Supplemental Sunday: Do Your Ears Hang Low?

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to make things. I make all sorts of things, but my music therapy-related passion is making visual aids (or supplementals) for therapeutic music experiences (TMEs). Here's a simple one that has had a great response from my clients - it's the dog!

On a side note, all of my visual aids are original artwork - I draw them all, often over and over again until I like the way things look. Sometimes they are completely scrapped several times before I come up with a design that I actually like. 

I don't have a picture of the back of this folder, but there is a copy of the song on the back of this folder so the therapist can read the music while displaying the picture to clients.
 
The dog's ears move.

I use this while singing Do Your Ears Hang Low? Since the ears move, we can sing all of the verses while demonstrating and practicing our direction words - up, down, sideways, etc. 

What this dog doesn't have is a name. Hmmm. I'll have to ask my clients to name him sometime soon. 

Anyway, this is an example of a very simple supplemental that can enrich a song by giving clients a concrete visualization of a concept. Some clients need something to manipulate, see, and engage with in order to understand. This simple visual aid seems to help them understand a concept of direction. 

If anyone is interested in patterns or a completed version of this file folder, let me know on the website. You can contact me through the contact us page.

Enjoy!!