Listen to samples of each track from the album:

Click below to purchase the Bonus Rap Tracks:

The post BONUS Rap Tracks appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

Do you have trouble creating musical experiences that are goal oriented, and at the same time engaging and “cool?” (I’ve been there!)

Have you ever wished you had a go-to resource so when you sit down to plan your teen sessions you have inspiration right at your finger tips?

Then I have something you need to check out:

It’s called the Rap Pack for Teens.

This resource provides ideas for how to use raps to work on a variety of goals during your teen music therapy sessions.

The Rap Pack consists of:

• E-Book that includes the following –
  • Goals addressed with rapping
  • Procedure for creating & performing original raps (both themed & freestyle)
  • Ideas and variations for implementation (including my favorite Will.I.Am song to use with teens that reinforces the importance of individuality)
• 12 original mp3 tracks with looped beats for rapping (listen to a clip below!)

Specific instructions for implementation are included and I offer variations to fit the needs of those working with both groups and individuals.

The Rap Pack is designed to help get you unstuck and get your creative juices flowing for session planning.

And it’s only $18!

Don’t need any more convincing? Click below to purchase:

(Or, keep reading to find out more about the ‘Why’ behind the Rap Pack as well as more details on the goodies you’ll find included with this resource).

The Why behind the Rap Pack.

I’ve had the privilege of working with teens with autism and other special needs for fourteen years. I absolutely love working with this population. But, I have to be honest – I did not always feel this way.

Full disclosure: when I first started providing music therapy sessions for teens, I was extremely nervous and unsure of myself.

I was great at coming up with musical experiences that were goal-oriented. I had that down. But when it came to creating experiences that were goal-oriented AND engaging for teens that seemed “too cool for school,” I had a bit more trouble.

So, in my first year as a music therapist working with teens, I made it my mission to create and test out all different types of musical experiences. I wanted to find the ones that were the most successful in meeting targeted goals AND were most successful in terms of client feedback.

There is no better feeling than when a teen client says “Can we do that next week? That was so cool.” Am I right?

My sole purpose in creating the Tuneful Teens E-Book series and the Rap Pack is to share with you the musical experiences that have been most successful with my teen clients. The experiences that are a “home run” every time. The experiences I hear the teens talking about after the session is over. The experiences they ask to do again next week.

I know that if clients are engaged and are enjoying what they’re doing within the session, they’re more likely to accomplish the goals I’ve set for them. And isn’t that ultimately what we want? 

That’s why I created the Rap Pack.

What’s Inside the E-Covers.

Rapping is one of those musical experiences that engages teens while simultaneously targeting a variety of goals. Rapping is cool and the experience of creating and performing a rap can be adapted and varied in countless ways.

In the Rap Pack I explain step-by-step how I facilitate these musical experiences. You’ll learn how to create and perform rhythm combo raps (where small groups are assigned their own rhythmic parts that are layered on top of each other), which is ideal for working on sustained, divided, and selective attention. You’ll also learn how to facilitate freestyle raps, which are ideal for building self-esteem and allowing opportunities for self-expression.

Each and every idea listed in the Rap Pack has been used multiple times in my teen music therapy sessions. I also offer variations to fit the needs of those working with both groups and individuals.

In addition to the E-Book, you’ll also get twelve original mp3 tracks with looped beats that can be used with any of the musical experiences described in the Rap Pack.

Here’s a clip from one of the Rap Tracks:

My hope is the ideas included in the Rap Pack will help you get “unstuck” and kickstart your creativity for session planning. You won’t be limited by what’s included within the e-pages. The ideas will help spark your creativity so you can begin designing musical experiences that will work well with your particular groups and your unique clients.

The Rap Pack will be a go-to resource with easy-to-access ideas that can be implemented in a variety of settings (individual and group) and with a variety teen populations (those with behavior disorders, autism or other special needs).

The best part? It’s only $18.

Add on some Bonus Rap Tracks for only $5 and you’ll be ready to jam with your clients! Click here to purchase:

Don’t Take My Word For It…

“I have had a chance to look at my Rap Pack for teens, and it is great! I really like it! The ideas are creative and clearly laid out, and the CD tracks are really useful! I used one of the back tracks as an “organizer” for an improv that I was doing with one of my teen classes and it worked great!  The teen population can sometimes be tricky to find “cool” and appropriate music therapy experiences for, so new ideas are always a treat!!  Thanks so much for creating this resource!! I’ve already recommended the Rap Pack to several colleagues!”
– Elizabeth Buckmaster, MEd, MT-BC

“I have enjoyed and used ideas from a couple of your E-Books. I have indeed found your books helpful and stimulating for my own creativity. Specifically from the Rap Pack E-Book I used the pre-recorded selections you included. So far I have used two of them and they inspired me to make one of my own using Garage Band. I really appreciate the way you broke the tasks down. I also have appreciated your recommendations of pop songs.  I have actually recommended the Rap Pack to one person and would do so again.  I think it is the most concise and organized of the E-Books I have used.”
– John Kneip, MT-BC

“Overall, a great resource! I would recommend it as it makes rap an approachable genre :) I did use your rap track one with one of my autistic clients to encourage vocalizations and it worked great. Thanks for putting it together!”
– Vanessa Talbott, MA, MT-BC

Here Are Some Kind Words About the Other Teen Resources We Offer…

Wholesome Harmonies E-Books are designed to provide creative ideas and inspiration for music therapists. The E-Book series has sold over 2,500 copies in total and is helping music therapists get “unstuck” during session planning.

Reviews of Tuneful Teens: Creative Ideas for Engaging Adolescents in Music Therapy:

“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 Buser 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

“I bought your book because frankly after two summers, I was scrapped for fresh ideas. My favorite thing about your book is that every activity comes with a template or some sort of example which allows me to quickly and easily see what you did and how I can adapt it for my groups. My favorite activity has been Musical Hangman.  I have done similar things in the past, but I liked the addition of pulling a task out of a drum.  I have yet to use your obstacle course idea, but I love it.  Your book was just the push my brain needed to get my creative juices flowing again. Thank you!!”
– Ambriel Taylor

Reviews of Tuneful Teens 2: MORE Creative Ideas for Engaging Adolescents in Music Therapy:

“I love how Tuneful Teens 1 & 2 are laid out with simple intervention instructions, prop samples, and follow up ideas. It makes it very easy to understand and helps me feel confident I could successfully implement the ideas with a group.Would I recommend Tuneful Teens 2? Absolutely! The intervention ideas are great! I’m currently not practicing music therapy (we just moved to a new area), but reading through Amy’s ideas gets me excited to find new opportunities for providing music therapy in my new town. :)”
– Sarah Winkler

The post Rap Pack for Teens appeared first on Wholesome Harmonies, LLC.

I have a few questions for you…

• Do you work with teens and often feel stumped when it comes to session planning?
• Do you struggle to find appropriate pop songs to use in your sessions with teens
• Did you purchase Tuneful Teens 1 and wish you had access to even more creative ideas for engaging teens in your sessions?
• Do you feel overwhelmed by learning new pop songs and creating new templates frequently in order to keep things fresh?

If you answered YES to any of those questions, I can completely relate because I’ve been there too: feeling stuck for ideas, feeling like I’m doing the same activity over and over, struggling to engage the teens in my group.

But, after fourteen years of experience working with teens with autism and other special needs….fourteen years of trying out a multitude of interventions…I have a TON of successful ideas that I just know you’re going to love!

That’s why I created Tuneful Teens 2: More Ideas for Engaging Adolescents in Music Therapy.

Tuneful Teens 2 is the second E-Book in the Tuneful Teens series which has sold over 2,500 copies! So far over 2,500 therapists, teachers, and students have been inspired by the ideas in Tuneful Teens, and the E-Books continue to fly off the E-shelves. Many customers have emailed to thank me and let me know how they’ve been able to use the ideas from the E-Book effectively in their sessions. Many of them have requested even more ideas to spark their creativity for session planning. (Sometimes we just need a little jump start to get things going, right?)

That is why I am SO excited about Tuneful Teens 2.

The Tuneful Teens 2 E-book is jam-packed with intervention ideas, song ideas, and templates for a variety of activities that are appropriate and engaging for teens with autism and other special needs. Every idea in Tuneful Teens 2 has been used multiple times in my music therapy sessions. I’ve included only the intervention ideas that have been most successful in meeting targeted goals and the most popular ones with the teens in my groups. I am SO excited to share these ideas so you can start implementing them right away.

Tuneful Teens is your guide to navigating the world of music therapy with adolescents with special needs, and it’s only $18! Don’t need any more convincing? Click here to purchase:

(Or keep reading to find out more about the goodies you’ll find in Tuneful Teens 2).

Want to find out more?

Here’s what you’ll find inside the E-covers of Tuneful Teens 2:

• You’ll find more creative ways to engage teens in music therapy
• You’ll find a comprehensive list of pop songs that can be used effectively in your sessions
• You’ll find new ways to determine the musical preferences of your group members
• You’ll learn more musical games (these are always a hit!)
• You’ll find ideas for implementing creative movement, lyric analysis and song discussion into your sessions
• You’ll find sheet music for my favorite greeting and goodbye songs
• You’ll find more inspiration to get your creative juices flowing and generate your own ideas based on the unique needs of your group

AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING – I share many more tips, resources, and ideas in the 50 pages of Tuneful Teens 2.

Each category lists specific intervention ideas, complete with goal areas, what you will need to prepare in advance, and steps of the procedure for easy implementation.

BONUS…I’ve even included a Pop Song Hot List with 100 of the freshest, hottest songs (updated every six months!) You do NOT want to miss out on this!

I want to save you time! So, I’ve include sheet music, lyric sheets, musical game templates, and everything you’ll need to implement these ideas into your sessions immediately.

I want you to be successful! So, I’ve only included the intervention ideas that have been the most successful and most popular with my groups.

I want YOU to feel confident so you can engage teens more effectively in your therapy sessions and build therapeutic rapport that is so crucial to helping these clients meet their goals.

Don’t work with teens with special needs? No problemo – the ideas in Tuneful Teens 2 can easily be adapted for other teen populations (such as those with mental illness or emotional behavior disorders) and for adult populations.

The best part? You can have all of this – over 50 pages of creative ideas, sheet music, and activity templates – all for only $18!

Don’t take my word for it! Here’s what others are saying about Tuneful Teens 2…

“It’s my go-to resource for new ideas to do with teen clients.”
– Kristin Schneider, Music Therapy Intern

“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

“What I liked best about Tuneful Teens 2 were the descriptive directions and explanations,  as well as the visuals and materials included. Yes {I would recommend Tuneful Teens 2}; it was helpful and a springboard for other ideas.”
– Katie Myers, MM, MT-BC

“I found the list of songs {Pop Song Hot List} to be invaluable.  Why?  Because last summer I was invited to run a music therapy program for middle schoolers and teens in the ARC’s summer camp, in the county where I live.  Because I currently work mainly with adults or young children, I had no idea what music teens are listening to.  Your list provided me with plenty of artists’ names and songs to explore for what would be appropriate to use in my sessions.  Thank you.”
– Carole Thomas, MM, MT-BC

“I think Tuneful Teens 2 is very well organized with lots of good ideas! Yes I would recommend Tuneful Teens 2, a lot of good ideas for the price! That added to the course I took of yours on Kat Fulton’s website give me some power! Keep doing what you are doing Amy – giving us great value and creative ideas to jump start from!”
– Leslie Meadows, MA, MT-BC

“I would definitely recommend Tuneful Teens 2. The feature I liked best was the specific instructions for interventions. Thank you for providing these great resources.”
– Katie Maurer, MT-BC

“I love how Tuneful Teens 1 & 2 are laid out with simple intervention instructions, prop samples, and follow up ideas. It makes it very easy to understand and helps me feel confident I could successfully implement the ideas with a group.Would I recommend Tuneful Teens 2? Absolutely! The intervention ideas are great!

I’m currently not practicing music therapy (we just moved to a new area), but reading through Amy’s ideas gets me excited to find new opportunities for providing music therapy in my new town. :)”
– Sarah Winkler

“I’ve been using the Tuneful Teens E-Books with really good results in my schools so far, I’ve found the games work really well for engagement and building social skills within the groups. It’s really made an impact on the students I work with so thank you very much!”
– Luke Jones

Marcia Humpal, M.Ed, MT-BC presented the greeting song Come On & Get Ready from Tuneful Teens 2 (sheet music is included in the E-Book!) during the Autism Spectrum Disorder CMTE at the 2014 American Music Therapy Conference in Louisville, KY.

Here’s what others are saying about Tuneful Teens 1…

“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 Buser 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, and also want to give her a shout-out for celebrating the first year of her wonderful blog, Wholesome Harmonies. It has grown leaps and bounds since last year, and I’m excited to watch it continue to do so!
– Rachel Rambach, MM, MT-BC

“I REALLY enjoyed the Tuneful Teens book and am so glad I got it.  It gave me a bunch of wonderful ideas for my individual and my group sessions!  The things I’ve used the most so far since I purchased the book are the  Auditory Perception Training (APT) exercises as well as the movement APT exercises.  I’ve made Music Bingo sheets before, but for older adults with aphasia – I’ve never thought of making them for kids before, what a great  idea! … Keep the good stuff comin’!”
– Stephanie Scheffel, MM, MT-BC

“My favorite interventions were the instrument jams such as the call-and-response.  These can be used with a group or with individuals.  I have all individual clients so I feel I can use this intervention with them.  I liked it when you also put in some song ideas because I am always looking for more!“
– Ashley Lundquist, MT-BC

“Amy Kalas Buser, MM, MT-BC has some great ideas in her E-Book Tuneful Teens: Creative Ideas for Engaging Adolescents in Music Therapy. I just got it and have used it several times – my group really likes Musical Hangman right now. Very big hit! Great ideas with a sometimes tough population.”
– Jessica Edwards, MT-BC

“Loving it so far. Appropriate for many of my adult clients, too! Two thumbs up!”
– Connie Cheila Huettner, MA, MT-BC

“I love the music quiz game. I have used this activity with both adolescents and my adult groups. All I do is change up on some of the songs to meet the needs of the group. Also I love song writing and have used the song writing ideas with some of my children groups. Just to share I work on inpatient psych units. Thanks so much for this great resource.”
– Jennifer Hezoucky, MT-BC

“Just had a really positive session with a class of seven 6-yr-olds with autism. I used your Haunted House idea, sang the song with the guitar, and saved sound files of eight noises (knocking, boo, etc.) I had eight buddy buttons for the students to press when it was their turn in the song-story. They focused for nearly 15 minutes and were highly engaged, and loved the activity! I also tried the buddy buttons with an older class (higher functioning verbal 9 year olds) later in the day, so they didn’t really need the support, but they absolutely loved the activity. Thank-you for your ideas!”
– Catherine Schmidt, Special Ed Teacher & Music Specialist

“Tuneful Teens is a great resource to expand my repertoire and has provided me tools to work off in my practice.  I like the variety of interventions and songs!  Suggestions for making it better would be to simply add a second edition!”
– Kristin Noel Veteto, MT-BC

“I’ve really liked having Tuneful Teens as a resource. I just started working with a group of girls age 11-12 and had no idea what kind of music to use or how to structure interventions, and your book came along at just the right time. Most of the girls have Auditory Processing Disorder so I’ve used the Auditory Perception Training exercises; I’ve done the hangman game (they loved it!); and the instrument call and response. I also put together my own cards for the guess who game and plan to use that with another group I’m doing, we’ll see how that goes. Thanks for putting this together, it’s a nice quick easy helpful resource.”
– Jaycie Voorhees, MM, MT-BC

“I received both E-Books–thank you!  I love the ideas, and am going to adapt the games for teens with my senior population.  These are really nice resources; thank you again! I was thrilled to find such valuable resources!“

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