by Rachel | Uncategorized
For a while now, I’ve heard about and seen stretchy bands in action, but had never actually tried them. Boy, have I been missing out!
I was thrilled when Janet Stephens (owner of Bear Paw Creek, the makers of the stretchy band) and her sister Kathy Schumacher (music therapist and owner of Tuneful Teaching) reached out to be about creating a stretchy band-specific song. Of course I immediately said yes, and got to work.
Movin’ In the Circle is designed to be used in a group setting, using the stretchy band while seated on the floor. There are all kinds of movements that can be done in this manner, and the song lists just a few:
I’m already excited about the possibility of writing an entire series of stretchy band songs, because they can be used in SO many different ways. If you haven’t already, please make sure to check them out for yourself. I’ve only been using mine for a couple of weeks now, but they are already a huge hit with my students!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kathy Schumacher
by Rachel | Uncategorized
For most of my students, the guitar is an object of fascination. They want to hear it, touch it, and most of all, they want to play it. But as much as many of them want to strum those strings, there’s usually a bit of apprehension before they go for it.
During a music therapy session last week, I found myself really wishing I had a fun and inviting tune to help acclimate that particular student to strumming the guitar. Luckily, now I do!
In the song, I mention several different ways to strum: with your fingers, with a pick, up and down. I also sing about joining in “loud and strong” because lots of my kiddos have a tendency to barely graze the strings, which results in almost no sound at all.
The guitar is essential to most of my music therapy sessions, and I always want to ensure that it does not become a barrier between my student and myself. How do you introduce the guitar to your kiddos and help them feel comfortable strummin’ away?
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
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!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I spent some quality time (as in 4+ hours) with these books last Saturday afternoon…and I’m still not tired of them. After finishing a special project for one of my Listen & Learn Plus! members, I am just that much more excited to use these singable stories with my own students.
You’ve all heard the tune “Over in the Meadow” — which is the melody for this collection of stories. I own 9 of them, but I’m sure there are more out there. Marianne Berkes and Jennifer Ward are the two authors who have (separately) written most of the books pictured above, and they’re all fantastic.
The illustrations are beautiful, interesting and detailed, and the stories themselves are chock full of information and vocabulary for students.
I already owned Somewhere in the Ocean and Over in the Jungle prior to taking on the special project, but I’m so glad to have the collection at my fingertips now.
These are just the kind of singable stories I love: the repetitive melody makes it easy for my students to catch on quickly, and the content creates endless opportunities to address goals and objectives.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost six years since I finished my graduate coursework in music therapy at Illinois State University. But lucky me, because I get to go back this weekend and hang out with music therapy students at their student organization’s Night of Music Therapy.
It really does seem like just yesterday that I was taking my first music therapy class and realizing I had found the perfect profession. Two years of classes and practicum experience later, I went off to St. Louis to begin my internship; nine months after that, I was suddenly in the “real world”.
That is one of the topics I’ll be covering in my presentation — making that scary transition from student/intern to professional. Finding a job, starting a private practice, making your mark on the field, and of course, a little songwriting and recording thrown in for good measure.
Because even though six years have passed since I was in those students’ shoes, I still remember exactly how it feels. I had so many questions about working as a “real world” music therapist, and that list of questions only grew as I got closer and closer to becoming one. Hopefully I can answer some of theirs tomorrow.
And the music therapy fun doesn’t stop there, because on Sunday I’m headed to Chicago for a collaborative workshop at the Old Town School of Folk Music. This is officially the last event I’ll organize as the outgoing secretary/programming chair for the Illinois Association for Music Therapy, and hopefully it will be as wonderful as last year’s workshop.
I hope you have a fun and exciting weekend in store, too. Bonus points if it involves music in any way :) Happy Friday!
