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.
Friday Fave: Festival Time!
Every February, many of my students participate in the Illinois Federation of Music Clubs’ Junior Festival. This will be my fourth year as a member of the federation, and it’s no less nerve-racking than it was when I first started!
At the end of October, I help my students choose their two pieces (one required, one choice) that they will learn, memorize and then perform at Festival. It’s a long few months, and by the end of January, we’re all ready for the big day so that we can move on to some new repertoire.
But all their hard work pays off in the end: last year, two of my students received their first gold cups, meaning they received a “superior” score three years in a row. This year, I have 5 students hoping to receive their first gold cups.
I like participating in Festival for many reasons, both for my benefit and the benefit of my students. Here are just a few of them:
- It makes me a better teacher. My job is to help those kiddos get ready to perform not only for an audience, but for judges who will score their playing. No room for slacking!
- My students are held accountable for their practicing. If they don’t do the work, they don’t get that superior score. It’s funny how motivation levels skyrocket between October and February :)
- It’s an opportunity to learn from other teachers and students. I really enjoy being amongst a group of teachers, all of whom have different teaching styles, and my students can learn from the other participants.
- Performing in Festival builds self-confidence. There’s nothing better than the smile on a student’s face after he or she has played well and received a great score.
It’s going to be a busy weekend for all of us, as they perform both on Saturday and Sunday while I’m busy serving as a room chairman (of two rooms, this year!). I have a feeling we’ll all be much more relaxed come Monday…but until then, wish us all luck!
Listen & Learn for Little Ones
Today really couldn’t get any better: not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it’s also the day that I finally get to launch my brand new class! For over a year now, I’ve been working on securing a space to hold early childhood music classes, and this week has proved that the wait was worth it.
Skill Sprout, a facility here in Springfield that provides educational and therapeutic services for children ages 2 to 18 years of age, has graciously offered an agreement for the use of their space, and it really is the perfect location for my classes — which I’m calling Listen & Learn for Little Ones.
The Listen & Learn for Little Ones curriculum is designed for children ages 0-3 and is comprised entirely of original songs and activities from my Listen & Learn Music collection. Skills that are addressed include (but are not limited to) fine and gross motor movement, rhythmic foundations, intonation, peer interaction, turn-taking, and academic concepts.
The full run-down, along with registration info, can be found here. I’m offering two concurrent sessions at the beginning of March, and then hoping to squeeze in one more round of sessions before Baby Rambach makes his entrance into the world :)
If you’re local to the Springfield, IL area, I hope you’ll consider joining me for my inaugural classes next month! And if you don’t have a little one between the ages of 0 and 3, feel free to pass this link on to someone who does. Oh, and either way, Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ring Ring, Count to 20
As much as I love writing my own completely original tunes, sometimes you just can’t beat a good old fashioned piggyback. I’ve adapted the song “Boom Boom, Ain’t It Great to be Crazy” several times in the past, and now I’m doing it yet again.
My most recent adaptation is for the bells — I use it with handbells like those on the album cover, tone blocks tuned to D and A, and even jingle bells.
Ring ring
We can count to 20
Ring ring
We can count to 20
Singing and ringing is so fun to do
Especially when we’re counting, too
{Count to 20, playing the bell on each number}
I started using this as a counting song way back during my internship, inspired by a student who loved to play the paddle drum. So not only did this song give him incentive to work hard (he got to play the drum on the “boom boom” lines and with each number he counted) but it has come through for me time and again ever since.
Listen, Learn, Love!
Here’s the truth: February is not my favorite month of the year. It’s bitterly cold, and my stress levels are higher than usual since our local National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival takes place over two weekends later in the month.
But February does have its redeeming qualities. For one, it’s short. And two, there’s Valentine’s Day. And while I don’t get too over the top excited about this particular “holiday”, I do like that it gives me an excuse to write and sing songs about L-O-V-E.
This year, instead of complaining about February, I’m choosing to celebrate it. So I compiled some of the songs I’ll be using the most this month, wrapped them in a pretty little package, and called it Listen, Learn, Love!
This 6-song collection features not only the recordings for each song, but also a PDF download with lyrics and chords. Five of the songs are originals I’ve written, and one is an adaptation of a pop song that I use frequently with my kiddos.
Give your month repertoire a boost with Listen, Learn, Love! — at $5 for this package deal, what’s there not to L-O-V-E? Happy February!
Clatter Clatter Clackity Clack
For that same reason, they have been a staple in my early childhood music classes throughout the years. And since I use them so often, it should come as no surprise that I have written and adapted LOTS of songs exclusively for rhythm sticks.
My most recent sticks-inspired song is actually a chant (although it could easily be set to a melody, which I may decide to do in the future). It’s short and to the point — the idea is to have children listen to a rhythm I play, and then play that rhythm back.
Just as I did in the recording, I keep my rhythms very brief and uncomplicated since the children I’m working with are very young. But I could also envision using this chant with older students, making the rhythms more difficult. Another idea would be to ask students to take turns being the “leader” and come up with their own rhythms for everyone else to repeat.
Do you rock the rhythm sticks, too? Tomorrow I’ll be sharing some more songs I use to accompany all that clacking and tapping…see you then!
P.S. Did you know that you can gain instant access to a vast collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music?
You, Me & Music Therapy
In the music therapy world, January is social media advocacy month. During this time, music therapists all over the country use social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and so on) to advocate for our field, share our stories, and spread the word about music therapy. The theme this year is CONNECT — which immediately inspired the song in the video above.
It is, without a doubt, through my connection with my clients that I best advocate for music therapy. By providing them with the best services I possibly can, I’m able to improve their lives and therefore, the lives of their loved ones and caretakers. They (the family members, teachers, health professionals, and other team members) become my biggest advocates because they have seen the power of music therapy first hand. It’s amazing how many people can be educated about music therapy because of a single client.
I connect with my clients mainly through the music I write specifically for them based on their interests, needs and goals. Sometimes, though, we write songs together…or my clients write their own songs with just a little guidance from me.
Each of those songs has a specific purpose, and so does the song in the video, which I adapted from one of my current favorites, “Ho Hey” by The Lumineers. It’s a shout-out/love letter/thank you note/ode to my clients — because they are the reason I advocate for music therapy. They are the reason I have the best job on earth.
Want to read more about social media advocacy month, along with blog posts from other music therapists spreading the good word? Check out this page, put together by Kimberly Sena Moore, who does such wonderful work organizing this month-long event every year. And to learn more about music therapy, visit the American Music Therapy Association.
Sit With Me Maybe
I struggled this week to come up with a song topic. Some weeks I have so many ideas that it’s difficult to narrow them down; well, this wasn’t one of ’em. After sitting at my desk racking my brain for almost an hour, I decided to take a little Facebook break.
I’m so glad I did, because the inspiration for the song was right in front of my eyes. Someone had posted the lyrics to the immensely popular hit “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, which just so happens to be the overwhelming favorite in my studio at the moment.
With my kiddos getting ready to go back to school in a few weeks, we have been really focused on social skills — eye contact, making friends, having conversations, etc. — and I’m very much in need of some new material on these topics. So with a little help from Carly Rae, Sit With Me Maybe came to be:
My husband LOVES the original version of this song. So after I played it for him yesterday, he immediately sent it out to all of his friends who have kids and insisted on playing it for his entire family. I wish he would react to ALL my songs that way ;)
I had a lot of fun trying to recreate the instrumentation for this song, and while it’s far from perfect, I think Carly Rae would dig it. I hope my students do, too!
Note: this song is intended for educational and therapeutic purposes only. It is not meant to parody the original “Call Me Maybe” — it is simply an adaptation geared towards addressing goals such as communication, peer interaction and social skills.
Friday Fave: Tuneful Teens
When I first started out as a new music therapist, the population that intimidated me the post was the tween and teen crowd. I felt very comfortable working with children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, but it took me awhile to feel just as comfortable with the older students.
Even today, it takes more effort to plan a music therapy session for teens than it does for my younger kiddos. They can be just a little harder to engage, not to mention they don’t always think my interventions and activities are “cool” enough!
That’s why I was so excited when my friend and fellow music therapist Amy Kalas launched her e-book, Tuneful Teens: Creative Ideas for Engaging Adolescents in Music Therapy. It is chock full of intervention ideas, song ideas, sheet music, and templates for a variety of activities that are appropriate and engaging for teens.
The book is divided into categories (musical games, instrument jams, social skills, songwriting, move and groove, relaxation) and Amy provides everything you need — step by step procedures, templates, sheet music, etc. — to implement the interventions in your music therapy sessions.
I highly recommend Amy’s book, and also want to give her a shout-out for celebrating the first year of her wonderful blog, Wholesome Harmonies. It has grown leaps and bounds since last year, and I’m excited to watch it continue to do so!
I Can Do It By Myself
A fellow music therapist recently posted on a Facebook forum that he was in search of songs or interventions about performing tasks independently. I commented that I couldn’t think of any off the top of my head, but that it sounded like a great topic for a Listen & Learn song. After all, I have plenty of students with goals related to performing tasks independently. And that’s how “I Can Do It By Myself” came to be.
Naturally, the tasks that I chose to include this song are all musical: playing the drum, playing the piano, and playing the bells. But because the song is so very simple, just about any task (including movement, item manipulation, etc.) can be substituted to accommodate a child’s specific goals.
So many of the songs I’ve written have come about because other music therapists have either mentioned or specifically requested topics. Feel free to send your suggestions and requests my way…coming up with new subject matter every single week can be a bit of a challenge!
Colors All Around
This week’s song topic comes courtesy of my mother-in-law, a special education teacher who works with young children. Every month I make her a CD of Listen & Learn songs to use in her classroom, and she creates amazing visual supports to accompany the songs.
This weekend I asked her what kinds of goals her students were working on, and she gave me a long list. At the top of it was learning the basic colors, and since I hadn’t written a color song in a while, the choice was easy.
Colors All Around focuses on the colors of the rainbow — though I simplified a bit, leaving out indigo and substituting violet with purple. I included three examples of each color and envision the song being used as a sort of “I Spy” game.
When it came to recording this week, I kept it super simple. Guitar and vocals, a throwback to the original Listen & Learn song style. This one is all about the lyrics, after all. Which songs about color are you digging lately?