Pro colleagues and I have stepped up our game. We added a brand-new feature called “Four Corners” in which each of us shares a monthly audio or video post on our area of expertise. My corner is called The Business Savvy Clinician, which is all about running a private practice (both inside and outside of the therapy room). While I love collaborating with Michelle, Kimberly, and Matt on topics for the podcast, it’s also fun to have my very own space over there.
The four of us also launched a new mini podcast called “MT in 3” that will air monthly via the Music Therapy Round Table. This podcast is free, and features a 3-question interview of a different music therapist each month. We had so much fun coming up with a HUGE list of potential interviewees, and then writing the 3 questions that each of them would answer. Michelle Erfurt is our roving reporter, so she’s the lucky one who gets to talk to all of the people we consider to be “rockstars” in our field. The first episode features Mallory Even, who is one of my own personal music therapy idols. You can listen here as well as subscribe on iTunes.
And this is my own personal project, which I’m super excited about. In the last month or so, I’ve had a lot of fellow music therapists ask for advice when it comes to creating and running early childhood programs. Since I have a lot of experience (I’ve been doing it since grad school!) I decided to create a 3-hour online CMTE course on this topic. This is a very labor-intensive project, which I know first-hand after creating The DIY Guide to Writing, Recording, and Sharing Your Music for Kat Fulton’s Music Therapy Ed, but like that one, it has been a labor of love so far. You can learn more and get updates about the course here.
There are actually a few other projects on my plate at the moment, but I need to keep those under wraps just a little longer. I’ll share them with you soon, though! What are you up to this summer? Are you tackling big things, or taking it easy? (Also, sidenote: how is it almost August already!?)
Let’s All Wave Hello
One of the things I love most about offering classes is that when I plan them, I end up writing a bunch of new songs. My current early childhood class was no exception; I wrote no fewer than 10 new songs for it! So over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing them with you.
Since these songs were written for babies and toddlers, they are on the simple side. I feel like now that I have a kiddo of my own, I have a much better grasp on what types of songs and activities will go over best with this age group.
Parker is really into waving lately, as are his little friends. So naturally, our “hello” song is all about waving to everyone. Each child in the group gets a turn to be the recipient of the waves, and all the children get lots of opportunities to practice their waving.
At the risk of sounding corny, I have to say that it is magical to watch a child begin to understand what words mean and associate them with actions. The words “hi” and “hello” are automatically met with a wave from Parker these days, which is the goal when I sing this song in my classes.
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We All Will Sing Together
I’ve been on a bit of a summer songwriting hiatus this month, so it was nice to sit down and spend some time writing and recording over the weekend. My baby & toddler class starts next week, so I have a lot of work to do!
This particular song is actually one that I prepared for a music therapy student several months ago. We are working on singing, playing, and performing movement tasks TOGETHER (as opposed to taking turns), so I chose to adapt a familiar song that she could readily pick up and join in.
I’ve used this same song for lots of music therapy applications as well as in my early childhood classes. It’s great for playing a particular instrument, or multiple instruments, and of course, it’s easy to add or substitute other kinds of motions.
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I’ll See You in the Morning
Turning books into singable stories has been a little hobby of mine since my first music therapy practicum in grad school (almost 10 years ago!). I’ve used dozens and dozens of them in my work as a therapist, and now they are serving double duty in my newest career as a mom.
Parker was gifted an entire bookcase worth of books when he was born, and we have been steadily adding to the collection throughout his first year of life. Just this afternoon I was going through them and realized a baby-centered singable story series might be a great addition to the blog…especially since so many of my music therapist colleagues have recently become moms!
One of my very favorite books in Parker’s collection is one that he received for Christmas from my mom. It’s called I’ll See You in the Morning, and it made me cry the first time I flipped through it. The story is sweet, the illustrations are lovely, and best of all, it makes for the perfect singable story.
Singing this book has become a part of our bedtime routine, and I’ve started sharing it with other moms too. We have quite a few “going to bed” books on the shelf, but this one is definitely our favorite. What’s yours?
MTRT Summer Summit
For the 4th summer in a row, my Music Therapy Round Table colleagues and I devoted a few days to what has come to be called the “MTRT Summit” — where we focus on brainstorming and planning for the following year.
This year we convened in northern California, where our newest colleague Matt Logan lives. While we spend a good majority of the long weekend sitting around his table with our laptops open, we did find time to enjoy some delicious food and wine (in Napa Valley, no less!).
I arrived early Friday evening, so Matt and I went out to dinner and started doing a little preliminary planning for the weekend. Michelle and Kimberly’s flight had been delayed, so they didn’t end up getting in until 11 pm. I was already asleep by the time they got to the hotel! We had a super early morning on Saturday, which began with coffee and breakfast at a yummy diner in Berkeley.
Next we met up with Matt’s friend and photographer Tara, who took photos for our website and promotional materials. She was great to work with, and it was a bonus that we got to hang out on the water at the same time. I can’t wait to see the photos after she edits and sends them next week.
After the photo shoot, we headed to Matt’s house for a long day of work. And by “work” I mean bouncing ideas off of each other, setting goals for the year, coming up with new projects, and enjoying the awesome company. We only see each other in person twice a year, so it hardly feels like work even though we are super productive and our brains hurt afterwards.
It’s really amazing how much we can accomplish when we are all together in the same room! One of the very best parts of our yearly summit is recording the podcast, since we’re used to doing it via Skype. Being able to read each other’s cues, make eye contact, and really just chat without having to worry about any potential technical difficulties is a breath of fresh air. This month’s episode is one of my favorites.
The best way to avoid the afternoon slump? A delicious lunch followed by a quick wine tasting. When in Rome, right? We were all ready to get back to work following our excursion, and ended up ordering pizza later that night because we were on such a roll and didn’t want to stop working. That’s when you know you love what you do :)
Our last full day together! Matt made us a delicious breakfast on Sunday morning, and then we picked up right where we had left off the night before. We finished recording both podcasts, mapped out our new content, did quite a bit of writing, and came up with topics for the entire next year. Whew! We more than earned an afternoon in Napa Valley, which is where we headed as soon as our work was done.
Matt took us to his favorite winery, Judd’s Hill, where we learned all about lots of different kinds of wine (and of course, tasted them too). The weather was gorgeous and it felt so wonderful to sit in the sun. The view wasn’t so bad either — miles and miles of vineyards with mountains in the distance. Next we had lunch and then enjoyed another tasting at a different spot before heading home.
All good things must come to an end, and for us, that was the next morning. Michelle, Kimberly and I headed to the airport at 5 am to catch our flights, but not before taking one last photo. I had a looooong day of flying, followed by a two hour drive home. After being away from my son Parker for the first time since he was born, it was pretty sweet to see him when I walked through the door.
I can’t wait to share with you everything we have planned for Music Therapy Round Table and Music Therapy Pro this year. Not only that, but our summit inspired me to make some big plans for my own personal businesses (Listen & Learn and Music Therapy Connections) as well. Now I just need a few more hours in each day to carry them all out! ;)
One Season to Another
I’ve been yapping on and on about my new digital songbook collection, Spring Into Summer, yet I’ve completely neglected to share the title song here on the blog. I wrote it just off the heels of our final winter snowstorm (I lost count back in January), when spring and summer seemed like a very distant ray of sun in a frozen tundra. I shudder at the memory.
I wanted to write a song that covered both seasons, since lots of kiddos consider the end of the school year to be summer — even though it doesn’t technically begin until the end of June. In all honesty, I’m with them! My birthday is on June 5th, and I always think of that as the kickoff to my favorite season.
What song(s) do you sing as the seasons change and school comes to an end? And on that topic, can you even believe that there are mere days left until summer break? Just about all of my students have a countdown going, and they are sure to update me every time I see them. Not that they are keeping track or anything!
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Can’t Hold It Back Anymore
It just doesn’t seem right to be singing about frozen fractals when it’s 80 degrees out. But that didn’t stop the melodious strains of “Let It Go” from flowing out of my fingertips today…multiple times.
Don’t get me wrong: I love the movie Frozen and just about every song in it. I am thrilled that so many of my students love these songs, too; we’ve enjoyed singing/playing/piggybacking them for the last six months. But I know it’s time to move on when Parker’s babysitters (who are within earshot of my studio) ask how in the world I’m not tired of Frozen music yet.
I’m a firm believer in repetition, and I don’t tire of songs very easily. I’m happy to ride the wave of whatever music is most popular with my students at the moment. We’ve been through phases where all we did was Wicked, Adelle, Les Miserables, “Happy” — really, I could go on and on with this list. Frozen, however, will go down in the record books as THE longest phase yet.
I’m really proud of my students for our work with these songs in both music therapy and lessons, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved that I’ll have a break from them (the songs, not my students!) when the spring session ends in a little over a week. Especially “Let It Go”. The one that haunts my dreams at night.
Early Childhood Classes are BACK!
Last winter, back when my baby was still incubating and I had all the time in the world, I launched an early childhood class based on my Listen & Learn song collection. The class was SO much fun and I loved every second of it, but unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to offer another session…until now.
This time around, I’m teaming up with my colleague and fellow music therapist Katey Kratz to offer not one, but TWO classes. I’ll lead the 6-18 month class, and then Katey will lead the 18 month-3 year old class later that morning. Both classes are designed to instill and foster a love of music as well as develop basic skills for both musical growth and daily life.
The summer session of Listen & Learn for Little Ones will begin on Tuesday, July 1st and run for five weeks. Each class is 45 minutes in length, and the total cost of the session is $45 (that’s less than $10 per class).
Katey and I are super excited about our class location: Capital City Music (formerly Samuel Music) right near my studio on the west side of Springfield. There will be plenty of room for kiddos and their caregivers to spread out, play instruments, and move to the music.
The full scoop can be found right here. Or if you’re local to Springfield and ready to register, go for it. It’s going to be an awesome summer filled with two of my very favorite things in the world — music and little ones!