There’s a little over a month remaining in the school year, and if you’re anything like me, it’s right about this time that your repertoire needs a boost. 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.
Tapping, Shaking, Music Making! is a digitally downloaded songbook containing 12 Listen & Learn songs for playing instruments — including rhythm sticks, shakers, bells, drums, castanets, cabasa, ukulele, 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:
“Animal Rock”
“Click Clack”
“I Can Do It By Myself”
“The Lollipop Bop”
“Play the Cabasa”
“Rhythm Sticks Waltz”
“Ring to the Music”
“The Shakin’ Song”
“Shaky Fruit”
“Tap Your Rhythm Sticks”
“The Ukulele Song”
“You Can Strum Too”
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 Tapping, Shaking, Music Making! at a mere $12.
This is one of those songs I wrote on the fly about an hour before a session, but still find myself using consistently month later. The student for whom it was written is working on identifying numbers 1-20, but she was having trouble telling the difference between single digits and the “teen” versions of those numbers.
What number is this? (3)
3 is all by itself
What number is this? (13)
Thirteen has a 1 in front
This number is (3)
This number is (13)
They are different because (13) has a 1 in front
{Repeat for numbers 4/14-9/19}
I use the song Single and Teen Numbers in conjunction with a visual — a simple PDF I made and display on the iPad — so that my student can see the numbers and point to them as we sing about them. The PDF is included in the download, along with the lead sheet and both full and instrumental mp3s.
Tim Ringgold is a music therapist in California with an amazing story to tell. But if you watched the video above, you know that already.
I met Tim a few years back at an AMTA national conference, and we’ve kept in touch ever since via social media, email, and seeing each other once a year at conferences. I’ve been reading his blog, Bella’s Blessings, which has chronicled his family’s journey since his daughter was born with a rare skin disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa, or EB. Though currently there is no cure for EB, Bella took place in a clinical trial at the University of Minnesota where through Bone Marrow Transplantation, she grew her sister’s skin on her body over time. Unfortunately, she died from complications of transplant on October 11, 2010.
Tim has been raising money to find a cure for EB, and he’s also been busy spreading the word about the power of music therapy. His video has been watched almost 5,000 times, and now it has the chance to be featured on the official TED.com website. If that happens, it would be the FIRST ever TED talk about music therapy.
Please watch the video if you haven’t already, and then share it with your friends and family. This is a story that should be heard by everyone!
Rhythm sticks are one of those instruments I find myself including in music therapy sessions over and over again, because they can be used to address so many different skills.
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?
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.
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
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