It’s Listen & Learn’s birthday, but YOU’RE getting the presents.
My baby is hitting double digits! It’s hard to believe that this little website I started as a brand-new music therapist is still going strong 10 years later. Recording the songs, creating the materials, and writing the blog posts that fill up these pages brings me SO much joy, but what fills me up even more is knowing that they are benefiting YOU.
YOU are the reason that Listen & Learn Music is still alive and well today, and YOU are the reason I’ll be celebrating another 10 years in 2028. Every email and comment I receive detailing how a song was brought to life in a classroom or music therapy session, and how it helped a child to learn a new skill, provides the motivation to make this an even more valuable resource for you.
To properly thank you for your support, I want to give you a gift for every year of Listen & Learn Music. Starting September 1, I’ll be sharing one of my favorite resources with you from the L&L collection each day in yearly chronological order, all the way through September 10.
Our Biggest Giveaway Ever
And last, but not least, I hope you’ll participate in the GIVEAWAY I’m doing on September 10! One extremely lucky winner will receive a LIFETIME VIP MEMBERSHIP to Listen & Learn Plus, including all current and future CMTE courses.
All you have to do is help me celebrate by:
1) following Listen & Learn Music on Instagram
2) Creating a post about how you’ve used a L&L resource, or just simply sending a birthday wish
3) Tagging @listenlearnmusic on your post
4) Using the hashtag #listenlearnmusicturns10
Feel free to save and post this image and use the caption:
Wishing @listenlearnmusic a very happy 10th birthday! I’m joining in the celebration and hoping to win a lifetime VIP membership to Listen & Learn Plus! #listenlearnmusicturns10
Follow the steps above to enter as many times as you’d like between September 1 – 10.
Start from the beginning.
Each day, I’m writing a blog post recapping each year of Listen & Learn Music and announcing the resource gift for that day.
If you’ve entered your name and email address above, you’ll receive these directly to your inbox, and you’ll also have access to them (along with other cool stuff) inside the private Facebook group.
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More from Listen & Learn Music
Adapting Songs from the ’50s and ’60s
I don’t always adapt existing songs, but sometimes when I do, they’re based on iconic tunes from the 1950s and 1960s, rewritten specifically as movement songs.
Funny story: I have a long list of songs I’ve written but haven’t shared here on the blog and in my store yet. Yesterday I decided to do a little catching up, and chose two songs at random to share. It wasn’t until after I added them to the store that I realized both were based on songs by male artists from the 50s and 60s.
I took this coincidence as an opportunity to remind you that inspiration for new songs and adaptations can come from any style, genre or generation. A few years back, I was really into adapting current pop songs, and still like to do so from time to time. But I have found that borrowing ideas and melodies from other decades can be a lot of fun, especially since many parents and grandparents attend music therapy sessions and music classes.
It’s up to you as a songwriter to decide just how closely you want your version to resemble the song that inspired it. You can put a modern spin on an old classic, or keep it true to the original. Here are my adapted versions of the songs by the prolific artists pictured above.
When Your Creativity is Stifled
A few weeks ago, I was making some updates to the Music Therapy Connections website when an error message popped up. I’ll spare you the technical jargon, but after making a call to my hosting provider, I discovered that my current hosting server is no longer being updated and will prevent my websites from running smoothly and doing everything I need them to do.
The customer support representative recommended that I upgrade to a new server, and explained what the process would look like for doing so. Now, I consider myself to be a pretty tech-savvy person, but a lot of what he was explaining seemed overwhelming and over my head. Even so, it was pretty clear that I needed to take the plunge, and thus began the Great Website Migration of 2017.
The 100 Day Project
Last year, I followed along as several people in my Instagram feed participated in the 100 Day Project. Every day for 100 days, they posted a photo of an action they took related to a creative project on a singular theme.
One of my favorite accounts to follow was Elise Blaha Cripe, who posted 100 days of pep talks. When she mentioned a couple of weeks ago that a new round of #the100dayproject was coming up, I decided to get on board.
“Wave Goodbye to Winter” With This Spring Song
It’s officially spring, but winter still hasn’t completely left the building. On gray, windy, and chilly days, this is one of my favorite songs for reminding myself, and whoever I’m singing with, that sunny skies and warm temps are in fact on the way.
The motions for this tune are simple, and it’s easy to adapt the words to best suit your needs. You can download “Wave Goodbye to Winter” — including lyrics/chords, mp3 and instrumental track — here.
What songs are you singing for spring? I’m trying my best to get into spring mode, even despite the dreariness outside. I’ll take inspiration from wherever I can get it!
8 Quick Tips for Live Video Broadcasts
First things first: I must preface this post by explaining that I am NOT an expert at live video. I’ve had quite a bit of practice since it rolled out last year, but I’m still awkward and nervous as all get out every single time. As uncomfortable as live video makes me, I keep getting back on the horse because I have seen how far-reaching it can be.
We all know that Facebook has all but killed organic reach for business pages, which is why I put much more time and attention into my Instagram feed these days. However, since Listen & Learn Music has a pretty decent following on Facebook (which doesn’t even touch our Music Therapy Connections reach…#goals) I want to foster those connections. And since Facebook puts a high priority on live video and allows it to reach more people organically than other kinds of posts, it only makes sense to get in front of the camera.
I put a screenshot of a recent live video at the top of this post to illustrate how it shows up in the newsfeed. (If you click on the image, it will take you to the actual video.) I’ll be referring to it in several of my quick tips, which are as follows.
{Video} “Thunder & Raindrops” – A Song for Rhythm Sticks
One of the songs we’ve been singing in the current session of Listen & Learn for Little Ones, our early childhood and preschool music classes, is Thunder & Raindrops. I wrote it a few years ago specifically for rhythm sticks, and it still remains one of my favorites!
Rhythm sticks are always a popular instrument choice among my little ones, because they make a lot of noise and are extremely versatile. This particular song addresses the objectives of playing loudly and softly, and requires everyone to listen carefully in order to play as instructed.
This time of year, we sing and play quite a few songs about rain to mirror the early spring weather, and many of them are designed for use with shakers. So it’s nice to shake things up (see what I did there?) by giving our rhythm sticks a turn.
On Not Knowing Where to Start
Today started the same as most: with my 3 year old coming into my room, whispering “mommy…mommy!” until I rolled out of bed to accompany him to the bathroom, and then bringing him back to our bed so we could maybe, just maybe get a tiny bit more sleep.
He humored us for a few minutes, but then, as usual, began asking if it was time to go downstairs yet. (It was only 6:30 am and my daughter was still asleep down the hall). My husband, bless him, took Parker downstairs and I went back to sleep. I woke up to a work-related text, and listened for a minute only to realize that the house was empty.
My husband sent a photo of Parker on his bike and Mia in her stroller, headed to grandma’s house. “Wanted you to sleep and relax” was the caption.
I had a quick moment of panic, as I always do when I realize I have time to myself but no idea where to start. These are how most of my work days begin, regardless of how long I’ve spent organizing my to-dos in Trello. There is just SO MUCH, between my house, personal tasks, all the parts of my businesses…knowing what to tackle first is impossible.
So I started the way I usually do, with cleaning up. That meant putting away the stray toys all over the house, returning all the books in Parker’s room to his bookshelf, loading the dishwasher with the breakfast dishes, etc. I have a hard time being productive if my surroundings are messy — it’s a curse, really.
Then I made myself a cup of coffee, a bowl of cereal, and went upstairs to my office. I sat down at my desk, and again went blank. All the things I need to do were right in front of me on the computer screen. I have emails to send, songs to post, website pages to tweak. But instead, I posted a photo from yesterday to Instagram and opened up a new blog post. I felt like writing whatever came out of my fingertips.
So I did, and this is the result. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s a little glimpse into the daily struggle of someone who is spinning many plates. You can probably relate all too well.
My husband just texted me that they will be home in 30 minutes. That’s just enough time to make the responsible choice by showering and getting ready for the day. I feel pretty good about going off-list to do something just for me, though. I hope you do something just for yourself this weekend, too.
{Mama Moment} Music at Bedtime
Bedtime with a toddler and a preschooler is often a challenge, as you can probably imagine (or know from experience!). But it is MUCH easier than bedtime with an infant and a toddler, especially now that my husband and I divide and conquer. After baths have been taken and teeth are brushed, he takes Parker and I take Mia for the final steps in the bedtime routine.
Parker is almost 4 and has inherited his dad’s master negotiation skills, so actually getting him into bed and leaving the room can take up to an hour (which I secretly love, after two years of sleepless nights with babies while my husband peacefully snoozed).
Mia, on the other hand, has been a breeze ever since she learned how to sleep at 18 months old. One story, one song, a little bit of rocking, and then she asks for her crib.
4 Ways to Organize Your Repertoire
If there is one thing we music therapists have a lot of, it’s this: music. We’re constantly writing, collecting and purchasing songs to use with our students and clients, and I know I’m not the only one who has struggled with the best way to keep my ever-growing repertoire organized.
I quickly learned that my least favorite place to keep music is inside of books — they’re hard to keep open when I’m playing, I forget which songs are in which book, and most of the time I’m in a different room than my music library. I don’t buy books of music anymore; instead, I go for single digital downloads so that I’m not unnecessarily paying for music I’ll never use.
Years ago, I camped out in my living room and binge-watched “How I Met Your Mother” on Netflix while scanning basically all of my favorite songs from the dozens of books I own. It was a long week of tedious work, but so worth it to have digital and printed copies.
Beyond that, I’ve come to realize that there isn’t necessarily one “best” way to keep my music organized. Rather, I rely on 4 different methods to keep tabs on the resources I use every day.
My Own Version of “Sasha Fierce”
The day I found out that Beyoncé has an alter ego for performing on stage is the day I got over my insecurities about being an introvert. If she needs a little boost to go out in front of thousands of people, then it’s okay for me to need one in my daily life, right?
Performing has never caused me much anxiety, because I’ve always taken a page from Beyoncé’s book and slipped into character as “Rachel the performer” (or if it’s a musical, whomever I’m playing) before going on stage. But leading groups and classes, constantly interacting with people, and thinking/singing on my feet — that’s a whole different ballgame.
Music therapy is an extroverted profession, as I learned on day 1. I think the social aspect of being a music therapist was my biggest challenge from the very beginning, and it took awhile for me to get comfortable. Becoming a business owner brought along an entirely new set of social challenges. There are still days when it feels really hard to be “on” (especially before my kids became good sleepers and I was perpetually exhausted), but I’ve developed strategies that make being an extroverted introvert possible.
Life After Mice
Church Mice, that is. Way back in the fall of 2006, I was invited to take the reins of an early childhood music class at the church I attended. I was still in graduate school at the time, so I gladly accepted my very first “professional” position in the music field.
I fell in love with this class from the very beginning, and it fit in beautifully with the music therapy and teaching I was doing full-time just a few months later. Every weekend, I got to work with little kids and their families, singing songs, playing instruments, and having a great time.
C’mon, Get Happy
Between the endless grey skies, frigid air and rampant germs being passed around, this winter has me in a bit of a funk. I know I’m not alone — you’re probably just as ready for spring as I am. Music is my favorite kind of medicine, so I put together 4 songs I’ve written or adapted that make me really happy.
Turning Lemons into Lemonade
This past week, my kids and I got hit hard with a nasty cold bug. It came right on the heels of our return home from vacation, so 3 extra days off of work, daycare and preschool were not very welcome. BUT that’s real life for you, and we made the best of it.
Luckily my husband took the reins at home over the weekend, so I spent most of Saturday in bed resting. But I did sneak in my laptop and tackle a HUGE project that’s been on my to-do list: I finally added 60 or so songs from my back catalog that hadn’t yet made it to the Listen & Learn Plus! collection.
The songs you see in the image above are just a few of my favorites that were added. Here is a complete listing of the songs, lead sheets, and/or instrumental tracks that are now up for grabs inside of the membership:
{Video} Bundle Up, Baby!
I really loved making those videos, and now it’s so much fun pulling up YouTube on my TV to play them for my kids :) So I made a new one this week, and I just might be hooked once again.
Your Guide to Music Therapy Advocacy Zen
Did you know that January is Social Media Advocacy Month for the field of music therapy? As we wrap up this first month of 2017, I’d like to share an introduction to advocacy for music therapists, provided by the Certification Board for Music Therapists.
Advocacy can help open doors, produce opportunities for growth, expand your horizons, and grow your personal and professional network.
That said, advocacy is also not without its challenges. Over the course of the past decade, music therapists have been faced with responding to misinformed, potentially damaging comments that can serve to undermine the profession and services we provide, all while striving to continue moving forward with advocacy efforts that make a positive difference. These negative exchanges can lead to feelings of frustration, anger, and stress, and serve to potentially distract us from focusing on our clients and our work.
In light of the contentiousness that seems to surround legislative and policy issues, we propose incorporating a spirit of mindfulness to advocacy efforts. Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. This requires an awareness of our attitudes, feelings, thoughts, and actions; an understanding of how they impact our experiences and behaviors; and a willingness to take responsibility for our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.
To that end, we offer the following guide to assist you in your search of an advocacy zen space and ask…when have you been REACTIVE or PROACTIVE in your advocacy efforts?
Setting Yourself Up for Success
If you’re anything like my business partner Katey and myself, this month has been all about establishing goals, setting intentions, and making plans for 2017. Every year, we create a mantra — words to live by and guide our actions both personally and professionally. This year’s mantra is as follows:
Waste less. Share more. Live our why.
We come back to these words every time we have a decision to make, pursue a new project, or feel like we might be veering off course. It’s so important to know our “why” so that we make sure everything we do is in alignment with our values and ideals.
A Year of Creativity
When I was little, my favorite thing to do was write. I would come up with story after story, written and illustrated in crayon on white sheets of paper, then stapled into book form. The day my family purchased our first desktop computer, I sat down and typed a story for the first time…and I was hooked.
Some of my stories were really good, and even earned awards at state-level young author contests. I continued writing stories throughout my teenage years, and then ventured into nonfiction essays, just for fun. It’s really a shame that blogs weren’t a thing back in the late 90s.
For a long time, I thought I might become an author when I grew up. That aspiration evolved into journalism as a high school student, and I was even accepted to several prominent universities’ journalism schools. But then I got honest with myself and realized I needed to pursue music, my true love.
Ringing in 2017
2016 was a year full of ups and downs, but it most definitely ended on a high note (corny pun totally intended). I had the opportunity to perform at First Night Springfield, an annual New Year’s Eve event put on by my city’s arts council. And while performing was a joy in and of itself, the icing on the cake was that my friends and family — including my two children — were there, too.
My Word for 2017
I’ve spent the last 12 months doing my best to practice the three words my business partner Katey and I chose for 2016 — simplify, streamline, self-care. This past year has been all about eliminating the non-essentials, putting things on the back burner, and focusing on what matters most.
With that in mind, I didn’t set any hard and fast goals or choose any big projects to work on as I have in years past. I gave myself grace and permission to say no without guilt. It felt GOOD to care for myself, and I will definitely carry those words with me into the new year.
#AMTA16: Conference Recap (With Pictures!)
Another year, another national conference in the books. Now that I’m starting to settle back in to reality (which mostly means catching up on laundry), it’s time for my yearly recap of the conference experience from my perspective.
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