I have moved

I have moved!!!

Check out my site:

www.mtequalslove.com

Blogging Tool Kit

Hey all! This is a special post about making over a blog. I definitely am not an expert and still have soooo much more to learn! But for those of you who are struggling to get started blogging and new to everything blog, I'm here to help! It took me a long time to get to the point I am at which still isn't very far. It was a frustrating and confusing journey to learn all of the new computer tasks required to make a great blog. I definitely have to give thanks to several music therapists with blogs of their own. I asked several about what programs and websites they used to create different graphics, fonts, and templates. Special thanks to Rachel See Smith over at Music Therapy Services of Austin, Amy Kalas at Wholesome Harmonies Music Therapy, Rachel Rambach at Listen and Learn Music, and Mundana Music Therapy for answering personal questions, providing me with awesome resources, and/or helpful blog posts!!!

Here is a list of websites for different blogging needs!

Mail Chimp - This is a free way to send out personalized newsletters to subscribers of your blog.
PicMonkey - A very easy way to personalize and add fun creations to a photo.
Microsoft Office Images - You can always find free images and clip art here.
Kevin & Amanda - This is a really great place to find fun and quirky handwriting fonts.
Da Font - Another great place to find fun fonts.
Scribd - This is a place to upload and share digital documents.
UploadNSell - This is the easy and perfect place to upload documents or e-books to sell on your blog.
Band Camp - Here you can upload your own personal recordings and share or sell them.
Web Treats - A place to find textures and graphics for free.
Digital Design Essentials - This site is similar to web treats but sells cheap design kits.
Gimp - This is an intense photo editing software that is a lot like Photo Shop but it's FREE!  I have found it to be complicating at first since I have never learned a program like this.  But I am watching YouTube video tutorials and online resources for learning.  So far I like what I see!  I created my blog header and this post's image from Gimp and was very proud of myself. :)

If you know of any other great resources, please share below in the comments section!

There's an app for that....AutoRap!!

I discovered this new app from Smule the other day and I love it!  I have a client that loves it!  It is a great app for kids or teens who like to rap or listen to Rap music.  It is extremely easy.  All you do is say a few sentences into the microphone and it creates a beat and auto-tunes your voice to fit the time.  Anyone can sound like a pro!  Plus it's FREE!

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 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.