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.
#AMTA13 is Next Week…What!?
I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow November arrived and that means it’s almost conference time. It will be my 5th year attending the American Music Therapy Association’s national conference, which is in Jacksonville, FL this time around.
I’ll be arriving on Monday night, because on Tuesday I’m attending the NICU-MT institute; can I tell you how excited I am about that? I already have my trip to Orlando booked for February, when I’ll be attending the clinical fieldwork training componment of the NICU certification at Florida Hospital.
The rest of my schedule while at conference is jam-packed as usual, between serving on the technology committee, being an exhibitor at the Music Therapy Pro booth, presenting on a panel, and — this is a first — finding time to hang out with my family.
I had always planned on bringing my baby to conference, and since I’m going a couple days early, my mom and husband are tag-teaming on Parker duty while I’m busy doing conference things. My mom will fly there with us on Monday and leave on Wednesday morning, and then Zach will arrive on Wednesday evening and fly home with us on Saturday. Gone are the days of easy-breezy solo traveling, but I’m looking at this as an adventure!
At last year’s conference, I was several weeks pregnant (but not far enough along to make it public knowledge) and feeling pretty queasy. While this year brings new challenges (like finding time to nurse and pump), I’m pretty sure it will be much more enjoyable.
I can’t wait to see all my music therapy friends in Jacksonville…will YOU be there?
Video Download: 10 Days of Thanksgiving
My first Thanksgiving post of the season! I love, love, love this time of year and the songs and activities I have to go along with it. The 10 Days of Thanksgiving is my favorite of all, which is why I blog about it year after year.
This time around, I decided to do something new; I took the visual aide I created and set it to the music, as you saw above. My students love using the iPad in our sessions, so now I can play the video if I don’t feel like using the good ol’ fashioned paper version.
Every time I sing this song, I’m reminded of all the goals and objectives that can addressed: counting, memory recall, reading and sight words, singing along, attention to task, and more. In addition to all that good stuff, I love that it gets everyone excited for the holiday.
The video is available on YouTube, but members of Listen & Learn Plus! get the download (so that it can be used without an internet connection) — along with an instrumental version so that you and your students can sing without me.
Get immediate access to this, plus over 100 other songs, lead sheets, visual aides, and valuable resources for only $9.99 per month…learn more about becoming a member or just subscribe below. You won’t be disappointed!
Members, click here to access this post.
Stir Them in My Halloween Stew
The inspiration for the song “Halloween Stew” goes back over twenty years to my elementary school days. My music teacher introduced us to “Witches’ Brew” by Hap Palmer, and it has stuck in my head ever since. I first adapted his original song a few years ago, here’s a video I made of my version.
Recently I decided to revamp it again, but this time around I opted for an alphabet theme. It’s a great opportunity to help my students practice identifying letters of the alphabet and naming objects that start with those letters. Of course, I had to create a visual to go with the song; the illustration gives you an idea of what it looks like.
I recorded this year’s version on the fly and included only the letters A through D, while the visual aide goes up to the letter H. It’s intended to be more of a starter resource for you to take and adapt on your own or with your students. The mp3, lead sheet and visual aide is available to members of Listen & Learn Plus! for download.
Get immediate access to this, plus over 100 other songs, lead sheets, visual aides, and valuable resources for only $9.99 per month…learn more about becoming a member or just subscribe below. You won’t be disappointed!
My House: An Interactive Songbook
It’s been awhile since I’ve been this excited about a music therapy resource. When Lisa Barnett of Songs to Grow On first contacted me about her new songbook, I was intrigued…but it wasn’t until I received my copy in the mail that I realized just how useful it would be in my practice.
My House is an interactive songbook designed for children with autism which lets them share their stories about where they live, who they live with and the special things and people that are important in their lives. The book has spaces on each page to add a photo and corresponding label, giving children and their families the creative license to choose which elements of “their house” will be featured.
I didn’t waste any time putting the songbook to use, and I had just the student in mind to try it out with for the first time. Knowing that I have a super busy schedule between taking care of my baby and working full time, Lisa generously sent me an already assembled version of the book — all I had to do was add photos provided by my student’s family.
My student, her mom and I had so much fun singing about “her house” for the first time last week! Each page allowed an opportunity for her to name the person/room/item in the photo, and then find the word to match. After we labeled each photo with the correct word, we went back through and sang the song together.
The song itself, which Lisa wrote and recorded professionally, is singable and super catchy — my client was still singing it after we were finished. You can listen to it here.
Again, I have to tell you just how impressed I am with this new resource. The book is beautifully designed in a sturdy binder, the pages are in protective plastic sleeves, and the word menu comes laminated with plenty of velcro to attach word labels. My students have a tendency to be hard on my materials, but I don’t have to worry about them damaging this one!
I’ll be writing more about my experiences with using My House in my music therapy sessions, but I wanted to share it with you right away so that you can check it out for yourselves.
Black Cat
During a recent music therapy session, a student’s mom mentioned that her daughter does well with “echo” songs (she used the “Mahna Mahna” song as an example, and even played a video of my student singing it with her sister).
I did some googling to find a few echo songs we could use in our sessions, and came across “The Other Day I Met a Bear” — that old camp song just about everyone knows. But after taking a look at the lyrics, I wasn’t crazy about them and decided to use the song as a basis for my own echo song.
Since Halloween is just around the corner, I traded a bear for a black cat and went from there. It’s a short, simple song with basic lyrics and an easy-to-sing melody: perfect for addressing the objectives of repeating after me and singing with me.
Down By the Beach
“Down By the Bay” was one of the first songs I was required to memorize during my internship, and I used it ALL THE TIME in sessions to work on all kinds of goals: rhyming, fill-in songwriting, echoing, and other language skills. It’s a go-to song because it’s versatile, fun to sing, and can be adapted for a variety of age groups.
So as I was putting together a beach-themed music therapy session recently, this song came to mind as an excellent piggybacking opportunity.
I’m always a little nervous that my students will only sing the original lyrics, but luckily that hasn’t been the case with this one! We’ve been having fun singing about all things beachy in the middle of fall :)
Fall Freebie Alert!
If you aren’t familiar with Tuned Into Learning®, then there is no better time to hop on over and check out this amazing resource. Their collection of music for special education is unparalleled, and I am beyond flattered to have the opportunity to offer one of my songs as a free download today. Get the “Fall, Fall, Fall” mp3, instrumental mp3, and lead sheet here.
Tuned in to Learning® helps special learners ‘tune in’ through the powerful medium of music. They offer a wide range of special education songs and curriculum designed by an Autism Specialist and team of Board Certified Music Therapists. Their songs, books, videos and downloads help teach essential skills to students with autism, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, brain injury, learning disabilities, speech disorders, orthopedic impairments, and other special needs.
It’s awesome to have so many high quality options when it comes to finding new material for my work with kiddos who have special needs. After you download my fall freebie, be sure to check out all that Tuned in to Learning® has to offer!
The Dolphin Song
I’m doing a little happy dance as I type this post, because I finally have a new song to share after a several months long songwriting hiatus. I can’t tell you how good it felt to go through the process of writing, recording, and most importantly, using this song in a music therapy session.
The Dolphin Song was written specifically for a student who is quite fond of these sweet mammals, though it could be easily adapted to feature any sea-dwelling creature. In the song, I pose the questions “where is the dolphin swimming to?” and “who is the dolphin swimming to?” because my student is working on answering “wh” questions.
When we sing the song, I use a stuffed dolphin to “swim” to different places and people, and then I ask my student to answer the questions posed in the song. There’s room for lots of creativity and endless verses, though in my version, I only included a few and left two blank for the listener to fill in.
The Body Song
I’m currently on maternity leave, and some of my colleagues have been kind enough to share their expertise through guest posts throughout the summer. The following comes to you from Michelle Erfurt, MT-BC.
This is the “Body Song” from Psalty’s Singing Song Book. Just like the name implies, the song talks about the purpose of a few body parts… the eyes, brain, heart, arms and ears. In this video, I share the song and an activity tip.
Listen to the recorded version here.
Michelle holds a B.S. in Music Therapy from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania as well as nationally recognized Board Certification. Michelle has also completed specialized trainings in Neurologic Music Therapy and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Music Therapy. She currently provides music therapy clinical services at Treasure Coast Hospice. Michelle also serves as the Membership Committee Chairperson and Student Advisor for the South Eastern Regional chapter of the American Music Therapy Association. Michelle also shares her tips for other music therapists through her blog, Music Therapy Tween.
Another Beautiful Day
I’m currently on maternity leave, and some of my colleagues have been kind enough to share their expertise through guest posts throughout the summer. The following comes to you from Wade Richards, LCAT, MT-BC.
“Another Beautiful Day” was a song improvisation I created for one of my groups consisting of young adults with special needs. It was just after lunch, everyone was trying to keep cool in the air conditioning, while the weather outside was sunny and hot. I noticed that some students seemed to have that “I have a headache” kind of look going on. You know, not as perky as usual, squinty eyes, hands over ears, insisting on putting their sunglasses on, or heads down on the lunch table.
I decided to lower the sensory bar a bit, so as the students came into the group, I turned off the lights (only letting in the lights from the window, and doorways to come through), picked up a frame drum, and decided we would work on a chant where each student would add in their own phrase about what they like to do outside when it’s a nice day. This was a great way to work on expressive language skills.
Throughout the song I encouraged participation by singing vowel sounds, taking breaths, and incorporating some tension/relaxation exercises. Each person was given a turn to play the drum softly and sing their line about what they like to do outside. After going around to 3 people, I would ask the group questions about what each person liked to do. This was a great way to bring attention and focus to each person in the group during the experience, and also work on memory skills. Using a simple drum pattern to accompany the voice is a great way to chill out on a hot day.
Another Beautiful Day
Another beautiful day.
Another beautiful day.
Let’s go outside and swing on the swing.
Let’s go outside and swing on the swing.
Another beautiful day.
Another beautiful day.
Let’s go outside and walk through the park.
Let’s go outside and walk through the park.
Another beautiful day.
Another beautiful day.
Let’s go outside and swim in the pool.
Let’s go outside and swim in the pool.
Another beautiful day.
Another beautiful day.
Let’s go outside and play in the backyard.
Let’s go outside and play in the backyard.
Another beautiful day.
Another beautiful day.
Wade created “What a Rainy Day” as a follow up experience to “Another Beautiful Day”. Members of Listen & Learn Plus! can read on to hear the song and find out how it can be used to address expressive language skills.
Wade Richards, LCAT, MT-BC received his Bachelor of Science degree in music therapy and applied voice from S.U.N.Y at Fredonia. He completed his internship at the Broome-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) in Binghamton, New York. He has been providing music therapy services in the Greater Rochester, New York area for close to 20 years.
Wade has served as Chair of the Music Therapy Department and Orff-Schulwerk Department at the Hochstein School of Music & Dance, and Program Director of the Trinity Assistance Corporation Blue Ridge Music Therapy Center. Currently, he is an instructor in the Music Education Department at the Eastman School of Music. Wade has pursued additional training in Orff-Schulwerk, Neurologic Music Therapy, and Performance Wellness.