by Rachel | Uncategorized
Who else is with me when I say that Glee just might be the most entertaining show on television right now? Judging from the response I received after posting about the return of Season 1 on my Facebook page the other night, I’m not alone in that sentiment. Hard-core fans of this show call themselves “gleeks” – and I just might be one of them!
There are so many reasons why I love this show. The first is that I’m a six-year show choir veteran, so every episode serves up a big heap of nostalgia (although thankfully, I never had to deal with teen pregnancy, sabotaging gym teachers, or blue slushies thrown in my face).
Next is obviously the amazing music. The variety of songs, from Lionel Richie to Wicked to Kelly Clarkson, keeps the show fresh and relevant. Not to mention the ridiculously talented cast. Lea Michele, who plays Rachel, is in my opinion the highlight of the show (and NOT just because I really like her character’s name). My husband, a closeted gleek, and I rewound and replayed one of Rachel’s songs from Tuesday night’s episode three times.
Another thing that makes Glee so appealing is that it’s hilarious. The absurd plot lines and one-liners are reason enough to watch this show. It’s definitely not for young children, but I do have quite a few teenage students who are big fans. We always discuss the latest episode at the start of our lessons, and I think the fact that I watch increases my “cool” factor with them :)
Speaking of cool, I love the fact that this show has made singing, show choir, and Broadway musical numbers cool. Too bad Glee wasn’t around when I was in high school! I never thought I’d see the day when “Tonight” from West Side Story and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked – the Glee versions, of course – would show up on my husband’s iPod (just don’t tell him I told you that).
What about you? Do you watch the show? If not, I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I highly recommend it. And now I’ll take off my Glee sandwich board (this post has made me sound like a walking advertisement for the show) and go to class. Happy Friday, everyone!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Ok, so I won’t be lounging on some tropical beach during my spring break, but I do have some pretty exciting plans. I have four lessons to teach after school today, and then SPRING BREAK ’10 will officially begin! Let me tell you all about what’s going down these next two weeks.
Radio Interview
This weekend will be pretty low-key; I’ll have some time to relax before I kick into high-gear. The ball will start rolling on Monday morning, when I head to Capitol Radio Group to record a radio interview with Bob Murray, who hosts a weekly 25-minute program called Focus. I’ll be talking about music therapy, my blog, projects I’m working on, and my involvement in the Springfield community. The show will air next Sunday (Easter!) morning on 5 local radio stations, including my personal favorite, WDBR.
Recording My CD
Right after the interview, I’ll hit the road for St.Louis, where I’ll be spending the rest of the week recording my CD at Jupiter Studios. I’ve chosen ten songs to include on the CD, so hopefully we’ll have time to finish all of them. It’s going to be an intense 4 days: I’ll be in the studio from 12 pm to 10 pm (yes, ten straight hours!) working one-on-one with Jim Callahan, the owner and head sound engineer. Since I’m an early riser, I’ll probably spend my mornings at Panera, fueling myself with caffeine and blogging about my recording experience. Be sure to follow me on Twitter, as I’ll also be tweeting frequently throughout the week!
Jet Setting
My school’s spring break officially ends on Sunday, April 4. I’ll be back to work for a quick two days, but then Zach and I are taking off to San Antonio for five days of much-needed R&R. This trip is courtesy of AAA, for whom my husband works as an insurance agent. Every year, they send their top agents somewhere warm for a fabulous vacation…so far we’ve been to Palm Springs, Hilton Head, and San Diego. I tell Zach that he can never leave the company, because they treat their employees so well (and I get to benefit from Zach’s hard work!).
Back to Reality
Life will get back to normal on April 12, when the regular schedule resumes. However, at that point there will only be eight weeks of the school year remaining, and those always fly right by. Heck, I’m already planning my summer music therapy and lessons schedule!
There is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks, and I hope the same is true for you. Even if you’re not on Spring Break (or if there’s no such thing for you), at least the weather is getting nicer. That’s enough for me. Have a beautiful Friday, and if you haven’t already, go enter my giveaway to win the newest Model Me Kids “Going Places” DVD, which features musical narration by yours truly!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Last summer I had the privilege of writing and recording songs to narrate the Model Me Kids video, Model Me Faces and Emotions (read my post about it here). It was a tremendously fun project; in fact, I was a little sad when all the work was done and the songs were completed. So you can imagine my how thrilled I was to be invited to narrate yet another new video.
I spent a good part of January and February working on new songs for Model Me Going Places, a video in which children model appropriate behavior in a variety of community locations. I am so happy with the finished product, which I received in the mail earlier this week!
Included is the DVD, CD-ROM, and the lyrics for all 12 songs. There is even a free iPhone/iPod Touch app that goes along with it, for which I provided piano melodies. My one and a half-year-old nephew loves it, and he’s too young to be biased!
Here are both DVDs (front and back), which are wonderful additions to my collection of resources. Many of my students were already familiar with Model Me Kids before they even knew about my involvement; one little boy came to his piano lesson shortly after the first DVD came out and said, “Miss Rachel, I listened to you on TV. You’re famous!” Hey, if I’m famous in the eyes of my students, then I’ve reached the top :)
You can order any of the Model Me Kids DVDs (there are 9 altogether) from their website, and be sure to go download the free iPhone/iPod Touch app!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Those of you who are non-musicians might not find this particular “Friday Fave” very interesting, but I’ve been spending so much time using this program (and loving *almost* every minute of it) lately that I just had to share. Sibelius
– named after Finnish composer Jean Sibelius – is a scorewriter program that can do just about anything you could think of when it comes to producing or editing sheet music.
I actually have my mom to thank for my version of Sibelius. My contribution was my student discount, which she was able to apply when she purchased the program a few years back, during my undergrad days. I’ll say that the price is definitely a bit steep, but it has been worth every penny. I used Sibelius to create all of the sheet music for my songbook, after all!
The learning curve for this program is also steep, especially if you are used to more basic software like Finale Notepad (which is what I used prior to Sibelius). But the key is sitting down and experimenting; the more you use it and explore its features, the easier it gets. Here are some of the cool things you can do with Sibelius:
- Scan in printed sheet music and edit it
- Input music using a microphone, keyboard, or other MIDI instrument
- Record playback and turn it into an audio file
- Create worksheets (comes in very handy for studio teachers like me!)
And the list goes on and on. I haven’t even touched half of the plug-ins that come with Sibelius, but I’m hoping to get around to that someday. In the meantime, I’ll stick with my current project: creating sheet music for each and every Listen & Learn song written thus far. I compose my songs in lead sheet form, but now that I have more and more orders coming in for sheet music (you can place yours here), I decided to convert my entire library. I’ve been using Sibelius so often that I’m even having dreams about it, but hey, I could think of worse things :)
by Rachel | Uncategorized
When I was in elementary school, I only got in trouble for one reason: reading Babysitter’s Club books during class. Not much changed throughout the years; I always had books in my desk, locker, and bookbag, because I loved to read and couldn’t get enough. It frustrated my parents to no end, because they would buy be a new book and I would finish it that very same day.
I still love to read, but these days, I just don’t have the time. How sad is it that I’ve had the same two books laying on the nightstand for two months now? But late last fall, my friend Kimberly S. Moore (a.k.a. Music Therapy Maven) introduced me to a whole new way of “reading” books. Audible is a website that sells audiobook downloads (either a la carte or through a membership) and I am hooked!
As an AudibleListener Gold member, I receive a monthly credit which allows me to download almost any audiobook I want. Not only is the price completely reasonable ($7.49/month for the first 3 months, and then $14.95/month thereafter) but the selection is amazing. I have a huge wish list of audiobooks I plan to download in the coming months.
The #1 reason I love audiobooks is the convenience factor. I listen to them on my iPhone, which I have with me all the time. A few of my favorite times/places to listen: the gym, getting ready in the morning, in the car, while I’m cleaning or cooking, and the list goes on. I recently finished the book Getting Things Done
by David Allen (which I’d recommend to anyone), and right now I’m in the middle of Excuses Begone!
by Wayne Dyer.
I’d be curious to hear if anyone else has discovered the beauty of audiobooks, or if you stay true to traditional printed books. Any Kindle readers here? I’d love to try that out, although I’m not sure how much I’d love having one more thing to carry around with me.
Well that does it for this week’s edition of Friday Faves! Thinking ahead: let me know if there’s a song you’d like to see/hear featured in my Sunday Singalong video…it could be one of my own or a cover (think Jack Johnson, Justin Roberts, Laurie Berkner, Jim Gill, etc.). It’s a happy, sunny day here, and I hope the same is true for you! See you again soon.
