Friday, July 13, 2012

Finding Strength


This past week has been a very hard one for my husband's family.  They lost a very dear aunt today who was more like a grandmother to my husband than anything.  I have seen such strength in this family that is unbelievable.  Everyone came together to say their last goodbyes and it was very meaningful to all of them.  I found myself challenged.  I definitely have become close with her over the years through my husband and his extended family.  She was one of the kindest and most caring women I have ever met.  So naturally it was extremely easy to favor her.  I was asked to lead "Amazing Grace" as the family stood in a circle in the ICU around her bed.  It was extremely tough to get through the whole song without weeping.  As I sang, people joined in and stopped singing as they cried.  I had to hold it together as I sang through the first and last verse.  I could tell that with everyone singing this classic song, it meant more than words.  They felt the bond of everyone present intertwined with her spirit.  I felt that with my training as a music therapist, this helped me to keep focused on serving others that day.  It reminded me more than ever that my job is not about me.  It is all about who can be touched and what benefits can be received from music's healing properties.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Sunday Serenade 3: Four Seasons


 This is the third addition to my series Sunday Serenade.  The last couple weeks I have not been able to post due to being extremely busy!  I will try to post more regularly as much as I can.  This week, I would like to share a song with you that I wrote called, "Four Seasons."  I have been working with several of my clients on answering wh questions.  I found that a few of them have trouble answer when questions involving the seasons.  An example can include:  "When do you usually make a snowman?"  Another question I could ask is "When is it really hot outside?"  These are questions that definitely require previous knowledge of the four seasons.  So that is why I created this song describing characteristics of all the seasons.  I have been using this for over a month and I have definitely seen some improvement.  One of my clients is able to tell me all four of the seasons before we even start singing this song.  Before he could only tell me one.  Repetition with this song has been a huge factor in improvement.

 Take a listen below and you can purchase the mp3 by hitting buy underneath.  Also, if you would like to purchase the chord sheet music, hit the BUY NOW button.