by Rachel | Aug 28, 2017 | Lessons, MTC
Next in the “Teacher Feature” lineup is Reid Muchow! Reid has been teaching at MTC for 2 years. He is a Springfield native and currently teaches percussion, piano, guitar, and vocals. Reid has lived in both Chicago and New Orleans as part of his musical journey, and has a huge variety of experience that he pulls from when working with all of his students. We asked Reid to tell us a little more about himself. Check out what he shared:
Tell us about your background.
I started playing drums on a drum set that I made out of boxes and duct tape. I played drums throughout high school and discovered my dad’s record collection which exposed me to genres like jazz, soul, funk, classical, and rock. This gave me an interest in learning many different instruments and in many styles of music. I studied music with professor Jane Hartman at LLCC in Springfield, IL for a 2 years and moved to Chicago in 2008 to study jazz music at Roosevelt University studying with drummer Paul Wertico (Pat Metheny Group), music theorist Scott Mason and composition and arrangement with Tom Garling(Buddy Rich, Maynard Fergusson).
After graduating in 2011, I performed internationally and nationally with several groups including Chicago based-groups The O’My’s, And The Heard and currently I am in Memphis blues artist Brandon Santini’s band.
What else have you done musically?
- Performed at Lollapalooza 2011
- Played at Edmonton Blues Fest in 2016
- Performed with Chance The Rapper
- Been on an album that’s been in the Billboard top 100 (ZZ Ward – Til’ The Casket Drops 2012) playing drums
- Currently on Grammy nominated Chicago artist Vic Mensa’s 2017 album The Autobiography playing drums
What is your favorite:
Color – Red
Food – Pizza
Game – Monopoly
Day of the week – Friday
Non-musical activity – Yoga
Music to play – anything as long as it’s good music!
Do you have a weird talent? I can pop my toes without my hands
What else do you enjoy doing? I enjoy playing with my 2 cats Lucy and Simba, reading, doing yoga and exercise, cooking, recording music, and spending time with my girlfriend Rachel.
For more about Reid, check out his personal website: reidmuchow.com
by Alisabeth Hopper | Aug 24, 2017 | Lessons
I will never forget the first time I performed.
I was thirteen if I remember correctly. I was wearing a pink shirt and jeans and my mother’s perfume. We drove up on an old school in Patterson, Illinois and hopped out of my dad’s truck. I remember buying our tickets, passing the scent cloud of popcorn and chili as I walked into the old school gym. The basketball hoops were up and the nets swayed in the breeze of the four foot fans blowing air through the gym on that summer night.
At the time, I had no idea what an opry was, but my teacher had suggested that I perform there. Little did I know that I would fall in love for the first time that night.
I was shaking as I took the stage and grabbed ahold of the microphone, waiting for the band to start playing my song. Once I sang the first words of “Independence Day” by Martina McBride the rest just fell out of my mouth. I watched as my mom breathed a sigh of relief, my dad smiled, and my grandmother who always loved my music in a way I can’t understand even now, laid back in her chair as if she wasn’t surprised at all. In the blink of an eye, it was over and I was in love, not with the thrill of being on stage, but that moment. When I looked out to see my family and they were experiencing that moment with me. We were in it together.
It has been a little over ten years and a music degree since that day. I was just out at an open mic last weekend. I performed a few of my favorites for my family, which has now grown to include my husband. Even now I go back to that place. When I’m performing, I drop my titles. For three minutes I am not Alisabeth the music therapist, the teacher, the daughter, the wife; I am just me. And even better, that is when I get to share just me, with the world.
When people ask me “why music?”, the answer is simple:
Music is where I see myself. It is where I am safe, in love, happy, angry, sad, and everything in between. Music is where I see my grandmother who moved on years ago. Music is where I can be myself.
This is why I do what I do. I hope to share my music and myself with my clients and students to help them grow and learn. This is my story.
What’s yours?
by Alisabeth Hopper | Aug 4, 2017 | Lessons
We all have those moments. Heres my most distinct breakthrough as a therapist, teacher, and musician.
It was my fourth semester studying music therapy at Western Illinois University. I was in my required weekly voice lesson. I chose voice as my primary instrument and honestly had no idea what commitment I was making. My professors office was small, cramped, and there was sheet music on top of her upright, acoustic, and slightly out of tune piano. It was humid and the windows were open allowing a warm breeze to fly through the room on occasion.
I was practicing a German art song when my professor stopped me, for the fifth time and the same reason. I just. Couldn’t. Get. The note. If I remember correctly its was a G… that pesky G. I had convinced myself that because I couldn’t sing that note the way I wanted to the first time, that I would never be able to do it.
She knew I was wrong.
It was in that pause that she had a talk with me that I would repeat to my students in the future.
“We are all growing. We have all built walls. When something challenges us we have to chose to say no, you’re wrong, you CAN do this. you WILL do this.”
We began the song and I did it. I hit the G. I achieved the impossible — or apparently, the possible.
As a therapist and a teacher at Music Therapy Connections I have these talks frequently. I try to encourage my students of all ages regularly, especially when I can see that they have hit a wall. I know that all of our teachers at MTC do the same. My favorite days are when I get to witness a student having a breakthrough. Those days are why I love what I do.
So, if you..
1. Have taken lessons (voice, guitar, or piano alike) and quit for whatever reason, but still want to learn.
2. Have tried to teach yourself, but felt stuck or frustrated with some of the material.
3. Have taught yourself how to play but feel as though you can’t reach your full potential because you haven’t had a chance to learn the theory.
Then click the link below and register and someone from our team will email you to help you find the right teacher, day, and time to help you finally achieve your breakthrough!
by Alisabeth Hopper | Jul 31, 2017 | MTC, Reflections
I love that the title of this post sounds eerily like an old holiday movie. When I was in our supervision meeting last Thursday it just came to me, mostly because this week we are spending our time at the office finalizing all of our preparations for our new intern!
We all get excited when we are welcoming a new intern, but for me it all feels a bit different because I was the first intern at Music Therapy Connections. I’ve been right there in each new intern’s shoes.
I remember my internship orientation day very clearly. I was excited, very nervous, and undecided as to which emotion I identified with more from minute to minute. My palms were sweaty as Rachel, Katey, and I sorted through all of the orientation material and formalities. Of course we finalized our first day with a Starbucks run (because let’s be honest, everything is better with Starbucks.)
And as I sat at this teeny tiny circular table that wobbled back and forth exposing the sun from the umbrella before tucking it away again Katey turned to me and asked “What are your goals for yourself by the end of your internship? Where do you want to be?”
And just like that, with the snap of a finger, it was over. Six (at the time, long) months had passed and I had done it. I had graduated, passed my certification, and achieved my younger self’s dream of becoming Alisabeth Hopper, MT-BC. I was my own superhero.
Now I’m preparing to start this process again with Rachel, Katey, again but in a very different role. I will be sitting on the other side of the table. I have many hopes for our new intern as her great potential is evident to all of us. More than anything, I am hopeful that these six months will be as growth-filled, life-changing, and light-giving as they were for me.
As for the future, I’m not sure exactly what that looks like right now. But I’m pretty sure there will be more interns to come and more journeys to be had.
Until then,
AH
by Rachel | Jul 25, 2017 | Lessons, MTC
We love our team at Music Therapy Connections! Each of our instructors has a set of unique gifts and talents that makes them a perfect fit for so many of the families we work with in the studio.
In a recent Facebook live video, we shared about the importance of finding the right teacher for you! Every student is just as unique as their teacher, so finding the right fit is important.
We want you to know even more about the teachers we have on our team at Music Therapy Connections by sharing a blog post featuring fun facts and interesting details about each team member.
First Up: Becky Waddell
Becky teaches piano and guitar at Music Therapy Connections. Her background includes a Master of Elementary Education, Master of Music Composition, and Bachelor of Music Theory and Composition.
Becky plays several instruments including the saxophone, clarinet, flute, piano, voice, guitar, and ukulele. Becky loves to practice and is always working to improve her skills. She’s currently focused on piano, guitar and ukulele.
On top of working at MTC, Becky is also adjunct music faculty at Lincoln Land Community College where she will be performing in the faculty recital during the 2017-2018 school year.
Becky has performed on stage and in the orchestra pit in numerous musicals. She fills in on saxophone with the Lincoln Land Community College Big Band when needed.
Becky resides in Pawnee with her husband and three children. She considers herself to be quite creative and extremely reliable. She says could eat pizza and pasta every day of the week and can’t function without her morning coffee.
When asked what she enjoys doing when she’s not working or with her family, Becky said, “I love love love going to musicals and long to have the stage lights suck me in again.”
We LOVE having Becky as part of our team! She currently works with several students but is accepting new students as well. If you or a family member is interested in lessons, be sure to fill out our registration form HERE. Stay tuned for more posts featuring each of our individual instructors and therapists.
by Alisabeth Hopper | Jul 24, 2017 | Lessons, MTC
I cannot count at this point how many adults I have spoken with who have said, “I always wanted to learn how to play piano, but I never took lessons” or even “…but its too late”. I know that this is a very real thought and fear for some adults, but I have news for you: your lifelong dream can still be realized!
At Music Therapy Connections, we serve people of all ages & abilities. We are blessed to have adult students taking piano, guitar, and voice lessons. Some have musical experience, while others were true beginners when they started lessons.
You may be thinking: children learn so much more quickly than adults and have more brain plasticity to learn something new. And to that I say yes, but as an adult you have something even better — wisdom! And adults have a greater understanding of patterns, structure, and simple ideals like fractions which are all very important in creating music.
Music lessons can benefit all of us in a variety of ways, and we often talk about how music with children can help them to quicken their mental processing in Math and other core subject areas. But how can music benefit adults?
- Taking music lessons, especially involving and instrument engages the brain in complex processing and improves multitasking skills.
- In addition, lessons of all varieties engage the memory center of the brain in a very unique way. For most adults, working toward improved memory can only benefit them!
- Voice lessons in particular can improve breath support, posture, and more.
- Most importantly, lessons in adulthood often give our students an additional sense of purpose. We want our students to walk away with a joy for music and I see this the most clearly in our adult students
In fact, every music teacher I have ever met still considers themselves a student. Unlike some skills, music is an ever flowing and ever growing art medium. We never reach perfection, because there is no such thing. Instead all musicians beginners, professionals, and experts alike are forever exploring music in complexity, style, and sometimes additional instrumentation.
The bottom line is that regardless of your background, experience, or age, it is never too late to fulfill your goal of learning an instrument. Look at it as an opportunity to take on a challenge, go outside your comfort zone, and acquire brand-new skills.
by Alisabeth Hopper | Jul 12, 2017 | Class Registration, MTC
The short and sweet answer: consistency is key.
You may be wondering…does it really matter if my little ones attend every session? The answer is yes! Consistency in class attendance not only provides your little ones with the opportunity to begin loving, playing, and creating music, but is also a great resource to continue supporting your little ones’ development and continually working toward those ever changing developmental markers!
We love to facilitate classes which instill a love of music in our young people. But, did you know that we build these classes to help children grow toward their academic, social, and motor skills as well? Rachel Rambach & Katey Kamerad are our Music Therapy Connections co-owners and music therapists. They put their expertise to work creating specialized classes for your unique little ones ages birth to five years.
When you register for a class, you have the choice of a variety of morning and late afternoon/evening times and days. You can choose the most appropriate 45-minute class for your family’s busy schedule.
Here is the best part: when you purchase the All-Access Class Pass you are invited to attend every class session for the next year! Included in the purchase price of the pass is a free class session, AND the price does not change for any additional little ones.
If you have a little one (ages birth to five years old) in your life, please consider registering for access to a whole year of developmental, fun, and playful music classes. We hope to see you soon!
by Alisabeth Hopper | May 25, 2017 | Resources
It was no difficult choice to do this song for our ASL cover. I absolutely love this song because it is cross-generationally appropriate! Because it is an affectionate song about love it is great to use at home and even as a lullaby. The music we choose to surround the children in our lives with is so important. Choosing music from different decades and genres will only enhance and deepen our experience in the world around us and with the people we love.
by Alisabeth Hopper | May 11, 2017 | MTC
This week we celebrated two birthdays in the office and I celebrated another for one of my clients! It has been a fun week of sweets, bright colored gift bags and much more. It was brought to my attention between celebration that though I knew the birthday song on at least four instruments and in two spoken languages I did not know it in sign language! I was inspired to learn this must have song in sign language and share it with you all!
by Alisabeth Hopper | Apr 27, 2017 | Resources, Tips & Tricks, Videos
Hello All!
This week for our signing video I decided to change it up and do my best attempt at an ASL cover of “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana. This is very different from the other videos that I do in many ways. The most evident is that I am signing in real time and in ASL.
I am usually focusing my energy on signed English which is signing the sign for each word within an English sentence structure. So you might be wondering… then what is ASL? ASL or American Sign Language is its own language, which means that it operates under its own sentence and lingual structure.
In ASL you may sign only a few words in an entire sentence. But where they don’t use as many words they make up for in visual elements. You can see in the video below that I create a place where the ocean is in my visual field and I use it as a frame of reference and to develop the story. So the following lyrics…
Every road I take
Every trail I track
Every path I make
Every road leads back
Becomes
Road/path (gesturing to ocean)
Walk (gesturing to ocean)
Road/path (gesturing to ocean)
Go (gesturing to ocean)
It may be simplified in word count but the content and imagery is vivid in ASL and in many ways I think it is a more comprehensive and expressive language than any other.
