Songbird Studio

Just popping in for a quick Resource Referral.  The Color In My Piano blog has been a GREAT resource to me as I started up my private practice.  She offers all sorts of ideas, worksheets, visual aids, manipulatives, and administrative documents, ALL FOR FREE!  Please check her out! :-) Click here to visit Color In My Piano , and here to visit her Printables Resource page .

If you were at the MWR-AMTA conference in Iowa City, IA, and happened to attend my session (thank you, btw!), you know we had standing room only!  So, first up, I'll share my handouts, in case you missed it or if you were one of the few who didn't get handouts that morning.  My presentation was about a social skills group I created at my current position, working with adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders.  If you'd like to learn more, click on the 4Shared link below! Team Phoenix Handout Thanks for visiting!  Let me know if you have difficulty with the download! --Ann Marie

You can view the song from this blog post and find the file available for download here !  I've notated the song in the key of C--transpose to whatever key best fits your needs.  I also notated V chords as straight Vs, but you are of course free to spice them up as V7s, or get more inventive with the chord progression as a whole--whatever best fits your population!

You can view the song from this blog post and find the file available for download here !  I've notated the song in the key of C--transpose to whatever key best fits your needs.  I also notated most V chords as straight Vs, but you are of course free to spice them up as V7s, or get more inventive with the chord progression as a whole--whatever best fits your population!

I recently found some great, user-friendly music notation software online that I wanted to share.  Honestly, it's been out there for awhile...  However, I used to rely on Finale Notepad, and when they started charging for it, I was really at a loss and could not find a suitable replacement.  So I kept using my old version of Notepad until it was buried enough on an external drive to make it inconvenient for regular use at work...  Googled...  and found this ! I haven't found any major bugs as I've used it, nor any malware or spyware. I personally won't guarantee it will work seamlessly for you or won't have bugs or malicious code--always download at your own risk!  However,  here is a review from Norton (the friendly antivirus folks) that helped me make my decision to download.  More info and reviews can be found here (wiki), here (reviews), and here (its online manual plus a download link!).  It's open source, works with Macs and PC...

In my practice, I rely a lot on a variety of folk songs--yes, there are age appropriate folk songs for even adolescents and young adults! One reason I LOVE folk songs?  Most of the beloved 'classics' are SO classic that they are public domain.  There is also a rich oral tradition in folk songs, which makes variations plentiful, so there is always a new version out there to give you new ideas.  This series will explore a few of my current favorites. Today we look at one that I use with my adolescents and young adults with cognitive disabilities.  It is a perennial favorite! Shake Them 'Simmons Down CHORUS:   (E) Shake that tree, do, oh, do, oh Shake that tree, do, oh, do, oh Shake that tree, do, oh, do, oh, Shake them (B7) 'simmons  (E) down... VERSE: Circle to the right, do, oh, do, oh, Circle to the right, do, oh, do, oh, Circle to the right, do, oh, do, oh, Shake them 'simmons down... Other verse options: Circle to the left... Clap y...

Besides adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, I also work with K-12 students with severe cognitive disabilities. Possibly due to my Orff background, I rely a lot on a variety of folk songs--yes, there are age appropriate folk songs for even adolescents and young adults! One reason I LOVE folk songs?  Most of the beloved 'classics' are SO classic that they are public domain.  There is also a rich oral tradition in folk songs, which makes variations plentiful, so there is always a new version out there to give you new ideas.  This series will explore a few of my current favorites. Today, we are looking at one appropriate for younger (elementary aged) children. The range and repetition of pitches in our song today makes it appropriate for younger voices.  One particular genre of children's folk songs that I especially love are pile-up songs, where they have a list of some sort that grows and grows while the song continues.  These types of song...