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
Tapping, Shaking, Music Making!
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.
Week 32 – Featuring Baby Shower #1!
Week 32 rolled around while we were on vacation, and I loved telling people that I was eight months pregnant. It sounds so far along, even though I still have two entire months to go!
I thought my belly would be much bigger at this point, and apparently so did my doctor since she told me at my appointment on Friday that I need a growth scan at my next appointment. She said that although I am measuring a bit behind, the ultrasound will give a better estimate of his size and he could very well be right on track. I’m crossing my fingers that this is the case, and also looking forward to seeing him again :)
The day after we returned from vacation, I had my first baby shower. It was hosted by Deb Watts (our family friend and accompanist for my church chorale) and attended by the members of our chorale. Of course, Baby Rambach was the main topic of conversation — I never get tired of talking about him — and I got to hear lots of baby stories from experienced moms and grandmas. Such a fun shower, and I was extremely grateful to my lovely host!
I received so many great gifts, including clothes, blankets, baby gifts, bottles, toys, and accessories for the nursery. We just barely managed to fit everything in the back of my car afterwards:
Our giant basement closet is currently serving as the depository for all things baby-related, since we don’t want it all piling up in the nursery. I still have two showers to go, and already I am a little overwhelmed by the gigantic pile of clothes, blankets, toys, and necessities. I guess I better just get used to it, huh?
One Last SoCal Hurrah
After a year filled with amazing travel adventures, it’s pretty hard to believe that we’ll never again take a trip either without our little guy or without leaving him in the care of his grandparents (and missing him like crazy, I’m sure).
So we called our vacation in southern California our “last hurrah” — and we definitely made the most of it! While I would be perfectly happy just lounging by the pool or at the beach the entire time, there’s never a dull moment on vacation with Zach. We saw lots of sights, did quite a bit of walking and exploring (including conquering “Heart Attack Hill” in Dana Point…not sure how my doctor would feel about that one at 8 months pregnant), and got tons of great photos along the way.
The “bump” was featured in quite a few of those photos, you know, just so that someday we can prove to Baby Rambach that he was indeed quite the traveler even before he was born.
We took a day trip to Catalina Island, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Zach went to town photographing the boats and scenery, and I loved the cute little town with all its shops and history. The nausea-inducing ferry ride there was well worth it, after all.
The last three days of the trip were picture perfect weather-wise, so I got my pool and beach time :) The first beach we visited was in La Jolla, where this photo was taken.
On the last full day of vacation, we headed to Coronado Island to visit the Hotel Del Coronado, where we stayed last time we were in San Diego. We hung by the pool, had lunch on the deck, and then sat on the beach before heading back to La Jolla.
Click here for the full album.
It was a wonderful week from start to finish! Of course, it was a little difficult coming back to reality, but we had a very happy puppy waiting for us at home and I had my first baby shower the very next day.
The next vacation we have planned will be WITH the baby! We’re going to Naples, Florida in August to visit my grandma, and she’ll be meeting him for the first time. Now that will be an adventure, for sure.
1-2-3, Tap With Me
I have been on an “instrument song” rampage lately! It seems like I go through cycles when it comes to choosing song topics, and all of those instruments stashed throughout my studio are currently getting plenty of use.
I went back to the basics — good old rhythm sticks — with my latest song, because there is just so darn much you can do with them. As far as addressing goals and objectives, the possibilities for motor development are endless. At one of my classes recently, the mom of one of my tiny kiddos commented on how much progress she had seen her daughter make when manipulating a pair of rhythm sticks.
1-2-3, Tap With Me offers specific directives for playing the sticks, but I always change it up when using this song in a class or music therapy session. It’s also fun to let my students take the lead, choosing different ways to play.
1 – 2 – 3, tap with me
Tap your sticks together
1 – 2 – 3, tap with me
Tap your sticks like this
On the ground, on the ground
Tap your sticks with me
On the ground, on the ground
Tap your sticks with me
CHORUS
In the air, in the air
Tap your sticks with me
In the air, in the air
Tap your sticks with me
CHORUS
On your knees, on your knees
Tap your sticks with me
On your knees, on your knees
Tap your sticks with me
CHORUS
Week 31
It was very fitting that at week 31, the baby was a size of a pineapple. We spent the week in California, and were surrounded by pineapple everywhere we went :)
I’ll be posting lots of vacation pics soon, but right now we’re in recovery mode and just trying to get back into the swing of things. As far as baby news goes, I have my first shower today and I’m very excited!
I’m not so excited about my appointment with a hematology specialist tomorrow to discuss my low platelet count. But as far as complications go, this is a small bump in the road according to my OB…so I’m trying not to let it freak me out just yet.
Enough about that, though. I’ll share updates after I know more — until then, I’m going to enjoy the much more FUN parts of pregnancy.
Week 30
Every week I write about how fast time is flying by, and that I can’t believe how far along I am. But 30 weeks feels like such a huge milestone — I’m 75% of the way there!
This weeks is off to a great start so far. The weather has warmed up considerably, and I’m enjoying going places without a coat on and having people notice my bump. I’m still getting lots of comments about how small I am for 30 weeks, but I don’t feel small! Especially after all the food I’ve eaten this weekend.
On Saturday, we went out to dinner for my mom’s birthday at one of our favorite restaurants, American Harvest. And then after our huge meal, we decided to get frozen yogurt at Cherry Berry…big mistake! The baby is taking up a lot of room these days, which doesn’t leave much space for extra food. You’d think I learned my lesson, but I followed another big dinner tonight with a bowl of ice cream. Where are the Tums?
To balance out all that food, we did manage to get in some exercise this weekend. Sadie had the time of her life at the dog park yesterday, followed by a long walk around Washington Park today. And we discovered that she loves riding in the back of the CR-V, as opposed to her usual spot in the passenger seat. That will help keep dog hair to a minimum :)
This week is a little busier than usual as far as work goes; I’m trying not to think about everything I have to do, and instead concentrating on the fact that at this time next week, we’ll be in California! This will be the baby’s 3rd out-of-state vacation…he will be quite the experienced traveler by the time he is born.
The Beginnings of a Nautical Nursery
This week we started making progress on the nursery after several delayed attempts. The first step was getting the carpet cleaned, which had to be pushed back two weeks — first due to a sick puppy, and then thanks to 18 inches of snow (which inevitably resulted in several days of muddy paw prints).
But it finally happened last Monday, and we didn’t waste any time moving the baby furniture in afterward. To be completely honest, I was a little nervous about how the bright white furniture would look against the white-ish carpet, but it works…especially since our beautiful rug covers so much ground.
I am in LOVE with the yellow walls paired with the blue and white. I chose the nautical theme because it ties those colors together, but little did I know that there is SO much out there as far as decorations and accessories to complement this theme.
Here’s another shot from the opposite side of the room. The changing table we picked out is so cute, don’t you think? I like that it provides extra storage space, since there’s no closet in this room.
What I like best about this room is the big picture window, and all the natural light it provides. Of course, we will have shades and blackout curtains so that Baby Rambach can sleep during the day, but this room just feels so fresh and airy when the sun is shining in.
The newest addition to the nursery was delivered on Wednesday — a beautiful navy blue rocking chair that perfectly matches our rug! It’s so comfortable, and I love that it swivels all the way around so that I can face either the inside of the room or the window.
I’m anxious to start decorating the walls and adding accessories, but with three showers coming up this month and next, it seems a little silly to go out and start buying things just yet. For now, I’m just happy to have the basics in place, and I can’t stop walking by the room and admiring it :)
Studio Turned Nursery
If you’ve followed this blog for a while now, then you’ve probably seen the evolution of my home studio. When my husband and I first purchased our house in 2009, I set up my studio in what quickly became my favorite room in the whole house. It made for a beautiful work space, and it stayed that way for 2 years. The studio looked like this:
But when I decided to go into private practice full-time, my husband and I agreed that I needed to make some changes to my studio. Since I’d be working longer hours, it made more sense to have a studio that was separate from the rest of my house (so that Zach didn’t feel like he was intruding on my business when he came home).
We came up with the perfect solution — one that still allowed me to have a home studio, but offered a separate entrance and was closed off from the “home” part of my house. So in the summer of 2011, we renovated the two back bedrooms and turned it into my new studio.
After we moved out my studio, we talked about the fact that someday that room would make the perfect nursery. It’s right next to our bedroom, the space is bright and cheerful with lots of natural light, and like I said before, it’s my favorite room in the whole house. That time has now come, and the transformation has begun! Here is Baby Rambach’s nursery it in very beginning stages:
We’re still missing a glider, curtains, and of course, decor, but at least now we have a starting point! I’ve been collecting ideas for a nautical-themed nursery on my Pinterest board for a couple months now, and I’m so excited to bring those ideas to fruition (with the help of my female family members).
It’s pretty hard to believe that in just two short months, this will be home to a newborn baby. I’ve spent some amazing moments in this room, and I have a feeling there are many more to come.
Week 29 (Happy Easter!)
Holy cow, this is the LAST week of 20s before I enter the final 10 weeks of pregnancy. 10 weeks. That’s just mind-boggling to me. I am so grateful to still be feeling awesome, though that 3rd trimester exhaustion kicks in earlier and earlier each night, it seems. Other than that, I’m not having any discomfort, aches or pains — just lots of happy kicks and wiggles from inside.
We had a great weekend full of friends and family, and spent Sunday celebrating Easter. First came two church services, followed by a delicious brunch at the Inn at 835 with my mom and stepdad. We got a couple photos while we were there — I had to show off my bump in my cute new maternity dress!
Next, we went over to Zach’s parents for more Easter fun with his siblings and our nieces and nephew. Holidays are a lot more exciting with kids around, and once our baby is born, there will be 5 of them to keep us busy and entertained at Rambach family festivities!
Thanks to a gracious neighbor, we actually got the whole family in a photo. After an Easter egg hunt, lots of playing, and dinner, Zach and I were ready to crash. But that wasn’t the end of Week 29 excitement — I’ll fill you in on the rest soon!
Single and Teen Numbers
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.
Happy Birthday, Sadie!
Our sweet baby turned 4 this week! Sadie is still very much a puppy in many ways, but over the years, she has matured from a hyper bundle of energy to a snuggly, cuddly and playful sweetheart. She loves to have 100% of our attention, and though she will have to share it with Baby Rambach pretty soon, we think Sadie will be a pretty darn good big sister. Isn’t she SO cute?!
Friday Fave: Music for Me
I was on the elliptical machine at the gym listening to Pandora a couple of weeks ago when this song popped up (on the Rihanna channel of all places!). The title was “What Can I Do? (But Love You)” and I was shocked to realize that the singer was Joy Williams from The Civil Wars, one of my very favorite groups.
I immediately downloaded the song from iTunes and listened to the entire EP nonstop for a couple of weeks, and then decided that I wanted to learn to play that first song that had caught my ear at the gym. Unfortunately, the sheet music was nowhere to be found…I couldn’t even find the chords. So I learned it by ear instead.
It’s been a long while since I sat down and played music for myself. By that, I mean music that isn’t new repertoire for my students or for a gig, but purely for my enjoyment. So it felt really good to learn and practice this song, under no pressure or time constraints whatsoever. After a couple days of playing, I decided to record it.
My recording is definitely far from perfect, but the best part is that it doesn’t have to be, since it’s just for me :) Spending the time learning and playing this song was an excellent reminder that I need to do more of this. It’s good for my inner musician and good for the soul!
Week 28
Hellooooo, 3rd trimester! I can’t believe this pregnancy is 2/3 over, and I’ll have a newborn baby in my arms in 12 weeks or less. June seems so far away with all this snow on the ground, but in reality, it’s just around the corner.
I had my 28-week doctor’s appointment last Friday, and got lots of good news: I passed my glucose tolerance test (no gestational diabetes for me) and the baby is growing just about on track! He’s a little on the small size right now, but that’s understandable considering he has smaller parents.
In other baby news, we had to push back the nursery setup yet another week thanks to the snowstorm — we figured it would be silly to have all the carpets cleaned when Sadie was just going to muddy them up again once the snow began to melt. So the carpet is being cleaned on Monday, and then we’ll set up the furniture on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Last weekend we took a whirlwind trip to Chicago for Zach’s AAA awards banquet, where he was named “Agent of the Year” for the 4th year in a row. Here we are displaying the latest trophies he added to the huge collection.
This weekend will be relatively calm, and it will be nice to spend time with our families for Easter. It’s fun to think about having a little guy around next Easter to dress up in cute clothes!
Rock, Rock, Rockin’ Around
What do fish, turtles, ducks, and pigs have in common? The answer: they all have starring roles in my latest song, Animal Rock. I’ve already written about my new favorite instruments and how they inspired me to write this tune, but there are lots of other objectives that can be targeted at the same time.
Animals fly
Animals walk
Animals run
And animals rock
They move to the music
Rock, rock, rockin’ around
All the fish are splashin’
Splash! Splash! Splash!
All the turtles are crawlin’
Crawl! Crawl! Crawl!
All the ducks are quackin’
Quack! Quack! Quack!
All the pigs are oinkin’
Oink! Oink! Oink!
CHORUS
Just a few of those objectives include sound and movement imitation, taking turns, vocalization, creative expression…the list goes on. One of the coolest parts of being a music therapist is developing interventions that address several different goals at a time. It’s no coincidence that so many of us are master multitaskers!
Week 27
At 27 weeks, I am enjoying the LAST few days of my 2nd trimester and getting ready for the final stretch! Finally! These last couple of weeks have been relaxing (or at least as relaxing as my life gets), and I am savoring every last second because that’s going to end soon.
Beginning in April, we have a big vacation to go on, three baby showers, and LOTS of baby prepping to do. It’s all fun and exciting, but it also sort of makes my head spin thinking about it. The rest of March is pretty low key, although we are heading to Chicago on Saturday for Zach’s company awards banquet. Next weekend will be almost entirely devoted to nursery decorating (oh, and celebrating Easter too).
We go back to the doctor for my monthly check-up this Friday, and I’ll also be taking my glucose tolerance test. Fingers crossed that the results are negative for gestational diabetes. After that, I start going every 2 weeks instead of every 4. Fun stuff!
Playroom Planning
This was dubbed the “circus room” when we moved in, for obvious reasons. Originally there was a multi-colored wallpaper border which we removed and toned down just a little with a blue stripe…but it didn’t take away from the “circusness” of the room.
At one point, I had big plans to turn this into a workout room, and we even set up a TV so I could do my Jillian Michaels workout in it. But since I go to the gym in the mornings and ride my bike regularly (when I’m not pregnant), I didn’t really need to add any extra workouts to my schedule.
Now that we’re starting to accumulate toys and baby gear, we have all the motivation we need to turn the “circus room” into a playroom. And it will definitely NOT be circus-themed!
From the start, I had a clear vision of what I want this room to look like. Normally I shy away from really bold colors, but since this is going to be a playroom and it’s in the basement, I’m feeling a little braver than usual. Which is why I chose this color (Bayside by Valspar) for the walls:
It will probably look a little darker on the walls, especially since there aren’t any windows in the room, but I think it’s going to be perfect! The accent color in the room will be bright red, so we’ll keep the existing fan/light fixture…but the red floor must go! We haven’t picked out the new flooring yet, but we’re thinking of something fairly neutral that will complement the bright colors.
The nursery is our #1 priority right now, but the playroom is next on our list. The painter will be here in a few weeks, so I’ll update with pictures once he’s finished!
The Evolution of a Nursery
One of the reasons I fell in love with our house was the room right off the front hallway with the big, pretty windows. For two years, it served me well as a home office and studio.
Eventually my studio outgrew the room, so we converted the two back bedrooms into a waiting room and office/studio space. So for the last two years, that pretty front room has been sadly neglected (except for in December when we’ve put the Christmas tree up in front of the windows). That will soon change, though, because it’s about to become Baby Rambach’s nursery!
Now that we’ve cleared out the daybed and bookcase that found a temporary home in this room, it’s completely empty and waiting to be filled with furniture. Today our painter came and touched up the crown molding, and the carpet is being cleaned on Wednesday. Hopefully by next weekend, the furniture will be assembled and in place…but for now it looks like this:
These gigantic boxes have been sitting unopened in the front hallway for several days now. I can’t wait to get everything set up so that I can start decorating — until then, I’ll just keep collecting ideas on my Pinterest board.
Music Therapy on TED.com
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!
The Nesting Begins!
This is what our basement storage room has looked like since the great flood of 2010. Almost three years later, after living in denial that this room even existed, the nesting urge kicked in hard and I decided it was time to tackle it.
Zach wasn’t quite as excited as I was about whipping this room into shape, but he was a great sport. He took every single thing off of those shelves, and we went through all the boxes to decide what was worth keeping and what we’d be trashing. We filled the next room (our little boy’s future playroom!) with all the stuff that didn’t make the “keep” pile, and soon were left with a fairly empty storage room and a GIGANTIC trash heap.
Guess who then made about 12 trips to the dumpster? Zach was a trooper once again, hauling everything upstairs and out of my sight forever. While he did that, I organized the rest of the shelves in the basement and wiped down all the tile dust that still remained from the post-flood basement renovation. After all that work, we were finally left with a room that looked like this:
I can hardly even believe it’s the same room as the one in the “before” photo. It’s no longer a safety hazard to walk in, and I actually know where everything is! A miracle after three years of disaster zone status. Everyone keeps telling me we’ll accumulate TONS of stuff once the baby arrives, so now we have a nice organized storage space to put everything that gets displaced by baby gear.
The nesting bug bit me hard, because I didn’t stop after finishing the basement. Next, we tackled the future nursery, which meant dismantling the daybed in there (and laundering/putting away all the linens and pillows) and completely clearing everything else out. Then I moved on to the laundry room, for which I bought matching storage bins and organized everything that had been cluttering up the shelves in there. The next day, I did a clean sweep of the master bedroom, closet and bathroom.
So what’s next? I have a huge list of all the projects I want to pursue now that the spring cleaning is mostly done, starting with the nursery. I can’t wait to get to work setting it up!
Week 26
Week 26 has been a good one. I am feeling better than ever lately, and life is going just swimmingly. Work has been fantastic between my students, my online business, and my new class, and I’m excited about working on some new projects. I’m also getting really pumped to finally get to work on the nursery (beyond just collecting ideas on Pinterest) and the downstairs playroom.
This past weekend, Zach and I ordered our first BIG baby item: the stroller! I spent hours and hours researching, and finally chose this one based on the great reviews and its versatility. We have my grandma to thank, since she bought it for us — I told her we’ll think of her during all those walks we’ll be taking this summer.
Then yesterday, our changing table was delivered to our front door, thanks to my mother-in-law. All of these baby items are currently occupying our huge closet in the basement, and it will be so nice to finally get everything put together and moved into the nursery. I love how real this is all beginning to feel!
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