Can’t Sit Still from Together With The Beat

Waiting in line at the grocery store? Or in the doctor’s waiting room? These are the times when a parent’s need to focus and wait really clashes with a child’s need to move.

In a classroom or day care center, the needs of the group or the grownup sometimes has to take precedence over the energy of the wiggly child.

Here is a song to help you and your child make it through these tough (and wiggly) times. It might be one of the most fun songs I’ve written!

Can’t Sit Still

from Elizabeth Schwartz’s songbook, Together With The Beat

Who’s More Stressed?

Who’s More Stressed? The screaming toddler being strapped into their car seat? Or the parent trying to strap the toddler in?

I say, both. At this time of year which is supposed to be so magical, it sure seems as if there is a lot of stress out there.

What can I, a music therapist, do about it? A lot!

In my decades of running early childhood music groups, I was always amazed at the transformation from the beginning to the end – usually stress to smiles. In developmentally focused music making, we can help parents to better understand their child and give them both a safe and supportive space just to ‘be.’

This is one reason we started the Sprouting Melodies Training. The course makes use of your expertise as a music therapist, and gives you the knowledge, experiences, and music you need to serve the children and families of your community.

What’s unique about the Sprouting Melodies Training? We focus on both the child and the parent as people. Me and Me…Meaningful expectations. Music for engagement.

The Sprouting Melodies® program offers music therapists a chance to use your education, skills and experience to bring the best possible early childhood music experience to families in your community.

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23 CMTEs available for you to complete in your own space, in your own time.

Registration is now open for January 2023!

What exactly do you get in the course?

  • 10 week course where you take your early childhood skills and knowledge to the NEXT LEVEL
  • Interactive learning forums where you participate in discussions with the instructors and other music therapists
  • A copy of Elizabeth Schwartz’s book, Music, Therapy and Early Childhood: A Developmental Approach.

Ready to register for the Sprouting Melodies Training?

We can wait to see you inside the Sprouting Melodies training!

~ Elizabeth & Meredith

Raising Harmony: Refreshed, Renewed, Revitalized – Our Training and Your Practice!

Great news from Raising Harmony! We always ask for your feedback and we really do listen! Integrating all of the requests from our community, this fall we are:

  • Hosting new live and online courses
  • Launching a new songbook from Elizabeth Schwartz, and
  • the Sprouting Melodies Training, our core course, is newly revised and updated

Chances are, if you’re reading this post, you fall into one of three categories –

  1. You always wanted to take the Sprouting Melodies Training and just haven’t found the right time (HINT: This is the right time!)
  2. You already took the course and learned a lot. (Maybe consider retaking the course at a special reduced rate, or pass this email on to friends and colleagues who you know would love this content!)
  3. You took the course, but wish you had spent more time with the content and implementing the songs and strategies. (You can now take advantage of our special offer to retake the course!)

If you’ve already taken the Sprouting Melodies Training, and you want a refresher, or if you know someone who would benefit from taking the course for the first time, please share this with them! If you haven’t taken our Sprouting Melodies Training yet, join us for this updated and revised course including:

  • New, up-to-date, professionally recorded videos
  • Exciting new contributions from practitioners leading Sprouting Melodies classes
  • New songs and music
  • Same quality foundations and practice information

Earn 23 CMTE hours fully on-line, in your own space, in your own timePlease join us for the Fall ’22 launch. Click here for registration information. https://raisingharmony.com/training/sprouting-melodies-training-info/Prices will go up in 2023 to reflect the updated content and professional video recordings, so please take advantage of this first round of the updated training.

If you’ve already taken the course and this is a retake for you, please use the coupon code 2022SMTRefresher to get your special offer!  If you’ve already taken the course, encourage your friends to take the training! If you refer someone to take the Sprouting Melodies Training Course will us, email Meredith directly and she will set you up with a free 3 Credit Short Course from Raising Harmony!

Want to learn more about our new courses and details for the Songbook Launch Party? Keep watching our Facebook page and watch your emails for more details to come!! We look forward to seeing you this Fall!

Meredith and Elizabeth

Getting a Two-Year-Old to Tune In?

Wow! What a year this has been. I have been thinking that 2021 is a little bit like the two-year-old’s I know – tantrums, tears, testing limits; but also times of incredible tenderness and tremendous growth.

Understanding development of little children is so helpful in understanding people in general. Want to know more? We’ve got a great course that gives you comprehensive information on development as well as music development. How to get that two-year-old to tune in? Covered. Getting parents, staff, and administrators to tune in? Covered.  All this covered in our 23 CMTE credit, totally virtual Sprouting Melodies training course. Here is the link to register for our January 2022 course.

https://raisingharmony.com/training/sprouting-melodies-training-info/

Bonus! As part of the course, Meredith Pizzi, Erika Svolos, and I will meet with you virtually to answer questions or to brainstorm ideas and solutions. This would be a great time to learn more about successful ways to run Virtual Early Childhood groups. Yes, it can be done. And yes, you can get a two-year-old (and their grownups) to tune in!

Hope you will join us. Register by January 1st and receive an early-bird discount. Contact me directly with any questions Elizabeth@RaisingHarmony.com.

Here’s to 2022!

Elizabeth Schwartz

No Gimmicks

It seems certain that 2020 and 2021 will go down in history as years of challenge on many levels. How has it been for you? And more importantly – how can we help? While the difficulties loom large, Meredith and I have been so moved by the resilience and flexibility of music therapists and of you as part of the Raising Harmony community. We are determined to work harder than ever to provide support, resources, and maybe motivation for you. That is what community is all about.
Our most recent Sprouting Melodies Training really highlighted the hope that music therapists bring to their work. When we met through Zoom last week, the mood was one of excitement for the possibilities of the future. Can you use that kind of atmosphere right now? Below is a list of opportunities we have scheduled for this fall and into next year, and we would love to have you join us.
On a personal note, I am THRILLED to share that the year of COVID motivated me to finally finish my second book of songs. ‘Together with the Beat: Songs for Me, and You, and Us’ will be available in a few weeks! We are hoping to have a celebratory launch, so look for more information coming soon. If you have used ‘You and Me Makes…We: A Growing Together Songbook’ you are going to love this new book.
Whether its new music, coaching, fresh ideas, support or motivation – how can we help you?

Beth


Additional Fall Opportunities

Fall Sprouting Melodies Training
We’ve all seen it. Images of an expecting mother with headphones over her belly, playing classical music through the speakers to soothe and calm her baby. Now more than ever, parents are looking for ways to support their children through their developmental journey. Join us for the fall session of the Sprouting Melodies Training while we explore songs, developmental stages and music interventions for early childhood. This training will begin on September 8th and end on November 17th. The registration link can be found here. We hope to see you!

Music Therapy Job Opportunities
Many of you are familiar with Sprouting Melodies & Raising Harmony, but you may not be familiar with Raising Harmony’s sister company, Roman Music Therapy Services. Raising Harmony’s Co-Founder and Roman Music Therapy Services Executive Director, Meredith Pizzi, MPA, MT-BC invites you to explore the potential for your next career opportunity with Roman Music Therapy Services. We are hiring qualified, people-driven professionals to join a small, dynamic team that provides music therapy to communities across eastern Massachusetts. Open positions include Board Certified Music Therapists as well as a Customer Service Coordinator. Click here for the job postings, or reach out to jobs@romanmusictherapy.com with any questions.


Graduate Education Opportunity

Are you looking for an opportunity to expand your knowledge and learn from an experienced Music Therapy Business Owner? Meredith Pizzi, Raising Harmony’s Co-Founder, will be teaching Music Therapy Business Development at Alverno College this fall. Enrollment is open until the end of August. Classes begin this week, so reach out today! See the flyer for more information or click here to register now.

It’s Not a Secret

Have you ever wondered how music begins? How does a tiny infant learn music that helps them grow into a Grammy Award winner, or a basement band fan, or a music therapist? It’s not a secret. We know how music develops and how it becomes woven into a person’s identity. But we also know that many college programs don’t spend much time on music development. It’s only when you get out in the field that you realize that it would be something good to know.

In our Sprouting Melodies Training course, we lay it all out for you in a clear and practical framework. Each small music detail leads into the music making and then leads into a persuasive understanding of music in overall development. Right from the very start. In every session we give you new songs, music, and strategies that can be used in your work the very next day.

It’s not a secret. We’ve had well over 200 music therapists take the training, and we hear all the time how helpful the information is, no matter where you work.

Our Spring 2021 course begins on March 31. Visit our web page at https://raisingharmony.com/training/sprouting-melodies-training-info/.

It’s not a secret that this is really great training. Come and join us.

Beth and Meredith

Connect. Collaborate. Stay Current.

Now more than ever, we need meaningful opportunities to be connected to others.

We search for ways to collaborate in creating innovative, creative programs.

And we seek flexible solutions to the challenges of staying current in a fast changing health-care environment.

Meredith, Erica, and I would like to welcome you to just such an environment through the Sprouting Melodies Training. Our newly updated and refreshed course begins Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The course provides you with:

 

  • Completely on-line training – done in your own space, in your own time
  • 23 continuing education credits
  • A vibrant interactive community of music therapists who gather and share in the course on-line forum
  • New ways of thinking about music therapy and about using your skills as a music therapist
  • Tons of new songs and intervention ideas
  • A comprehensive guide to musical development and early childhood development
  • Realistic and useful strategies for planning and practice

Register here

https://raisingharmony.com/training/sprouting-melodies-training-info/

Come join us! Beth

What’s the Deal with Dorian?

Well, I’ve done it again! There is something about the Dorian mode during the winter season that really draws me in. And what I’ve noticed again and again is that it also draws young children into the music in a way that is unique.

I think that it is the ambiguity which the Dorian mode creates that fits so well with my style of music therapy. I want children to explore and express and examine. I don’t always want to box children in to a certain harmonic structure that will lead them to a foregone conclusion. The Dorian starts out with the flatted third that tricks the ear into thinking it has a specific path. But then, along comes the raised sixth. It surprises me every time. It no longer feels minor, but it doesn’t feel major either. That is another reason that Dorian is perfect for young children as they explore all types of pitched and melodic sounds. Anything they contribute musically seems to have a place in Dorian.

I also like to add the Dorian mix into the pot during the holidays. By the time December is nearing its end, many of us are ready for a break. We sometimes get stuck in the stress of season and keep our jingle bells on constant loop. Dorian digs me out.

Maybe this song in Dorian will help you find a little bit of novelty and newness in these last few days before the New Year. Give it a try this week. “Look and See” invites you and your children to take a break from the normal and find some creative play time. Let me know if you, like me, find a big deal in Dorian.

Enjoy the Music!
Beth

Look and See!
E. K. Schwartz 2017

1, 2, 3. Look and see!
1, 2, 3. Look at me.
1, 2, 3. Look and see!
We can play together. We can play together.

Come and play with me.
Come and play with me.
Come with me and you’ll see, we can play together.

Need a Summer Boost? Try Mixing Meters!

I always looked forward to the change of seasons.  Fall to winter. Winter to spring.  Especially spring to summer when school let out and everything seemed more relaxed and care-free. But as a music therapist, I have learned that the children and families that I work with do not get a break from the challenges that they face. The preschool program in which I work runs year round so that the children will have the consistent support that they require.

Even though I know that this is often best for the children, I get sad when the children or families tell me that they don’t have the time or energy for normal fun. Fun, like going to the beach to swim.  So if the children can’t get to the beach, how about bringing the beach to them? We don’t need actual sand and water, we just need music that gives the feeling of the waves and surf.

Here is a new song you can use this summer. It relies on mixing the meters of 2 and 3 to give the sense of momentum and flow that we feel in the cool water. Give it a try with instruments or lovely flowing scarves. I use one that I picked up on a vacation a long time ago.

 

Come With Me and Swim…E.K. Schwartz 2017

Come with me and swim. Come hold hands and jump right in.

Come with me and swim. Come hold hands and jump right in.

The water is cool, the weather is fine. So take a deep breath, it’s almost time.

Bend your knees. Curl your toes. Take a breath. Hold your nose.

Ready. Set. Go! OH!!

Enjoy!

Beth

Wedding Wisdom or Learning to Say No

There is a temptation at every stage of parenting to think that you have finally reached the end of the textbook. You feel sure that you now know all the wisdom that a parent would ever need. Well, I am here to tell you that that is simply not true! Those of you who read these blogs know that I am in the ‘grown-child- not fully out of the nest’ stage.  This summer we celebrated a new rite of passage- the wedding (and marriage!) of one of our children.  Looking wistfully at the pictures reminds me that it was glorious, joyous, amazing and all those adjectives that you could hope for.  But the days and weeks leading up to the wedding gave me plenty of opportunity to think back on the challenges of parenting in contemporary society and all the pressures that bombard young children and their parents.

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It all started with the first phone call looking for all the things a wedding seems to need – food, flowers and of course the dress.  As soon as I said the word ‘wedding’, the sales pitch started, telling me in no uncertain terms that we needed to….well you can fill in the blank, but the lists went on and on and the costs got bigger and bigger.

Fortunately, I learned from my parents (and hopefully instilled in my kids) that making thoughtful decisions and staying true to self is more important than frilly drink straws or monogrammed coasters.  The bridal couple worked hard to keep their thinking and decisions clear and grounded in reality. So while we worked to have a beautiful ceremony for my daughter to say ‘yes’ to her new husband, here are some thoughts I had about helping parents and children learn to say ‘no’.  These ideas can work in your early childhood music groups, but will probably work just as well for parents in the store, at daycare or at home.  Share them!

Set the stage for ‘yes’ more than ‘no’

Give children an environment which is safe and sturdy.  Use instruments or toys that can be picked up and explored and tested.  Set up the room or space so that children can use the entire space securely.  If this is not possible, use mats or rugs or dividers to create a clear boundary. Look critically at everything in the environment. Ask yourself, ‘Can children play with this? Can children go there?’ Make sure the answer is ‘yes’ more than ‘no’.

Here is a little chant to use music to set the boundaries. “Inside the mats! That’s where it’s at!”

Make sure you know why you are saying ‘no’

Think long and hard before saying ‘no’.  Is it for you or for the child? Try to use ‘no’ when it will help the child learn and grow in a healthy way.  Issues of safety or the safety of another child might be a time to use the word ‘no’.  If you find yourself saying (or thinking) ‘no’ because the child’s actions don’t fit your plan or your concept of how things should go, you might need to refocus the experiences you provide to be more developmental than task specific.

If the music experience is making shaking sounds, does it really matter if the child is shaking a maraca? Or a jingle bell? Or their toe?

Say ‘no’, then let it go

Adults often feel an emotional undercurrent when using the word ‘no’.  We might be re-living moments when the word ‘no’ made us feel bad about ourselves.  We might feel ambivalent or lack trust in our decisions for children. The best way to avoid this is to make ‘no’ a simple, clear signal without further repercussions. If saying ‘no’ is in the best interest of the child, then state it simply and clearly.  This is the time to not use music or a musical, sing-song voice.

Stop the music, say ’no’ and then let it go. Get right back into the music to let the child know that ‘yes’ is usually a lot more fun than ‘no’.

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So did I follow my own advice on ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for this wedding? Well, for the most part! And the Monday after, we looked back and were grateful that we were able to say ‘no’ to outside wedding pressures and thankful that we said ‘yes’ to the things that really mattered.

Enjoy the music!

Beth

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