On the Radio

My experience as being a part of the WDBR Cares for Kids Radiothon was amazing from start to finish, but I'd have to say that the best moment of all was when they announced the total amount raised for the Children's Miracle Network: $92, 365. Incredible, right? I just had to have my picture taken with the grand total, as well as Dave and Dina, the DJs who hosted all 31 hours of the radiothon.

So today I'd like to share the songs I contributed to the cause, which Dave so seamlessly weaved with the stories told by the Children's Miracle Network families.

First is Hollie's story, told in her very own words.



Beautiful, and strong,
On the outside.
Unsure and scared,
Within.
Smiling through the pain,
That held her back from feeling good,
In her own skin.

Beautiful, and strong,
On the outside.
Unsure and scared,
Within.
Faced with a choice,
She knew what she had to do,
To be herself again.

She had a hand to hold,
And heroes on her side.
Stood by her through the pain,
And gave her back her pride.
They changed her life, above all,
And now she’s standing tall.

Beautiful, and strong,
On the outside.
Beautiful, and strong,
Within.
Confidence gained,
And nothing to hide,
She was herself, again.

CHORUS

She gave up something she loved
But it was well worth the trade.
As the hurt disappeared,
She was no longer afraid.
And through it all...

CHORUS

Next is Sam's Story, so beautifully told by his parents, Katie and Gene.



They followed the rules, they went by the book,
From the food that she ate, to the classes they took.
Smooth sailing, the doctors said.
But God had other plans, instead.

They wondered if it was time, it was hard to know.
Could have waited, but instinct told them to go.
The calm before the storm.
As the tidal wave took form.

Like the blink of an eye,
It all happened so fast and they didn’t know why.
A moment frozen in time,
No explanation at all, no reason or rhyme.
Their faith placed in the hands,
That knew what to do,
To make a miracle come true.

She was whisked away, and he paced the floor.
He knew it was bad, they couldn’t tell him much more,
All he had was hope and prayer,
For his family in there.

CHORUS

A life was saved, but the storm hadn’t passed,
A long road ahead, each day better than the last,
Couldn’t hold him, but they knew,
They were doing all that they could do.

They called him a miracle,
Tears of joy for their baby boy.

CHORUS

I'm already looking forward to being involved with the radiothon and the Children's Miracle Network again next year. And you know what else I'm looking forward to? This wonderful month of December! Today is the kick-off of what is sure to be a busy but fun 31 days, all of which are represented in my "December" song. Hear it here, and read what I had to say about it over on the Songs For Teaching blog.

Music Therapy Connections Newsletter

Since starting this blog in September 0f 2008, I have had the opportunity to connect with countless readers all over the world. And not only right here, but through email, Facebook, and Twitter, too. But what can I say, I just can't get enough of you! So I decided to create one more way in which we can communicate...a newsletter! Once you sign up, you will receive several issues per month directly in your email inbox. And the best part is that it is completely free. My goal for this newsletter is two-fold:

1. Keep you up-to-date with the latest happenings at Music Therapy Connections and Listen & Learn Music.
2. Introduce new ways in which music can positively affect your life, and how you can maximize those benefits.
   

As a subscriber, you will periodically receive resources for use at home and in your work, as well as my recommendations of products and other resources that I feel are worth sharing. So take a few seconds to sign up in the space below:

Easy enough, right? Shortly, you will receive an email asking you to confirm your free subscription, which you can do with just one click. Thank you, as always, for being a loyal Listen & Learn reader, and for connecting with me!

Just a Few Things...

Happy weekend, everyone! I had an early start to mine, as I spent yesterday in St. Louis celebrating my sister-in-law's successful doctoral thesis defense. I'm just taking a little time to relax this morning before I head to the WBDR Cares for Kids Radiothon, which I wrote about here a few days ago. In fact, it just happens to be Thing #1...

1. 100% of the proceeds raised during the Radiothon benefit the Children's Miracle Network and St. John's Children's Hospital. You can make a donation by calling 217-544-KIDS (and I might even answer the phone this afternoon!) and listen live, either at 103.7 FM in Springfield or online. I wrote and recorded two songs for the families of the Children's Miracle Network, which will be playing throughout the day. Also, I'm getting interviewed on the air at 12:45 CST.

2. The conference rate for my new Listen & Learn Songbook ends tomorrow. Take advantage of this deal (book + supplemental CD = $25) because beginning Monday, the CD is an additional $10 cost. Follow the link above to read more and order your copy!

3. Now that my conferences are over and the holidays are upon us, I have some serious songwriting sessions planned. My arsenal of seasonal tunes is ready for an upgrade, so if you have any topics you'd LOVE to sing about, don't keep them to yourself! Send your suggestions my way and prepare for some holiday cheer in my favorite form: music, of course :)

4. If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to connect with me and your fellow readers! There a few different options, including Twitter, Facebook, and becoming a blog follower (see the box in the left-hand sidebar). I also have something new in the works to increase blogger-bloggee (is that a word? if not, it is now!) communication, so look for that announcement soon.

And that's all I've got. Enjoy your Saturday and I'll seeya soon!

31 Hours

Starting tonight and going through Saturday afternoon, my local radio station is hosting their 4th annual radiothon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network and St. John's Children's Hospital. They will be broadcasting live from the lobby of the hospital, where there will be volunteers manning the phones and families who have been helped by the Children's Miracle Network stopping by. I'm one of those volunteers, and looking forward to my 3-hour shift on Saturday afternoon as the radiothon winds to a close.

But I was able to donate my time in another way, as well. Each year during the radiothon, they air personal stories from the people who have required services through the Children's Miracle Network and the hospital. Most of them are hard to hear, and very emotional. But our community needs to hear what kind of care is available should one of their children fall under dire circumstances. The stories are set to music, usually a popular song whose mood suits the gravity of the story.

This year I asked if there was any way I could contribute musically to the cause, and together we came up with the idea to write songs based on the stories themselves. So I sat in as the families told their stories, during which time I got ideas for the corresponding songs. Out of the four stories I heard, I chose two to set to music. They will be played during the radiothon, and I only hope that the families feel that their songs do their stories justice.

That's the coolest part of being a music therapist, in my opinion. Not only can you work directly with a child, adult, or group of people, but there are infinite ways to use music therapeutically, reaching a wide audience at the same time. This point was driven home for me at the national conference, which I will writing more about in the coming days.

Listen & Learn on the Music Therapy Show

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to be a guest on Janice Harris' Music Therapy Show and it was so much fun! Michelle Erfurt, whose company (Erfurt Music Therapy) published my new songbook, was right there with me, and you can listen for yourself below:


I really wanted to sing one of my songs from the songbook, but my voice isn't 100% healed, yet (as you can probably tell by listening!). You can hear all 24 of them on the supplemental CD, now being offered for free as part of our conference pricing deal. The book is $25 and can be ordered in the Listen & Learn store (also in the left-hand sidebar) or here.

Friday Fave: The Music Therapy Show

Happy Friday, everyone! It has been a long week...for me, at least. Just as I was recovering from the flu, I managed to catch a cold that led to a nasty case of laryngitis. The bane of every musician's existence, I have been fighting it since Monday and it has yet to surrender completely. But I am able to talk again, which is perfect timing since tomorrow, I'm going to be a guest on Janice Harris' Music Therapy Radio Show!

I am going to be joining Michelle Erfurt, the music therapist who published the new Listen & Learn songbook, to talk about all about the book, the blog, and more. This is just in time for the national AMTA conference in San Diego, which begins next week. Michelle and I will be hosting a table in the exhibit hall, where we will be selling the songbook and meeting music therapists from all over the country. I can hardly wait!

The show will be live at 4 pm CST, and you can listen by following this link. Oh, and this is your chance to ask any questions you might have of me (or Michelle)! All you have to do is call in at (646) 652-2850. If you can't catch it live, the show will be available at the same link as a podcast.

In the meantime, are there any questions you have in advance that you'd like for me to answer on the show? Let me know in the comments section, or send me an email. Also, if you wouldn't mind, send some good singing vibes my way so that I have enough voice to sing one of the songs from the new book on the air :) Thank you in advance! Have a great weekend, and I hope you can tune in tomorrow.

Time for Music Podcasts

Wade Richards, LCAT, NMT, MT-BC

Wade Richards is a music therapist with whom I've had the pleasure of communicating via email over the last few months. Read more about Wade and his private practice, Time for Music:

Time for Music is the private practice and business of Wade M. Richards, LCAT, NMT, MT-BC. A graduate of S.U.N.Y. at Fredonia, Wade has been a Board-Certified Music Therapist for over 14 years. He has additional training in Neurologic Music Therapy from the Biomedical Center for Music Research in Colorado and Performance Wellness under Louise Montello, LP, LCAT, MT-BC. Wade pursued training in Orff-Schulwerk from Eastman School of Music, University of Kentucky, and Arizona State University. Wade is also the Chair and Internship Director of the Music Therapy Department at Hochstein School of Music & Dance, and serves on the music education faculty at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Wade has his brand new website up and running, as well as a new podcast series called "Songs for Music Therapy". I was thrilled when he invited me to join him for the latest edition, which focuses on songs for learning about emotions. You can listen to it here, or you can download it on iTunes.

Stay tuned for an upcoming podcast in which Wade will interview me about songwriting in general, and be sure to check out his website. He is also opening a Song Shop, where he'll feature original song interventions and ideas for a variety of clients and students of all ages. It is an exciting time for music therapy!

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!

A Big Dose of Holiday Spirit

You can't help but feel just a little bit happier and full of Christmas cheer after watching this video. These kids are talented!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I've been fighting a nasty cold and tough case of laryngitis since Friday, so I haven't been able to record the new Christmas songs I'm planning to post over the next two weeks. With any luck I'll be feeling better soon, so stayed tuned!

Listen & Learn in the Blogosphere

Hi all! Just wanted to stop by and mention that Natalie Wickham over at the Music Matters Blog, who I featured yesterday, posted a wonderful write-up about Listen & Learn on her blog this morning. It is such a great feeling to be included in a community full of amazing people and rich resources!

On the Radio

If you're interested in learning more about my work as a music therapist, you can listen to a radio interview highlighting a session that I led at The Autism Program in Springfield. The interview was conducted for WUIS, the University of Illinois - Springfield radio station. Scroll about halfway down the page and click on the link that says Music Therapy for Autism on their website.

If you have any questions about music therapy and autism, or want to learn more, feel free to email me. I am more than willing to share my knowledge and experiences!