Can’t Live Without My…Ukulele!

Can't Live Without My Ukulele

I’m currently participating in the #MusicTherapyBlogger challenge, hosted by Julie Palmieri at Serenade Designs. This week’s blogging prompt is to write about something that works in our everyday lives as a music therapist, and I didn’t have to think twice about that.

At 38 weeks pregnant, it’s no surprise that I have a GIANT belly. It has been posing quite a challenge for the last couple months or so, but only in these last few weeks has my baby bump made it nearly impossible to effectively play my guitar.

Enter my lovely little Cordoba acoustic-electric tenor ukulele. I got it as a Christmas gift from my parents a few years ago, and it has been a staple in my music therapy sessions, early childhood classes, and gigging adventures ever since. I also find myself picking it up more often than my guitar when I record my songs, which you might have noticed over the last couple years. I love how easy it is to play, the sweet sound it makes, and now more than ever, it’s compact size.

While I have to wear and play my guitar almost completely on my side (making it really interesting to form chords and strum), My ukulele sits on a nice little shelf, aka my belly, and is so light-weight that I can play for a long stretch without it being uncomfortable. I do use a neck strap to keep it from slipping down.

Ukuleles have become pretty trendy in the music therapy world over the last few years, and I had no problem following that trend. Little did I know just how handy it would become late in my pregnancies.

My Latest Songbook Collection is Here!

Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum Songbook Collection | Instrument Songs for Children

I am so happy to announce that as of today, my new songbook collection — Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum! — is available in its entirety. I have been working SO hard over the last couple of months writing and recording 12 brand-new songs that I think you will love and be able to use with your children, students, and/or clients.

Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum! is a digitally downloaded songbook collection containing 12 never-before released Listen & Learn songs for playing instruments — including rhythm sticks, hand bells, cabasa, castanets, kazoos and more. Not only does the PDF songbook provide the notated melody line, chords and lyrics, but you also receive full and instrumental mp3s for all 12 songs:

“Sh-Sh-Sh-Shake”
“Rhythm Sticks Mix”
“Ring Around the Rainbow”
“Hum a Tune”
“Gather ‘Round the Drum”
“Strum With Your Fingers & Thumb”
“Click Like This, Clack Like That”
“Cabasa Bossa Nova”
“Jingle Jamboree”
“Rainstick Round”
“Lollipop Start & Stop”
“Tam Tam Boo”

Purchasing the lead sheet and mp3s for each individual song would cost you $3 a pop; multiply that by 12 songs and you’re out $36. But since I’m all about sharing the love, I’ve priced Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum! at a mere $12.

With just under a month remaining in the school year, it’s right about this time that your repertoire needs a boost — if you’re anything like me, that is. Whether you work as a music therapist in the classroom or one-on-one setting or you are a music educator, my newest creation might be just the boost you need.

Check it out!

 
(And for even more instrument songs for children, you should take a look at my best-selling songbook collection, Tapping, Shaking, Music Making!)

Gather ‘Round the Drum

Gather 'Round the Drum

Last week, I announced my new songbook — Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum! — which releases on May 5. But I wanted to give a taste of this brand new song collection, so I made 3 of the 12 tunes (along with the sheet music) available when you preorder.

One of those tunes is “Gather ‘Round the Drum”, which I wrote specifically for the gathering drum. This is an instrument that I find myself including in sessions and early childhood classes week after week, because not only do my kiddos LOVE playing it, but it’s a great way to foster interaction and address social skills.

This song is a fun way to prompt everyone to come to the drum, and then from there it’s easy to adapt the lyrics so that the children have a chance to play the drum in all kinds of different ways.

Do you use a gathering drum in your own classes and sessions? If so, I hope this song comes in as handy for you as it has for me in the last few weeks I’ve been singing it. Grab your preorder copy of Ring, Sing, Strum & Drum! here.

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?

Learn more about Listen & Learn Plus

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Drum

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Drum Album Cover

During a brainstorming session for an upcoming early childhood class, my partner Katey mentioned that she had written a song about monkey sounds. She suggested picking up some cute stuffed monkeys to use as props, which sparked the idea for this song.

I’ve been a longtime fan of the book Eight Silly Monkeys ever since adding it to my singable story collection during my internship. So I took the tune I use for that book and changed up the words, which resulted in a fun new instrument song for our younger kiddos.

Since our early childhood classes have more than five children in them, we usually up the number of monkeys in the song to reflect our class size. I took a quick video of Katey putting this song into action last night:

The monkeys are a huge hit, if you couldn’t tell from the video! We ordered them here, and we use our Remo Gathering Drum (though I think it’s time to invest in an even bigger one!).

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?

Learn more about Listen & Learn Plus

Shake Those Bells!

Bells are for Shaking Album Cover

Sometimes I come across a song I wrote YEARS ago that just needs a little facelift. Bells are for Shaking is definitely one of those songs, because it’s such an effective one for hitting so many different targeted objectives.

When I sing this song with my kiddos, I’m working on following directions, motor skills, identification of left and right hands, and attention to task. As far as they are concerned, they’re just playing bells and having fun (isn’t this the case so often in music therapy!?).

I dug this song out of my archives for the latest session of Listen & Learn for Little Ones, my early childhood music class, which necessitated a new recording to include on the class CD.

Much better than my 2009 version, if I do say so myself! Out of all the “bell” songs I’ve written, this one is probably my favorite…and I’m pretty sure my students feel the same way. Hope you can get some good use out of it, too.