It's finally ready ~ Part 2 of Groovy Guitar Strums for Music Therapists! In Part 1 I covered some easy strum patterns to help add variety to your sessions; here in Part 2 I cover some easy fingerstyles... Fingerpick ~ "Now it's Time to Say Goodbye" (adapted) by Amy Kalas Buser Fingerpick Slap ~ "What Do [...]
Shapes are a very important topic for my children at UCP. Circles, squares, triangles - you name it, they're learning about it! Here is a song called "Shapes, Shapes" (how creative!) that I wrote to help facilitate the process of learning shapes. Click here if you'd like to purchase the sheet music and use this song [...]
I know this might not sound like the most exciting blog post in history, BUT I have been exploring the *new* AMTA website and am finding some great resources. If you're paying your membership dues, why not make the most of it, right? Here are some links that have caught my eye... AMTA.Pro Great podcasts [...]
Music therapy with the baby and toddler class at UCP is one of my favorite groups of the week. I get to see them meet so many developmental milestones, which is amazing - I feel like a proud mama! Our music therapy sessions focus on the following developmental areas: - Moving to music - Social skills: giving [...]
Last Friday, I had the privilege of presenting at University of Miami's music therapy forum. I have presented there a few times, and this time the topic was Private Practice and Social Media: The Business of Music Therapy. Every time I present it is exciting and also....very surreal! I remember not-so-long ago I was the [...]
Are you looking to add some variety to your guitar playing? Look no further! Watch here and see if you are inspired to pick up your guitar and try some groovy new strum patterns... Music Therapy Strum ~ "Rainstorm is Brewing" by Mahleah Benson Upbeat Music Therapy Strum ~ "Days of the Week" by Amy Kalas [...]
As I sit here and work on a new song about compound words for my Kindergarten class, I think back to the question...why do I do this? Why do I push so hard to use original songs in my music therapy sessions with children with special needs? Here are a few of the most important [...]
Last week the children at UCP's Early Beginnings Academy had the privilege of having a guest artist! Pedro, percussionist from University of Miami, came to visit the children and show them a variety of latin instruments. Here were some of the highlights... First, we heard the snare drum... We explored sounds that were soft and [...]