by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
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.
Get it now and instantly increase your arsenal of songs.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
There’s a certain song I look forward to singing as soon as the leaves start turning colors, but I always hold out until November. The first line goes like this:
“On the first day of Thanksgiving, this is what I ate: some turkey on my plate.”
There are 9 more verses where that came from, all of which many of my students know by heart. Not surprising, considering this is the 3rd year in a row I’ve sung this song with them during the month of November. Even my fellow coworkers were asking about the 10 Days of Thanksgiving song way back in September.
My original recording is flying off the virtual shelves of Songs For Teaching, but I decided to give both the song and the visual aide (a 10-page PDF with pictures and lyrics for each day) that goes with it a facelift. I was so happy with the results that I wanted to make both available to you, as well as the instrumental version of the song. All three of these downloads, plus the full lyrics and chords, are available in a single album: 10 Days of Thanksgiving.
I use the visual aide two ways: 1) as a flip-book while I sing the song with one student or a small group, and 2) as individual pages that I pass out to a larger group for students to take turns holding up as their verse is sung. The song is great fun either way! Download it today for $6.00 and start using it with your own students in these next few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I use music to teach a variety of concepts on a daily basis, from money to making friends to telling time. These are basic skills that every child learns one way or another, but learning through music is not something students learn as a part of getting their teaching degree. Learning through music is also not limited to elementary subject matter. When I was in 8th grade, I took an advanced algebra class in which we learned the quadratic formula. To this day, I can still spout it out. You know the tune “Pop! Goes the Weasel”, right?
♫ X equals negative B, plus or minus the square root of B squared minus 4AC, all over 2A ♫
I don’t have any use for this knowledge now, but the fact is that almost 15 years later, I still have it — because I learned through song. The same goes for the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (“We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…”), the 50 states, and so on. A catchy song is so much more “sticky” than a textbook page when it comes to both short- and long-term memory, which is why music is such an effective teaching tool.
In addition to my work as a music therapist, I write custom songs for children to target specific skills and concepts. I also put together custom CDs, one of which I created this past weekend for my nephew. Mason turned 2, and for his birthday, I wanted to do something special for him. He LOVES music, so when he heard all of these songs with his name in them, about all of his favorite things (especially drums), he was ecstatic.
Mason’s party was held at the St. Louis Zoo, and we played the CD while we ate cake and ice cream in the discovery room. As the party was winding down, one of the employees came over to tell me how much she enjoyed the CD. She then proceeded to explain how much she loves music, and that she used songs to teach her children all kinds of things as they were growing up. When her son was in college and struggling before a physics test, she set the key information to music. Her son learned the “physics song” his mom wrote, and in turn, aced his exam.
Bottom line? Music can help teach just about any skill or concept, whether it’s as basic as tying a shoelace or as complicated as college physics.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Behold, the cover art for Listen & Learn’s debut studio album: Time to Sing Hello. Although we’re still a few weeks away from its official release, I just couldn’t help but share my excitement with you. My experience in the recording studio was amazing, and I’m thrilled with how the tracks turned out, but this whole project didn’t feel real until I saw the finished album artwork.
Jason Taylor, a graphic designer on the East Coast, gets all the credit for the concept and design of this album. I approached him via email back in March, and he responded with an offer to donate his work to the cause. Needless to say, I was more than thrilled, especially considering his talent and impressive portfolio. Jason was a dream to work with; he managed to completely capture my vision for this album, and every aspect of the design is perfect.
I’ll unveil the back cover and actual CD artwork when the album is released on July 10, but for now, I’ll leave you with a preview track. “My Clothes and Shoes” turned out to be my favorite song of the bunch, and I hope you like it, too!
I’m eager to hear your thoughts on the song and the album cover. Please take a moment to share them with me in the comments section.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Okay, I’ll admit it: most of my work is done not at my desk, but rather, on my couch. If you were to visit my house on any given evening, you’d likely find both my husband and I sitting on our brown leather couch, respective MacBooks atop our laps. In fact, I’m actually in that very spot as I write this.
And since I know I’m not the only person who is blogs, tweets, facebooks, and partakes in various other computer activities from sofa central, I thought I’d let you in on this handy dandy little item right here:
The Old School Lap Desk not only keeps my legs from frying under the heat of my laptop, but it also holds papers, computer accessories, and anything else I might need while camped out on the couch. I have my friend Nabilah to thank for the recommendation; she clued me in on the awesomeness of this lap desk last fall.
Now it’s your turn to ‘fess up: are you reading this from the comfort of your couch? And if so, do you use a lap desk or something similar?
