I’m ashamed to admit this, but…

I used to be a huge Backstreet Boys fan. I mean HUGE. One of those embarrassing fans. I knew all of the guys’ birthdays, their favorite foods, and the kind of car they drove. My best friend and I spent hours making collages of their faces on our binders and writing fan letters that I don’t think we ever sent.

So, when the BSBs came back on the scene a year or so ago, I have to admit my former teenage self was a little giddy.

Their music doesn’t quite hit me the way it did when I was 17. But, it’s fun to think back on how much fun I had singing every word of their Millennium album and learning all the dance moves to “Backstreet’s Back.”

Why am I shamefully admitting all of this?

Because their new song “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” is one of the additions to the updated version of my Pop Song Hot List. The Pop Song Hot List is a quick reference guide to the songs that are at the top of the charts right now. It can be overwhelming to figure out what songs are “cool” and “in” right now, because what’s “cool” and “in” seems to change weekly, am I right?

That’s why I include a Pop Song Hot List in all the teen resources I offer: Tuneful Teens E-Book 1, Tuneful Teens E-Book 2, and the Tune In To Teens E-Course.

And, it’s updated at least every six months.

I just added a brand new section at the end of the list that I think you’ll love. It’s called Positive Pop Songs for Therapy. This is a list of songs that never go out of style because of their positive message and lyrics (which can be tough to find these days!) AND their potential for use in our therapy sessions.

If you’re overwhelmed by ALL the music that’s out there and don’t know where to start when it comes to finding the music your students and clients like, check out one of the resources mentioned above. The Tune In To Teens E-Course is a comprehensive resource for music teachers and music therapists who work with teens with special needs.

In the course you will:

• Find out exactly where to go to find the top new pop songs
• Learn creative ways to determine your clients’ unique musical preferences
• Learn how to add musical variety to your sessions by incorporating genres like bluegrass, dubstep, salsa, Celtic, classical & reggaeton
• Find out my #1 resource for finding the top songs that teens are listening to right now

See everything that’s included in the course (and watch a video of me rapping!) right here.

The post Looking For The Top Pop Songs This Week? appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Over the years, I’ve found it harder and harder to locate “appropriate” songs to use with my teens clients.

I know what qualifies as an “appropriate song” can vary from person to person. What I’m referring to are songs that are free of inappropriate language and content, and songs that are able to be used therapeutically. (Bonus points if they are easy to play on guitar or keyboard!)

Back in the day there were gems like “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction and “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars. So simple to play, so catchy and so popular.

I have to admit that these days I’m pretty disappointed by some of the music out there. It’s tough because as music therapists we want to use songs that are clients are into, but we also want to respect the rules of facilities where we work (and they might not be okay with us using songs with curse words and inappropriate themes).

So, I have done a lot of work and research in this area. It’s kind of my passion.

In all of the teen resources I offer (the Tuneful Teens E-Books and the Tune In To Teens E-Course), I include a Pop Song Hot List.

The Pop Song Hot List is a list of 100 songs that are popular with teens right now. I update the list every six months to be sure it includes only the most recent popular songs (and I just updated it last week!)

As a bonus, I also added a list of Positive Songs for Therapy. Some of those “oldies but goodies” like Brave” by Sara Bareilles and “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by JT can still be used effectively in our sessions even though they were released a few years ago.

Keep in mind that these lists are just a starting point!

In both the Tuneful Teens E-Books and the Tune In To Teens E-Course, you’ll see I stress the importance of using client preferred music (this is especially critical when working with teens). I share why this is so important and give multiple creative ways that you can determine the musical preferences of your clients.

If you’re feeling stuck and a little unsure of what music to use with your teen clients, check out the Tuneful Teens E-Book series (it’s sold over 2,500 copies!) and the Tune In To Teens E-Course (it’s approved by CBMT for 5 credits).

E-Course participants who’ve completed the course feel ready to step into their teen sessions with confidence, knowing exactly what music to use.

Julia Sullivan, MT-BC calls it a “lifesaver course.”

Ali Showshall says “It is the only comprehensive resource that I have been able to find online that has specifically helped me in planning my sessions.”

I’m kinda passionate about my work with teens AND about helping other music therapists who might be struggling with session planning. I’d for you to check out the E-Resources that are available to see where we can inspire you to feel more creative, more prepared and more confident.

The post Pop Song Searching Got You Down? Read On. appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

What pop songs are you digging right now?

Currently I’m loving “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake and “Try Everything” by Shakira.

Anyone else?

Sometimes it can be really hard to find songs that we can bring into our music therapy sessions. In my case, they need to fit the following criteria:

• Have “appropriate” lyrics & content (because of the facility where I work)
• Are easily reproducible using live music (I try to use live music as much as possible)
• Are actually considered cool by my clients (that’s a BIG one!)

If you’re in the same position as me and sometimes get stuck knowing what pop songs (and other kinds of music to use) during your sessions, check out the Tuneful Teens E-Book series.

I JUST updated the Pop Song Hot List with all fresh, new pop songs so you can stay ahead of the curve. There are over 100 songs on the list, so you can pull it up as you’re planning for easy access to the new songs that are out there.

In addition to that, in the E-Books I share key ways you can find out the specific songs that your unique clients are into so each session is tailored to their musical preferences.

If this sounds like something that would be helpful as you start your teen sessions for the Fall, check out everything the Tuneful Teens series has to offer here.

Kristin Schneider says: “It’s my go-to resource for new ideas to do with my teen clients.”

Ambriel Taylor says: “Your book was just the push my brain needed to get my creative juices flowing again.”

The post Need New Pop Songs for Your Teens Sessions? appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

I get it.

There are drug references, sexual innuendos and curse words in many of the new songs out now.

When I’m looking for songs that are “appropriate,” I’m looking for songs that are free of inappropriate language and content, and songs that are able to be used therapeutically.

Right now, I’m digging “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten, “Stitches” by Shawn Mendes, and a clean version of “Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah)” by Andy Grammer.

I don’t know about you but as the years go on I’ve found it more and more challenging to find those appropriate pop songs to use in my sessions.

Have you found the same thing to be true?

If you’re in the same boat as me – constantly looking for new pop songs that are out – you’ll want to check out Tuneful Teens 1 and Tuneful Teens 2 (or better yet the combo pack for a discounted price!)

These E-Books include a Pop Song Hot List with 100 pop songs that are out now and can be used therapeutically in your sessions.

I spend a lot of time researching new pop songs and this list is a great starting point so you have a quick, go-to resource of songs to draw from.

In these E-Books I also share other strategies for how to locate new songs as they come out and how to determine the musical preferences of your group, to ensure you’re using songs they are digging!

Be sure to check out the entire E-Book collection, which includes the Tuneful Teens series, right here.

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It’s December and I can feel the excitement for the holidays building!

This is my favorite time of the year. I love the decorations, the holiday songs, the food, the get togethers ~ all of it!

To spread a little holiday cheer, I want to share with you a brand new offering ~ a Holiday Package I’ve put together.

This would be a perfect gift for a music therapist or music teacher in your life….or a gift for yourself!

The Holiday Package is $25 and includes:
* Tuneful Teens E-Book
* Sensational Songs & Activities E-Book
* Pop Song Mini Pack

This is a steal really! The Holiday Pack is valued at $42 and is available until December 31 for only $25!

Get your new year started out right with these resources by clicking the button below to purchase!

You don’t have to take my word for it ~

Here’s what Rachel Rambach has to say about Tuneful Teens:
“When I first started out as a new music therapist, the population that intimidated me the most was the tween and teen crowd. That’s why I was so excited when my friend and fellow music therapist Amy Kalas launched her E-Book, Tuneful Teens. Amy provides everything you need — step by step procedures, templates, sheet music, etc. — to implement the interventions in your music therapy sessions. I highly recommend Amy’s book!”
– Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC

Here’s what Megan Collins says about Sensational Songs & Activities:
“The most useful part of Sensational Songs & Activities for me was the themed session plans and the outline of ideas for each session, equipment required, etc. This E-Book has specifically helped me by providing some fresh ideas on how to incorporate non-musical equipment into sensory stimulation during music therapy sessions. For example, using water spray bottles, cotton balls, candles, and other non-musical equipment alongside musical instruments such as thunder tubes, ocean drums, etc to provide additional sensory stimulation and to enhance the soundscapes created. Thank you for sharing your ideas with other music therapists and for your wonderful customer service also! I will be sure to recommend you to other music therapists here in Australia.”
– Megan Collins

Ready  to purchase? Click the button below!

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It’s that time of year again!

Time for an update of Tuneful Teens 1 and 2 where I add in all the new, hot, fresh pop songs that the teens are playing on their ipods these days.

I know it can be hard to keep up with latest trends in music and the newest singers, so I’ve done the work for you!

If you’ve previously purchased Tuneful Teens 1 or 2, click here to email me and let me know you’re ready for your FREE update, and you’re ready to see the new pop songs that I’ve added to the Pop Song Hot List. Be sure to email me by May 21.

If you haven’t purchased Tuneful Teens yet, what are you waiting for? These E-Books are jam packed with ideas to spark your creativity for session planning with your teen music therapy groups. Check ’em out here.

Don’t take my word for it!

Here’s what others are saying about Tuneful Teens 2…

“I would definitely recommend Tuneful Teens 2 to those working with teens, but I also find these activities would work well with some older children groups as well. I especially find the Greeting song “Come On and Get Ready” to be great to start my teens group. When working with teens you want an appropriate hello song and this one fits my older groups well. I also have used the Mad Lib songwriting activity with some of my teens and that is a lot of fun. Thanks for providing such a good resource!
– Jennifer Hezoucky, MT-BC

“The intervention I found most useful was Musical Pictionary, my teens loved it! Overall, I love the variety in interventions and I would absolutely recommend Tuneful Teens 2! It’s a great resource and a great springboard for many other ideas. Thank you thank you! I look forward to Tuneful Teens 3! :-)”
– Michelle Miller, MT-BC

Click here to purchase YOUR copy of Tuneful Teens 1 or Tuneful Teens 2!

The post Are you Looking for More Pop Songs to Use in Your Teen Sessions? appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Bravery –

This is a theme that’s reappeared quite frequently in the last year or two….in Disney movies and in songs.

I think this theme is very relevant to teens and so I decided to incorporate it into my music therapy sessions last week. These are sessions for teens with autism and other special needs and the responses I got were pretty incredible.

Here’s how I structured the intervention:

– I started off by asking someone to tell me what it means to be brave. After defining the term, we had a brief discussion about whether it’s easy or hard to be brave sometimes and why.

– Following this discussion, we sang through “Brave” by Sara Bareilles.

– Then I asked each group member to think of a time when they were afraid and had to be brave. I gave them a few minutes to think about this on their own or discuss it with the person next to them.

– Next we went around the group and everyone shared a time when they felt afraid and had to be brave. I was amazed at how open they were. They shared about times they had to be brave in school or when their parents were fighting. Some even said that they never felt afraid and they always felt brave!

– We further discussed the things or people that helped them feel brave.

– We ended by singing through “Brave” one more time and I asked them to think as we sang, about all those times they had to be and were brave.

After the song was over I got a surprise when one of the teens in the group asked me….

“When was a time you had to be brave?”

I have to admit I was caught a bit off guard, because I sure was not expecting that! But what a beautiful thing. It made perfect sense. I had asked them to be vulnerable and share about times they were afraid, so why shouldn’t I be expected to do the same thing?

Fortunately (I think?) I had a big ol’ bruise on my arm from getting blood drawn at the doctor’s office earlier that week. So I shared that going to the doctor and having blood drawn was certainly not fun and that was a time when I really needed to be brave.

I felt honored to be asked that and I think I will always, always remember how important it is for us to be comfortable doing the things we ask our clients to do as well. Sometimes those things are uncomfortable and scary.

All in all it was a memorable session and I believe the teens felt empowered as they recalled the times when they had to be brave in their lives.

If you’d like even MORE creative session ideas to incorporate into your teen music therapy sessions, you need to check out the Rap Pack for Teens! It includes an E-Book with ideas for using raps in your music therapy sessions PLUS 12 mp3s with looped beats. Check it all out here:

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Did you catch my two big announcements?

One HERE and one HERE?

I have to say I’m pretty excited about both!

In preparation for the launch of Tuneful Teens 2 on February 1st, I’m going to share an activity I use with my teen groups that can be adapted in various ways depending on the level of the group.

“Shake, Rattle, and Roll” is one song that always gets my feet tapping. And although it’s not a pop song, per say, for today’s teens, it does have a pretty cool groove to it that makes you want to shake and move.

Here’s how I set up the activity:

Split your group into three. One group gets bells (they’ll be ‘shaking’), one group gets maracas (they’ll be ‘rattling’) and one group gets drums (they’ll be ‘rolling.’)

I sing and play this song using  a boogie beat or rock beat on the keyboard and it really makes it feel authentic!

Instruct the whole group to play all together as you sing the first verse.

When you get to the chorus, change up the lyrics to:

“I said shake, shake, shake. I said shake, shake, shake” (only bells play)
“I said rattle, rattle, rattle. I said  rattle, rattle, rattle” (only maracas play)
“I said roll, roll, roll. I said roll, roll, roll.” (only drums play)

Instruct the whole group to play all together as you sing the second verse.

When you get to the chorus this time, sing the lyrics as is, and see how the group keeps up!

“I said shake (bells play), rattle (maracas play), and roll (drums)
“I said shake (bells play), rattle (maracas play), and roll (drums), etc.”

You might have to slow down the tempo at first, but then you can gradually increase it, which makes it really fun (and, of course, a great way to work on those auditory perception and attention skills!)

As I mentioned, although this song is not considered ‘pop music’ any more, I still like to introduce songs from different eras and songs of different genres into my teen groups.

Hope you enjoy!

If you want even MORE ideas for creatively engaging adolescents in music therapy, you need to check out Tuneful Teens 2 when it comes out this Saturday, February 1st!!

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Those of you who have purchased Tuneful Teens: Creative Ideas for Engaging Adolescents in Music Therapy know that there is something cool I added to the package a few months ago.

A FREE update!

As I continued to work with teens with autism and other special needs I began seeing that the songs I used in my sessions would change month to month. What was cool one month would be ‘out’ the next. I had to learn new pop songs rapidly and sometimes had trouble keeping up with what was considered ‘in.’

So I decided to add a Pop Song Hot List to the Tuneful Teens E-Book. This is a list of all the songs that my teen clients have requested or that I’ve seen on the Billboard Top 100 or that I’ve heard on the radio played over and over (so they must be popular right?)

I even find myself looking back at this list to get new ideas for songs to use in my sessions!

Why is knowing what songs are cool to teens so important?

When you bring music that is “cool” into your sessions, you’re able to build an immediate rapport with your clients. Also, your clients will be more engaged if you’re using a song they know and can sing along to. Once you’ve piqued their interest you can use that song in a way that meets your goals….as part of a musical game to work on social interaction and group cohesion….or as part of a songwriting experience to work on self expression.

If you have already purchased Tuneful Teens, you are eligible for one free update! The updated E-Book has all fresh, hot, new pop songs that you can use today in your sessions! Email me and I’ll send you an updated copy right over.

If you are interested in finding out what Tuneful Teens is all about and why it’s sold over 250 copies click here to read more and order your copy today!

The post It’s Time for a Tuneful Teens Update appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

We have a winner!

If you are a Wholesome Harmonies newsletter subscriber (it’s free), you know that someone on the list had a chance to win a *FREE* copy of Tuneful Teens 1. I asked those who were interested to post on Facebook about where they are most ‘stuck’ when it comes to working with teens during music therapy. I also asked to hear what they would most like to see in Tuneful Teens 2 (yes it’s coming!!)

Thank you to those of you entered and gave some great ideas!

Drumroll please….the winner is…..

DIANE POWELL!

Yay!! Diane wrote:

“I would love to see your ideas for age-appropriate songs & strategies for lower functioning students (teens-young adults) in ‘Tuneful Teens 2’! It seems like that is the area that can be the hardest to find appropriate intervention ideas for.”

I absolutely loved this idea. In fact, I had just gotten an email from another Tuneful Teens ‘purchaser’ who suggested the same thing for Tuneful Teens 2! Already I have some ideas brewing…..

Want to have a say in what goes into Tuneful Teens 2? Leave a comment and let me know…where are you ‘stuck’ when working with teen populations? What would you most like to see in TT2?

If you want more resources, sheet music, and ideas that I only share with my list, become a subscriber today – it’s free!

Image courtesy of [Master isolated images] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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