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Listen and Learn Music: January 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

Friday Fave: Three Blue Pigeons

Okay, so you've seen the title of this post and are probably wondering: what is so wonderful about the song "Three Blue Pigeons" that it merits a spot in Friday Faves? The answer is nothing, really, except that this simple fingerplay triggered a breakthrough moment for a little boy named Carter.

Three-year-old Carter is diagnosed with autism, and I've been providing music therapy for him over the past eight months. Carter didn't say much in those first few months, but his words are coming fast and furious these days. From day one, he has demonstrated a love for music, especially the guitar, and his attention span has increased tremendously. Although he has been making eye contact with me and other visible progress during our sessions for a while now, nothing came close to what happened on Wednesday afternoon.

I was a little hesitant to sing the aforementioned "Three Blue Pigeons" with Carter that day, because he had not shown interest in that particular song in the past. But I went ahead and did it anyway, since imitating movements is one of his goals. As I started singing and doing the hand motions, Carter watched me closely. Then, he held up three fingers. He made the sign for "sit". He waved his arms like a bird, just as I did. And then he continued to perform the movements for the remainder of the song. Halfway through, I snuck a glance at his aunt, who was holding him and watching in disbelief. By the end of the song, she was in tears and I was close behind...it was one of those moments that music therapists live for.

This was a lesson in persistance. As a therapist, it's easy to dismiss an activity, song, or intervention as useless, just like I almost did with "Three Blue Pigeons". In this case, the 10th time was a charm. Never completely rule something out...I know I won't make that mistake again.

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

What Do You Do?

Teaching social skills is high priority in the land of special education, especially when it comes to children with autism. Though many of the students with whom I work can be very social at times, it is a goal to teach the appropriate actions and responses in various situations. I was brainstorming this topic one day a few weeks ago and came up with this song, which I called "What Do You Do?".


Sheet Music: $1
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What do you do when you see a friend?
You wave, you wave.
What do you do when you see a friend?
You wave, you wave.

Waving’s what you do when you see a friend,
You wave using your hand,
So what do you do when you see a friend,
You wave, you wave.

What do you do when you’re feeling blue?
You cry, you cry.
What do you do when you’re feeling blue?
You cry, you cry.

Crying’s what you do when you’re feeling blue,
You cry, using your eyes.
So what do you do when you’re feeling blue,
You cry, you cry.

What do you do when you’re feeling glad?
You smile, you smile.
What do you do when you’re feeling glad?
You smile, you smile.

Smiling’s what you do when you’re feeling glad,
You smile using your mouth.
So what do you do when you’re feeling glad,
You smile, you smile.

What do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.
What do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.

Laughing’s what you do when you hear a joke,
You laugh using your voice.
So what do you do when you hear a joke?
You laugh, you laugh.

What do you do say right before you leave?
Goodbye, Goodbye.
What do you say right before you leave?
Goodbye, goodbye.

Goodbye is what you say right before you leave,
Goodbye only ‘til next time.
So what do you say right before you leave?
Goodbye, goodbye.

The staff and I encourage the students to act out each action (waving, "crying", smiling, laughing, and waving/saying goodbye) as the song is sung, and they have such a fun time with this. There are many other situations you could sing about, so use your creativity. Those I included are pretty broad, but feel free to be more specific as you tailor the song to your own students. And don't forget to share your ideas with me!

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Top 100 Musicology Blogs

Good morning! I hope you are doing well on this 21st of January...I know I am. We have a brand new president, warmer temperatures are on the way, and I have a great internet resource to share with you. Distance Learning Net has compiled a list of the top 100 musicology blogs (in their opinion, of course) and guess what - Listen & Learn is among them!

The list is broken down into the categories of Musicology, Academics & Education (where I fit in), Technology, Music History, Music Present & Future, Music Industry, Musicians, Classical, Opera & Orchestra, Culture, and Musical Analysis. If you're looking for music-related reads, this is your go-to site. You're sure to find something useful - I did!

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

44 Presidents: A Rap

I came across this earlier today, and thought you might enjoy it. I know some of my older students will!



Memorizing presidents is gonna take some effort
We’ll start with George Washington, Adams, and Thomas Jefferson
Then James Madison and James Monroe
Then John Quincy Adams like his father before

Next up we’ve got some interesting folks
Named Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, and Polk
The next four presidents that we’ll examine
Are Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan

Chorus:
44 Presidents, White House residents
From the Revolution to the age of the Internet
(×4)

Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves
Then we got Johnson, Grant, and Rutherford Hayes
James Garfield, Chester Arthur
Cleveland and Harrison; let’s keep going farther

Next up, we got Cleveland again
Then McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson
The next four, yeah you know who they are, it’s
Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and FDR

CHORUS

No presidents are from Wisconsin
Not Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, or Johnson
We’re getting near the end, but it’s not getting harder
It’s Nixon, Ford, then Jimmy Carter

Last few, we’re almost done
We’ve just got Regan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush the Son
Obama’s in the White House now
So hail to the chief and stand up proud!

See it for yourself here, along with plenty of other educational raps!

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A New Day in America

If you're like me, you've been waiting for this day for a long time now. Later this morning, Barack Obama will be sworn into office and can officially be called the President of the United States. Your classroom may be one of millions tuning in around the country, and if so, there's no doubt that you will be witnessing history. This morning as I got ready for work, I watched coverage of the masses flooding onto the National Mall - they are expecting 2 to 3 million people. Unbelievable! My father-in-law is there as a chaperone with his school's student government association, and I'm sure he'll have stories to tell when he gets home.

If you didn't get a change to watch HBO's free "We are One" concert on Sunday night, here is a link where you can watch it online. The lineup is pretty amazing, with performances by U2, Garth Brooks, James Taylor, Beyonce, and many more. It's definitely a star-studded and moving program.

It will be interesting to watch the country slowly change under President Obama, hopefully for the (much, much) better. I'll leave you with a YouTube video you've probably already seen or at least heard about: "Yes We Can".

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Friday Fave: Pandora Radio

I actually have my husband to thank for this little discovery, and since I love it so much I thought I'd make it today's Friday Fave. It's called Pandora Radio, and basically it is your own personal radio station on the internet, for free. After you register, you are asked to create a station based on the artist of your choice. Then the site generates songs from artists similar to the one you chose, and all that's left to do is sit back and listen. You can create as many stations as you'd like, and it even allows you to skip a certain number of songs per hour. As each song plays, it displays a little blurb about the artist and song, and suggests other similar music.

Right now my favorite stations are Jason Mraz, Ingrid Michaelson, and Kelly Clarkson. Listening to Pandora is a great way to discover not-so-mainstream music, and I'm keeping a running list of new songs I love. And guess what I realized this morning? Pandora plays children's music as well, including the beloved Laurie Berkner, Justin Roberts, and more. What a great way to find new tunes for the classroom or music therapy.

That's it for today's "Freezing" Friday Faves. It is -8 degrees here today, and like yesterday, all schools in the area are closed. However, at the Hope School there is no such thing as a "snow day", since most of our students are residential. So for those of you reading from the comfort of your warm homes, enjoy your day off! And for everyone else, have a great Friday and an even better weekend. See you soon!

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Everybody Has a Name

Last month, one of the teachers at my school asked if I could work on names and spelling this semester. Of course, I gladly agreed and came up with a cute little tune to do just that. Many of the students here are nonverbal or cannot spell, but that hasn't stopped them from enjoying the song. It's so much fun to see a child light up when they hear their name being sung and spelled by me and the staff.


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Everybody has a name, you know,
You hear people say it everywhere you go.
Some names are short, some names are long,
We’ll sing about your name in this song.

I see a boy named Nathan;
Nathan is sitting right there,
So please join in and sing with me,
As we spell his name with care:
N-A-T-H-A-N. Nathan!

I see a girl named Brooke;
Brooke is sitting right there,
So please join in and sing with me,
As we spell her name with care:
B-R-O-O-K-E. Brooke!

I see a boy/girl named _________;
________ is sitting right there,
So please join in and sing with me,
As we spell his/her name with care:
_-_-_-_-_-_-_. _________!

I used two of my own students' names as examples, though obviously you'd replace these with your students. I go around the room and look directly at each child as I sing about him/her so that he/she knows that it is his/her turn. Many of the teachers or staff use sign language to spell out the names as I sing them.

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Church Mice

A little over two years ago, I was lucky enough to inherit a little group of musicians by the name of Church Mice. This group is not made of actual mice; rather, it is a class for children 0-4 and their parents. Church Mice was originated almost ten years ago by the former organist at Laurel United Methodist Church, a fantastic lady named DeeDee Gain. When DeeDee moved in the winter of 2006, I was asked to take her place as the leader of the class. Of course, I was thrilled and have been doing it ever since.

DeeDee is a certified Music Together instructor, and therefore modeled her class after that format. She did insert some of her own creativity into her activities, and encouraged me to do so as well. There are three 6-week sessions per year (fall, winter, and spring), and I have so much fun planning the songs and activities. There is a standard form that I stick to: hello song, shakers, tone blocks, rhythm sticks, movement, various instruments, and goodbye song. It actually looks very similar to many of my group music therapy sessions. There are new songs each session, and the families take home a CD and song packet so that they can listen at home.

Yesterday was the first class in our winter session, and we had a fantastic turnout with about fifteen families. Ages ranged from 6 months to four years old, and every child was able to participate in one way or another. One of the little girls, Violet (age 2), clapped and cried "yay!!!" after each song, which was completely adorable :) After class, many of the children who were old enough came up to me and said "thank you" and wanted to give me a hug, which is the best validation there is.

Sometimes I have to take a step back and remind myself that I actually get paid to write and play music, and to use that music to help and teach kids. With any job comes a certain amount of stress and pressure, but it really is hard to feel that when I am in the middle of a class or session with a child who is singing, smiling, and making progress because of the work we are doing. Most of the time, it doesn't really feel like work at all.

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Friday, January 9, 2009

Friday Fave: Jack Johnson's "Sing Alongs & Lullabies"

Though Jack Johnson's album Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies is almost three years old, it still remains one of my very favorites both in and out of the classroom. One of my internship supervisors, Lisa, gave me a copy of the CD when it first came out, and it quickly became a go-to resource for my students. The songs are happy, mostly upbeat, and therefore perfect for movement activities such as stretching and scarves.

The songs served as the soundtrack to the children's movie Curious George, but that doesn't mean that adults don't enjoy them, too. "With My Own Two Hands" is a cover of Ben Harper's, and he duets with Jack on the album. I was caught off guard last year when I heard the song "We're Going to Be Friends" on one of my favorite tv shows, House. "Upside Down" can be heard on mainstream radio, and it is a song that I perform in my acoustic set. Watch the cute music video below:




It just goes to show that the line between children's and adult music can be blurred. I see this everyday in the reactions of parents, teachers, and staff when I sing a song that is just as much fun for them as it is for the kids. I do this on purpose as much as possible; I want every music therapy session to be fulfilling for everyone in the room. Though the goals obviously are designed for my students, why not include the adults who care for them?

That's all I have for today. Enjoy your Friday, and the weekend as well. Tomorrow is my husband's 26th birthday, and I'm not far behind him!

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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Winter All Around Us

January is off to a great start. School is back in full swing, and most of my students are getting back into learning mode. I say "most" because some of my private students are still on winter break! I'm pretty sure they'll all be back in school tomorrow, but can you believe it? Two and a half weeks of vacation...wow. Anyway, there's no doubt that winter is truly here, and will be sticking around for the next few months. So here's a song to celebrate the coldest season of all:



Winter, winter, all around us
Cold out there, cold out there.
Coats and hats and scarves and mittens
I will wear, I will wear.

Winter, winter, all around us
Wind will blow, wind will blow,
Weather makes us want to stay inside
Ice and snow, ice and snow.

Winter, winter, all around us
Sing a song, sing a song,
As we count the days ‘til spring’s here
Won’t be long, won’t be long.

Truth be told, I am not a fan of winter. I absolutely crave warm weather, so I truly will be counting the days until spring arrives. Is it just me, or does winter seem interminable? Oh well; it's all about making the best of it, which I manage to do every year. What are some ways you enjoy the winter months?

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Ten Little Snowflakes

I walked outside this morning to find a dusting of snow covering the ground, something we haven't seen in central Illinois for at least two weeks. Though I could definitely do without any form of winter weather, I thought it would be very fitting to post "Ten Little Snowflakes" here today.



Counting time, it's counting time,
So let's all sing this simple rhyme.
Ten little snowflakes in a row,
Now let's count them nice and slow.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Again!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
How many snowflakes?
Ten litle snowflakes.
All lined up in a row.

Do you have any snowflake songs or activities that you use with your students? If so, I'd love to hear about them! Have a great day!

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Monday, January 5, 2009

Today Is...

Good morning! Like many of you, this is my first day back to school after a nice break, and I'm ready to dive head-first into the month. Today I'll be introducing several new songs to my students, which is always exciting. And while new songs are great, it's the songs that are familiar to the kids (and staff) that keep them engaged and eager to participate. The hello song, weather songs, and a couple of the calendar songs are standards throughout the year, and I'm going to share one of those with you.

Each day after singing about the month, we sing the "Today Is" song. I chose to set the lyrics to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine" because it is familiar, and it just happened to fit the words perfectly.



Today is Monday, today is Monday.
Today is Monday, January 5th.
Yesterday was Sunday, tomorrow's Tuesday.
But today is Monday, January 5th.

The song changes with the day, which definitely keeps me on my toes :) Some of the classes have even started doing sign language while singing the song, which is a great option if your students use that form of communication.

I hope your first day back is a great one! See you again soon.

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Friday, January 2, 2009

January

Ahh, January. A month that seems to stretch on and on, after all of the excitement of the holidays has passed. Luckily for me, January is filled with birthdays - my husband's, sister-in-law's, and brother's - so that makes it just a little more festive. And of course, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's birthday is coming up in just a few weeks, which means a day off :)

It's a month of fresh starts, so without further ado, here is a fresh new song:



January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

January brings a brand new year
Which starts on New Years Day
Celebrations and parties too
“Happy New Year,” we all say.

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

January brings a brand new year
Let’s make a resolution.
To try our best, be nice to friends,
And help to stop pollution.

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

January brings a brand new year
And special days to plan.
Martin Luther King Junior’s birthday
Remember this great man.

January brings a brand new year
The holidays are over and winter’s here.
Thirty-one days of snow and cold,
We’ll find out what this year will hold.

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Thursday, January 1, 2009

2009 is Here

Happy New Year!! If 2009 is anywhere near as great as 2008 was, I'm in for a treat :) Also of note: this is my 100th post! I've had so much fun writing this blog, and I hope you'll still be visiting when I hit my 1000th post! There are so many new songs I can't wait to share with you, but the first song of the new year is one that I'll be singing for the next twelve months.



Tell me, tell me, what's the year?
2009 is here.
It's ok to sing and cheer,
2009 is here.
Until next January comes, remember this line.
The year is 2009.

In 2009 there are twelve months,
Fifty-two weeks, you hear.
Three hundred and sixty-five days,
Make up this year.

Tell me, tell me, what's the year?
2009 is here.
It's ok to sing and cheer,
2009 is here.
Until next January comes, remember this line.
The year is 2009.

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