Sing and learn

[Meredith Pizzi]

Sing and learn some of the songs presented in the video. Share with the board your experiences using these songs.

[Elana Dietz-Weinstein]

I used several of the songs presented and the kids loved them! I work with groups of children of varying developmental levels, from groups of 6 up to integrated Pre-K classes, and was able to use many of the songs in multiple groups regardless of functioning level (“In My Little Hand” and “I Can Move Around,” for example). My older, higher functioning classes loved the chanting and movement songs as well as “Are You Ready for Music?” The songs are inviting and engaging, and make it easy for the children to participate on many different levels. Although I don’t work with any parent-children groups, I was able to use the bonding songs with my own daughter and she loved them, especially the contrast between fast and slow bouncing.

[Alison Barrington]

Most of the songs presented are new to me – and I was delighted to have the chance to learn them. They are very easy to learn and I have found myself singing them around the house! So I am sure that they will work well with parents and carers who want to sing with their children. Thank you Elana too for your comments and encouragement – I’ll give these a go next time I’m working with my current group.
The songs that I have used with my groups in the past have been quite similar and I want to thank Sprouting Melodies to offer a flexible approach so that I can work with my old songs and incorporate these new songs. I am relieved to know that the songs that I’ve used so far have included a lot of the ideas that Beth suggest work (eg. focussing on ‘me’; being flexible in changing melodies and lyrics to fit the moment; adding in silence/pauses).

[Carolyn Keenan]

Alison, I have been singing them around the house, too! I want to echo what you said about the flexible approach. Elana, I tried the songs out with my son, too! I think I remember reading that they are about the same age. This past week, I tried a few with him (Wiggly Jiggly, Good Morning to You) and he loved them. He watched me intently and nodded his head, bounced, swayed, smiled — all of the responses I was hoping for! Today was my first day back at work after the school’s spring break, and I tried a few songs with the preschoolers. I started out with the “Where Is the Music?” chant and observed what a great attention grabber it is! I will continue to use this at the beginning of my sessions because it really hooked everyone in, which doesn’t always happen after a weeklong break with this population! The kids quickly caught on to the hand motions and words.

[Jen Hinton]

One of the things that I LOVE about sprouting melodies is the permission to adapt and spontaneously use songs as clinicians. Hearing Elizabeth demonstrate her interpretations of the songs really made them come alive to me! It was really helpful for me to understand examples of what it means to use timbre, adjust timing, hear the punctuation, and see movements that she pairs with the different sections of the song. Although I have looked at a lot of the songs in the “You and Me Makes We” book I have only tried one in sessions so far: “Rain is Falling Down.” I used it with instruments and during the middle part of the song where the song adds some dissonance, used the thunder tube. I did elongate that section a bit and play with the words a bit to include more content about the season as well as the rain. I am really excited to try “Hold on Tight” with my daughter as she is just starting to ask for songs that she hears in her daily life. I am excited to expand her repertoire with some E.K.Schwartz! I’m looking forward to incorporating more of these songs into my enrichment programming and hopefully to use as I look to expand my services into our community!

[Anonymous]

How wonderful to hear how much you are all enjoying the music and finding it useful in your work. I also found the music was a wonderful thing to do with my own daughter. I started from the day my daughter was born and still use so much today at 3.5 years. I trained in other early childhood family programs and became a Sprouting Melodies Provider because I was also so happy with the ability to make the program my own. I could use and adapt Beth’s songs, my songs, and other songs I know where great for supporting development. It is great to see you all seeing that benefit as well!

[Kimberly Rodgers-Melnick]

Jen Hinton- I agree that hearing Elizabeth demonstrate her interpretations of the songs was really helpful! It’s the small nuances in timbre, timing and articulation as you mentioned, that for me as well, really make the song come alive– and Elizabeth does such a great job of demonstrating. I use bonding songs in every session of music together (they call them lap songs, or dyad songs there). These are some great principles that I will be able to apply when planning my sessions. The qualities that especially stuck out to me were the clear structure and a sedative lullaby followed by a play song, I will try modifying some of the songs in the Music Together curriculum in the following weeks to comply with these suggestions. I also really like your transition songs, especially ‘Are you ready for music?’ I could see myself using this in my non-music together groups and inserting names in this song as well (i.e. nathan’s ready for music, yes he’s ready for music, yes, he wants to ______) etc. I’ve used the movement song ‘I Can Move Around’ with some of my classes and they enjoy it, they like making up their own movements, we’ve done it both seated and standing, with instruments and without. 🙂

[Claudia Eliaza]

Elizabeth, thank you for these incredible songs! I really love the sort of folk music approach you have in your musical breakdowns and explanations. I appreciate you giving us permission to make these songs our own much like the folk music that is out there! I also was extremely inspired by your songwriting. These tunes were simple in melody yet sophisticated and incredibly interesting to the singing parent, teacher, or caregiver along with the child. I love the dynamical play and vocal lightness to what you shared. I am inspired to begin writing more of my own songs.

[Anonymous]

I am so glad you are all finding the information so useful. I also love that you see how wonderful Beth’s songs are for work with this population. Beth’s incredible work and her combination with Meredith to make a music therapy specific training and early childhood family music program brings something unique that music therapists can offer to the community.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

Thank you all for the kind words about the usefulness of these songs. I often joke that the reason I write so many songs is to get the last one I wrote out of my head! Please also remember that you can access many new songs written since we recorded this course on the blog page of the Sprouting Melodies website.

[Laura Pruett]

I echo what a lot of people have already said – I found myself humming and dancing to myself the song, “Are You Ready For Music?” It’s fun for me! Yes, I’m ready for music! I also found myself repeating the same phrases in the second half of the song, and had to remind myself to try 4 separate phrases. For example, I kept singing, “Are you ready for music?/Are you ready for fun?/Are you ready for music?/Are you ready for fun?” and had to remind myself to not repeat so it sounded something like Beth sang: “Are you ready for music?/Are you ready to drum?/Are you ready to dance now?/Are you ready for fun?”

After listening to Beth sing and play the songs, I was energized to up my musicianship skills when it comes to kids music. The music doesn’t have to be bland and boring, it can have variation and syncopation and so many things that make music fun! I look forward to trying some of these songs in the near future.

[Laura Pruett]

And thanks, Beth, for letting us know there are songs we can access on the blog page! I kept hearing you and Meredith say in the videos that we have access to these songs, but I missed that it was available on the blog.

[Mabel Ortiz]

I work in hospice, and I mostly work with patients that are 70+. Therefore, I have yet to utilize these songs with children. However, I have utilized the “Good Morning To You” song when starting a session with my senior patients (often with Dementia). It aids in orienting my patients in time, if it is a morning visit.

[Laura Pruett]

I just wanted to give a funny update. I have been using the “Are You Ready for Music?” song in my preschool groups as a transition song (“Are you ready for instrument?” or “Are you ready for dancing?”) and one preschooler always said, “No.” when I sang, “Are you ready for…?” But then he always engaged in the next part, once the song was over. It made me giggle, so I thought I’d share.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing Laura!

[Author]

Posts