5 Language-Based Educational Music Therapy Song CDs (89 SONGS!)

5 CDs written by a music therapist with decades of experience working with kiddos who have issues with speech, language and communication! Below are reviews and the list of actual songs included.

Arranged, Composed, Performed by Award Winning Artist and Music Therapist Margie La Bella. Benefits for each song are Below. Please note the reduced shipping charges when ordering more than 1 CD! You can listen to my music and preview it around the internet but these are the best prices around. EBAY does rock!  The postage is what it actually costs now to mail a first class package! Sorry about that, but that's what I found out today (3/2/20)  Great investment however. Read more!

 I learned about this wonderful set of CD’s created by music therapist and educator, Margie La Bella, when she submitted them and won a PAL Award.  According to her website, “Her CD series Move! Sing! Play Along and Learn! is a collection of original participation-based songs and dances designed to spark the imagination, playfulness, and language learning (expressive, receptive, and auditory/listening) of children. It is available to parents, grandparents, teachers, special education centers, therapists, music/dance/gym instructors and all those who are young at heart.” Margie loves music for the joy it gave her growing up and has a passion to share that with every child, with and without learning challenges. She has intentionally written and performed songs, rhythms and sounds to build specific skills for language learning. Here is my review of her PAL Award winning CD’s:

The “Move! Sing! Play Along and Learn!” CD series is a treat for parent and child or teacher and class.   Margie La Bella’s pleasant, soothing voice is easy to understand as she gently encourages kids to listen and learn through music.  As a music therapist and special educator, she has written and produced lively entertaining songs for all kids introducing them to pop, jazz, folk, rap, swing, reggae and world music styles. The first CD in the series, “Move!” focuses on building receptive language skills as kids follow directions to “rub your tummy until the music stops,” follow the “Multi-Step Blues,” or learn concepts in the “Opposite Jam.” Move on to “Sing!” and enjoy vocal play and expressive language as kids learn to follow fun syllables that lead to a song about Mister Monkey or the Leeway Train with related actions to match the rhythm. The “Play!” CD builds auditory discrimination and processing as kids move to the sounds of rhythm instruments and their homemade band–imitating and learning soft/loud, slow/fast, matching movements to representative musical patterns and instruments. Raise your arms up and down to the slide whistle, or  stamp your feet to the drum as sounds and directions are combined to build memory. Finally, “Mixing it Up!” combines the lessons learned and gets kids moving, singing and playing  because now “I’ve Got the Music In Me.” “Body Rap” is one of my favorites as, “I saw my hands and they started to clap, I thought of my nose and my face started humming, my whole body started to move and my shoulders got in the groove” as movements are added while matched to a body part and rhythmic phrase. So gather the kids around to move to the music and maybe in the middle of all the fun, we’ll produce some good little listeners.
**** Note: If you are a speech language pathologist, OT, PT, or special educator and would like to use one of Margie’s CD’s with your students to share a review on your blog, contact Margie at her website below.
Benefits and uses of Mixing it Up!

1. Hey Hello
Benefits: Good for encouraging language via catchy, predictable, repeated “hey, hello” phrase.
To elicit more interaction, try singing hello into a mic. (Party stores sell cheap, fun toy mics).

2. Move it to the Music.
Benefits: One step direction/movement concepts of move, shake, scratch, twist, jump, and dance. Impulse and motor control via the stopping and starting.

3. I’ve Got the Music In Me
Benefits: This is a good song for following simple directions, and making fun sounds that can help with articulation and intelligibility. The last verse is especially for this.

4. Body Rap
Benefits: This song provides for great energy release and incorporates sequencing
 patterning, and memory skills.

5. Everybody Touch your Head
Benefits: This song helps children learn various body parts and spatial concepts.

6. We All Have Feelings
Benefits: This song assists the verbal and non-verbal expression of feelings.

7. Tweet, Tweet Little Birdy
Benefits: Vocalization, listening comprehension, pretending/abstracting.
Older children can immediately echo each phrase during the short pause. This helps to                  develop sentence length and related memory.

9. Very Best Band
Benefits: This song is good for attention span, turn taking, instrument vocabulary and                       identification, impulse control, sequencing, and contributing to the group.

8. Everybody Touch (karaoke/fill-in)
This version is to teach personalized concepts- go as tricky or as simple as you want.

10. Jump High, Turn Around
Benefits: Children follow a sequence of three directions.

11. Teddies to Turtles
Benefits: Following multiple directions, creativity, imagination (abstraction).

12. Sharing, Caring, Moving and Growing
Benefits: This is a relaxing, beautiful song to sing and /or sign to.

Benefits of MOVE!

1.Everybody Wave Hello
This song opens our time together and sets the stage for upcoming learning.
             Children can the the opportunity to follow three one-step directions,
while reaching out to connect with other people.

2. Doin' the Robot Dance
To improve auditory processing skills (listening and following directions.)
The rapid-fire lyrics command attention and help children to learn the words
associated with ways of specific body parts. Older children can move to the beat.

3. Move and Stop
Younger children can simply follow the one-step directions.
Children relate body parts with an associated motion.
This song is also good for improving auditory attention skills, and motor/impulse control. Older children can perform the last line (three 1-step directions in rapid   sequence).
4. Stand up, Sit Back DownTo provide a positive outlet for a natural action of children, (to leave their seat.)
To foster learning of body parts and ways to move them.
Children move specified body parts as suggested by song.
Children move in creative ways within the confines suggested by lyrics
5. Growl, Growl, Stomp
This song helps with listening and pretending skills, both needed for cognitive development.
            It also stimulates attention (to the movements of the mother and baby bears,)
as well as auditory anticipation and vocalization of “Grrowl!” The repetitive “growl,                                                                   growl, stomp!) gives a sense of sequencing and energy/vocal release.

6. The Yee-haw Song
This song requires receptive understanding of body parts and associated movements, as well as expressive use of the word “Yeehaw!”
Children can simulate the galloping sound of a horse by tapping their knees                       during the chorus, or by pretending to ride a horse like a cowboy. Older children can perform the directive twice and sing “yeehaw!”

7.  Multi-Step Blues
To improve ability to follow a (long) string  of quick one-step directions and control one's actions
body vocabulary and associated verbs, attention, backward sequencing of                                      directions, motor control and outlet for energy.

8. OPPOSITE JAM
Helps facilitate the understanding of each concept individually (tall, small,   happy, sad, lift, arms, up, flutter, down, fast, slow, squeeze, and relax) and in contrast to it’s opposite.
Other benefits: body vocabulary and associated verbs, attention, backward sequencing of                                      directions, motor control and outlet for energy.

9. THE CATERPILLAR
To stimulate pretending and other higher process thinking skills. To foster focus, bodily relaxation and the concept of slow. To teach about how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.  Sometimes our lives can do the same. Making dreams come true.
10 .  Move it by your Chair
Aids in experiential learning of the concepts: in front of, behind, on the side,
over, and under. The children learn about spacial relationships (prepositions) and counting
while dancing freely to a lively beat. You may want to pause the CD after each direction is                     sung, help the children to the correct location, and then resume the music and dancing.
The children can relax and listen to the fading drum beats at the end of the song.

11. One Step Blues
This song provides a deal of time to process the meaning of verbs and related body parts.
Children can carry out the one part direction to the timing of the related sound effects. This is good for auditory attending and memory.

12. Thinking Song -version one: chords
To help teach body parts and simple problem solving.
Older children can pretend to rock a baby each time they hear the words“baby”, and “honey.” They can also alternate or switch sides of the body each time a direction is given within a verse, as this is good for integrating sides of the brain.

13. Stand Up, Sit Down (version 2)
The directions to the song are easier to understand and less the accompaniment is less distracting.
14. Thinking Song -level two
This song fosters listening and creative problem-solving. It requires knowledge of body parts and quick deciphering skills. Older children can pretend to rock a baby each time they hear the words“baby”, and “honey.” They can also alternate or switch sides of the body each time a direction is given within a verse, as this is good for integrating sides of the brain.

15. Growl, Growl, Stomp (instrumental version.)
Just nice to listen or sing along to.
16. Music time is Over
            This peacefully ends the listening time.
This song naturally lends itself to swaying, rocking, and holding hands.
Everyone can end on a positive, social, successful, relaxing note.

Benefits of SING CD

1. Open your Mouth
Purpose: to open the session in a friendly, social, and successful  manner.
To help children create the “ah,” “oo,” and “ee.” vowels  and articulate the “ooh-ee”  sound.

2. Monkey Song
The children gain vocal and oral-motor experience as they sing “ah,”  “ee,” and “ooh.” They remember and sequence sound patterns.

3. The Leeway Train
This song helps the kid's speech skills through making the appropriate sound effects.

4. The Puppet Song (version one)
Children connect an animal with the sound it produces.
Children vocalize the animal sounds.
Children hear and produce loud and soft sounds.

5. Tap it on your head - - acapella version
Helps to teach body part vocabulary and articulation/vocalization. The good thing about it being acappella is that the words are easy to hear and the feel of the music is gentler.

6. Variations on Miss Mary Mack
This silly song not only entices children to repeat each short phrase, but invites them to discuss the absurdities.

7. Sing an Echo song
This song is used to help children improve the ability to produce certain sounds, increase phrase  length, and improve auditory attention and memory.  All four skills are used by children as they put words together in increasingly complex sentences.

8. TDLN 50s Arctic Song
To improve the ability to “Do-wop” and articulate the “T”, “D”, “L,” and “N” sounds. These sounds all involve placing the tip of the tongue behind the top of the upper teeth.

9. Three Little Monkeys
To encourage use of sentences. Also good for sequencing of ideas and understanding of lyrics as demonstrated by pretend play.

10. the Wolf Cub
Children vocalize the “ooh” sound of the wolf.
Children act out the lyrics, and demonstrate an understanding of the concepts involved; open,  shake, over, under, up, down, side, and families.

11. The Vehicle song
Vocalization and vocal play, imitation of common sounds, articulation.

12. The puppet Song II
To elicit vocalization of animal sounds. This is necessary for speech and involves articulation of specified sounds.

13. Tap it on your Head - - Full version
Helps to teach body part vocabulary and articulation/vocalization. This version works with kids who need the extra stimulation to elicit attention.

14. Sing an Echo song   blank/fill-in verses
Have the kids sing the first sound of their name, or the letter/sound  of  the week, or about the sound a sheep makes, or blow a kiss.  You can also vary the rhythm of the sounds such as “bah. Bah. Be-be  bah.” Make little memory drills by singing such phrases as “be-bo-bay.”If you don't sing solo, then just speak these things over the music.

15. Goodbye Now
Children catch on to the rhythm and continuity of the lyrics quickly. It’s a natural way to teach the goodbye interaction, and it can include waving, shaking hands, holding hands, and blowing kisses (another good oral-motor skill.)
Benefits of PLAY CD
         1.
Homemade BandThis tune opens the jam session on a positive note! They are introduced
to several instruments of a jazz or rock band.

2.
Soft, Loud, Slow, Fast Review
This is a good opportunity to introduce the children to recognizing (perceiving) and creating different volumes and speeds (ie: dynamics and tempos).The four sound qualities used in music are also used in speech.

3.
Children, Come Play
Benefits: Auditory attention, processing, and conceptualization.
The children experience creating “fast,” “slow,” “loud,” and “soft” music.

4.
Play and Do This
Benefits: Teaches sequencing/patterning of events, ability to follow directions.
Helps children with the concepts of “under,” “stop,” “get it.”

5.
Play and Pass
Purpose: To foster attention, turn taking,  and sharing among friends.

6.
You’ve got to Wait!
Benefits: Certainly a catchy song for a topic that can be tricky

7.
Three Little Sound Effects
Purpose:  To encourage vocal/sound play and auditory memory

8.Play an Echo Song
Benefits:   Children play instruments along with various rhythmic sequences.
This is good for auditory attention, auditory memory, coordination, and patterning

10-15.   and   16-21
Make you Move!
Hear and D0  (Instrument Sounds)

Benefits: Auditory discrimination and connecting a sound with a meaning to be enacted.
Impulse control, energy release, memory, imagination.
22.
Sound-OffPurpose: This song closes the session. Benefits: enforcing the skill of “audiation” or hearing the sounds/music in your mind( like Bingo or John Brown's Baby). Its actually a pre-

Song tracks titles and lyrics (with objectives) Songs at My Speed

below.

1. The Wheels on the Bus

2. The Alphabet Song

3. Froggy went a-Courtin' (reggae)

4. Rockin' Old Mac Donald

5. Baby Bumble Bee

6. Boogaloo

7. Kumbaya

8. Sound Syllable Song

9. I Bought Me a Bird

10. Dan, Dan Invisible Man

11. She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain

12. There were 4 in the Bed/ Roll Over

13. He's Got the Whole World

14. The Wheels in the Band

15. Froggie Went a-Courtin' (low background voices)

16. Dan, Dan Invisible Man (low background voices

17. Old Mac Donald (fill-in version)

18. Boogaloo (fill-in version)

19. Old Mac Mellow

20. Sound Syllable Song (karaoke)

21. Baby Bumble Bee (karaoke)

22. ABC/Twinkle Little Star (karaoke)

23. I Bought me a Bird (instrumental)

24. He's got the Whole World (karaoke)