*NSYNC With Music Therapy!

I wanted to bring some attention to a nice story in the news. Now that I am in Florida, this endorsement hit much closer to home! Joey Fatone, formerly of NSYNC just donated funding for a music therapy program at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. Palmer Hospital is exclusively dedicated to children and has a long history of exemplary care. I think it is terrific that a big name in the music industry is recognizing the value and power of music therapy and putting their money to good use. Way to go Joey!

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Schoolhouse Rock! Jam Studio.

Jamstudio.com

I saw this website mentioned by some of the local music therapists and played around on it today. What a cool application! This is a really easy to use music factory set up to play loops. The key factors that make this studio so fantastic is the easy way you can enter chords and then save the song for future use. The real bonus is that it sounds great! If you have an internet connection for your classroom or music therapy session with a client this website has great potential!

If you are used to playing guitar, then the music is very easy to input into the site. You just put the chords in the slots and then choose your guitar style and drum rhythm and push the play button. I can see this site being a big hit for clients in junior high and high school. This age group likes to sound like the music being played on the radio and sometimes gets turned off by acoustic guitar and rhythm instruments. They can be part of the song writing process and choose the style of playing for each instrument. The kids or clients can even choose some of their favorite artists and have the song play automatically in that style. If the song comes out in the wrong key and is too high or low for easy singing, just hit the button and change the key! The sound of a completed song is very nice.

Give it a try! Take a break from Facebook and I guarantee you won't be disappointed! Let's jam!

Adapted Song Series: Pop the Bubble!

Pop the Bubble.wav

Click on the radio to hear the song!

I wrote this song in order to take advantage of the power of bubbles. I often see special education teachers using bubbles as a motivation tool or sensory-motor experience. I had a client who needed to work on "P" and "B" sounds, so writing a song just made sense. I wrote the song so that children in a group could practice taking turns blowing the bubbles while clapping to the beat. Once there were bubbles airborne this naturally flowed into trying to pop the bubbles. I encourage my clients to say, "POP!" every time they clap their hands. For some of the children, they can approximate by saying the sound for the letter P or B. I like the fact that in this song the kids are clapping for their peer in support, but also practicing important motor and communication skills by trying to pop the bubbles. I just made a quick recording so that you can hear the song, but I often sing it without the guitar since I am facilitating the bubble blowing. The kids always love this song! Have fun!

Pop the Bubble!

D                        G        D

Watch ______ blow the bubble,



                        G            D    

Watch ______ blow the bubble!



                                G

Clap your hands and pop the bubble,



C                            D

Clap your hands and pop the bubble!



                                G                            

Clap your hands and pop the bubble,



        E7                A7

Say, p-p-p-p-pop.......Pop!



            D

(and - POP)