music, therapy, and me

It is halfway through this season of festivities and stuff, and I am tired of it all. I went to do some laundry (because my room is currently 60 degrees and not getting warmer during the day so kids are bundling up in the blankets that I had my facility buy since they are not fixing the HVAC system AT ALL), and the COTAs were painting applesauce and cinnamon ornaments with students and they put on Christmas music. Now, I do not listen to much Christmas music during this season because it is everywhere and I get tired of it all. So, I was hanging out in the laundry area listening to this music and watching my students either protest or become so enthralled that they were not doing anything they were asked to do. I have three more holiday obligations to go before my holiday can start and I can flood myself with Christmas music. I will be able to listen without thinking about all the things that I need to do in the next 10 days because those 10 days will be OVER! I enjoy Christmas music, ...

I am a movie fanatic. This manifests itself in a large library of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, lots of soundtracks in my music library, and countless hours spent watching movies when I should (goblin!) be doing something else. I use the excuse that I need something going on in the background when I am working, and music is too distracting to my concentration. Movies fit the bill, especially when I know them by heart...and I know lots of movies by heart! I am especially drawn to old musicals. You know the ones - the big productions of the 50's and 60's that included lots of singing and dancing. I love those, but I think my favorites are the ones from the 40's. I love just about anything with Bing Crosby in it, and he was in two of my favorites, White Christmas and Holiday Inn. In both of those movies, the song, White Christmas, is featured, but that song isn't my favorite for either movie. In Holiday Inn, I love "I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For," and my secon...

As one of my jobs, I function as a music director for a small, rural, Methodist church. My job now includes being a Sunday School teacher, and, as part of that role, I am now in charge of our annual Sunday School programs. Our Christmas program was yesterday...in the midst of the first major snow storm of the season...with an ever evolving cast of players...and lots of littles who did NOT want to sing in front of other people! This is part of my role as a music therapist/church musician that I both love and dread. My Sunday School students come and go which make it difficult to plan a program that includes readings and roles and costumes. One of the kids that I was expecting didn't make it yesterday and two arrived that were completely unexpected! Fortunately, I've done this enough that I can be flexible (I thank my therapy training for that) and was able to find roles for the surprise Sunday Schoolers without too much trouble. No one really seemed to get overly anxious...

I have spent quite a bit of money on iTunes lately - on music that I can justify due to the need for a therapeutic interaction, intervention, or relationship, and on music that I want just for me - and I have lots to listen to in order to really get to know this music. I have lots of new stuff - music by Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, Elvis Presley, Straight No Chaser (they are fun, check them out!!), Josh Groban, the folks over at Now! That's What We Call Music!, The Four Seasons, the Andrews Sisters, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and "today's hottest music from today's hottest stars!" If I started my "recently purchased" playlist now, I bet I would still be hearing new music at the start of the upcoming new year. I've purchased new holiday music this year. That was something that I really didn't do much of in the past three years, mainly because I didn't have lots of spare cash for things like music, but also because I have...

This may be somewhat too late for some of you, but I am using these Pumpkin Carols in sessions (from Wednesday until today). There are lots of different sites about songs you can sing on Halloween. In fact, each one of these links will take you to a different source. I have compiled the resources that I like into a Halloween file, and I am working on making an entire box of holiday resources. So far, I have file folder activities, seasonal books, my lists of Halloween songs, and some cross-reference lists for other materials and therapeutic music experiences that can be used but aren't just for Halloween. I hope to make one of these boxes for each one of my special themes, I just have to buckle down and do it! So, we are currently just singing these songs to "celebrate" the day of Halloween, but someday I'll write some TMEs to go along with them. For today, however, we are going to sing some songs...and maybe change the modes from major to minor. Anyway,...

I am not a big fan of Halloween. There, I've said it. I don't like the dressing up (never have liked people in costumes, even...make that ESPECIALLY Santa Claus), I don't like running around, I don't like having to give people things for interrupting my routine, I just don't like the way we celebrate the holiday. As a result, I don't do lots and lots in my music therapy sessions about the holiday. I figure that my clients get enough hoopla, and I try not to go overboard about all of it. Also, some of my clients have real difficulty distinguishing between real and pretend, so I try not to confuse them. Having said all that, I am taking out my Halloween resources to see what I can do with them next week. I have Pumpkin carols (Google it to find lots of sites that offer these carols), I have a Pumpkin carol choice board, I have pumpkin visual aids, I have Halloween books, and I have ghost stories. The best thing that I do, for me at least, is that I cha...

Happy Groundhog's Day! In celebration of this silly, silly "holiday," here are some silly songs to sing to clients about this day... Enjoy! Groundhog Carols There are many different groundhog carols available on websites. Here are a few resources: Groundhog Carols - https://amyswandering.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/groundhog-carols-pdf.pdf John and Jan Haigis - http://www.pasttimespresent.com/GHD-PR.html 123Holiday.net - http://groundhog-day.123holiday.net/groundhog_day_songs.html Groundhog Day from A to Z- http://blog.al.com/techcetera/2008/01/web_surfing_groundhog_day.html Official Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Website- http://www.groundhog.org/ CanTeach - http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems12.html Preschool Education - http://www.preschooleducation.com/sgroundhog.shtml DLTK’s Growing Together - http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/happy_groundhog-poetry.htm Songs for Teaching - http://www.songsforteaching.com/groundhogdaysongs...

It is Groundhog Day here in the states. It's kind of a kitschy holiday that doesn't really have any real significance, but we still get on board with the entire idea. Here is the OFFICIAL website of the Punxsutaney Groundhog Club . I am not one to spend lavish amounts of time on these holidays, but I do enjoy celebrating Groundhog Day. That's probably because it seems to be quite silly, and I do like silly. Many years ago, I found a list of piggy-backed songs for Groundhog Day. I have no idea where they came from, but the songs used included Achy Breaky Heart if that gives you an idea of what era we're talking about. I have used many of them over and over again through the years. On a Google search today, I found the following website - CanTeach: Songs & Poems . This site has a list of lyrics for Groundhog songs - some are piggybacked, some are not. It is a good site for music therapists who want to use music for this "holiday." I'm going to tak...

Today's post is kinda a cheating post. In other words, I'm tired, have to get to work early, and wanted to sleep in a bit this morning, so I am not sharing my own work, but promoting that of others. 'Tis the season for Halloween songs and carols. There have been lots of lists of music presented on Facebook in the Music Therapists Unite group, but here are some resources that I like... Halloween Carols - Aaron Hertzman http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/swil/FILKS/Old_format/Halloween_Carols.html Alphabet Soup http://www.alphabet-soup.net/hall/hallcarol.html Not Just For Kids!: Halloween Carols http://www.night.net/halloween/halloween-carols.html-ssi So, these are kitschy and corny, but there are lots of songs included in these collections of songs. Soon, I will arrange and organize these in my TME file, but right now, I'm just going to share this information with all of you. Happy Halloween - enjoy the songs.  

So, you may have read through my rant about not liking the music saturation that pervades the months of October through December. Now, the music that is the exception to my rule of no music (outside of work, of course )... John Denver and the Muppets This album of music just warms my heart in ways that no other seasonal music does or can. I love these songs, mainly because I grew up with the Muppets and have ALWAYS loved John Denver. This album puts me right into the mood of the holiday season, no matter where I am, what I am doing, or who I am with at the moment. There aren't too many people out there (that I've found, anyway) that share my enthusiasm for this collection of songs, but I still love them all! It is difficult for me to pick my favorite song, but here I go... Best for a giggle - Twelve Days of Christmas (especially Miss Piggy!) The ones that make me cry - Noel: Christmas Eve 1913, When the River Meets the Sea, and Silent Night The others are a...

I am a Christmas music Scrooge. I am the type of person who avoids all stores from the period after Halloween to the post-Christmas sales simply due to the constant and pervasive repetition of hymns, carols, and songs that permeate my every conscious second. I cannot ignore the music that is played, and it bothers me. Most of my friends don't understand this aversion that I have to singing the same old songs over and over and over again. They love listening to the "all Christmas, all the time" radio stations that pop up around here. I have to escape and retreat into silence. Lately, I have noticed that others (in my social media life, so mostly music therapists) are starting to post about their own aversions to the music of this season. I have been relieved to know that I am not the only Christmas music Scrooge out there. In my therapy sessions, I find myself waiting until the very last possible moment to bring in the Santa-themed songs and the Christmas music. I tr...