Happy Thanksgiving!

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Before Thanksgiving Day officially begins in my house, I wanted to take a second to share a few of the things that I am thankful for this year.

1. My Family
I am so lucky to have such a loving family on both my husband’s side and mine; they never stop supporting me in everything I do, and they truly are my biggest fans.

2. Music
I feel so blessed to have music in my life, and to be able to share it with others. The fact that I get to be musical all day long and get paid for it is just icing on the cake.

3. My Home
Zach and have lived in our house for nearly three years now, and sometimes I just look around and think, “wow, we’ve got it pretty good.” I never take that for granted.

4. You
No, really! I started this blog on a whim, never thinking that people would actually read it. Now I get emails from you, letting me know how you are able to adapt and use my songs in your classroom or with your students, and I truly appreciate each and every one of them. The fact that this has become an educational resource thrills me to no end, and I owe that to each and every reader. So thank you!

I hope that you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day just as much as I know I will. See you back here soon!

Friday Fave: Songs for Teaching

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I have some really exciting news that I’ve been bursting to share with you, and I thought there was no better time to do so than today, as my Friday Fave. A while back, I told you all about Songs for Teaching and my opportunity to make my songs available on their website.

Now, just a few short weeks later, you can visit Songs for Teaching and not only listen to my songs, but download them as well. I currently have six collections available: Months, Weather, Healthy Habits, Fall, Rhythms, and Manners.

And while you’re there, be sure to check out all of the other great artists and their songs. There are so many different styles to choose from.

I’m spending the weekend in Connecticut, but I just might have to take a break from the wedding festivities to post another Thanksgiving song since time is running out. No promises, but check back tomorrow just in case!

Songs for Teaching

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Over the last few days, I have had the pleasure of conversing with the wonderful people at Songs For Teaching, a one-stop website for educational children’s songs, lyrics, sound clips, and teaching suggestions. After taking full advantage of this resource over the last couple of years, I now have the opportunity to make my own songs available for listening and downloading. The wheels are in motion, but I’ll save the details until it’s a done deal. In the meantime, check out the website, and enjoy your Saturday night!

Friday Fave: Wedding Music

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Zach and I have dubbed November as “Wedding Month” due to the fact that we’ll be spending the next two weekends traveling the country for the nuptials of our friends and family. Next Friday we’ll be jet-setting to Orlando for the wedding of my friend (and former bridesmaid) Vanessa and her fiance Luis. Then the following weekend, we’ll head to Connecticut to participate in the wedding of Zach’s brother Rob and his fiance Shannon.

I’m extremely excited about both events – I love weddings! And one of my favorite aspects of the special day is (no surprises here) the music. I love it all: the instrumental (Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desire, The Wedding March), the vocal (Ave Maria, The Prayer, Sunrise, Sunset), and of course the dancing (American Pie, Sweet Caroline, and Hey Ya! are always fun).

I am singing at both of the weddings we’ll be attending this month, and both brides have discovered that choosing the selections isn’t as easy as one might assume. I got married last summer (08/08/08 to be exact) so I know firsthand that planning the music can be an overwhelming responsibility. Luckily, I had a wonderful advisor (aka my mom) who not only helped choose the music, but actually wrote one of the songs that was performed at the ceremony. She named it “Child of Mine” and asked my good friend and bridesmaid, Victoria, to sing it at the wedding. Listen to a recording of it (sung by me!) below:

Isn’t it beautiful? It was such a special and amazing day, and hearing a song written especially for me by my mom made it even that much more spectacular.

Up Close and Personal

by | Personal Development

I tried my best not to seem distracted this week, but the truth is, I was busy preparing for my first non-theatre/non-classical/non-children’s music (that’s a lot of non’s!) performance ever. My audience was a little different than what I’m used to on a daily basis…in fact, since I performed in a bar, my students wouldn’t have even been allowed to attend :)

Because music is such a huge part of my job, it’s easy to forget that it is also a personal hobby and something that I’ve done for fun almost all my life. I’ve been spending a lot of time writing and playing for myself lately, so having the opportunity to perform in front of an audience was a big thrill. Here is one of my original songs, “Second Chance Dance,” which I wrote for my husband last Valentine’s Day (and is based on the story of us):

If you’d like to hear more of my non-children’s songs, and read more about my foray into the world of singer-songwriters at www.rachelrambach.com.