I am excited to (finally!) share with you today my entry for this week’s songwriting challenge prompt hosted by Rachel over at Listen & Learn Music. We were requested to create a piggybacked tune that could be used with our current clients.  “Piggybacking” simply means to replace lyrics to an existing tune.

If I’m being honest, this one threw me for a loop.  I have gotten so used to writing my own songs that I was definitely challenged to fit lyrics and therefore targeted skills into an existing melody. At first I thought maybe I would choose a pop tune, but ultimately I picked a tune that is in public domain so there are no copyrighting issues with sharing and/or selling my creation!

One skill that nearly all of my music therapy clients are working on is answering comprehension questions. Who, what, when, where. Comprehension is a huge struggle for many of my kids. I have many who can read, but cannot recall facts or explain what they have read. This song will definitely help with the initial who, what, & where.

Tips & Tricks

• Gather pictures of individual items that represent WHO, WHAT, & WHERE. Use these as you are teaching the song. I like to use the app Bitsboard for this using my iPad.
• You may wish to teach each category separately. Once that is mastered, mix the categories up!
• Use picture scenes that address several different WH questions. PlayHome  is another great app that you could use for this song. I found out from experience, however, if the child is used to playing this app on his own terms, it may not work so well.
• Take pictures of your child and family engaging in typical activities throughout the day (or ask parent to provide these pictures). Using these pictures will make the opportunity more relevant for the child.
• Apply this tune to any story.  Read a page (or more if able) and then sing the tune. Use pictures or refer back to the text to locate the answer.

Lyrics

Tell me, tell me WHO you see? Who is a person like you and me.
Tell me, tell me WHO you see? Yes, I see __________.

Tell me, tell me WHAT you see? What means things. I think you can agree.
Tell me, tell me WHAT you see? Yes, I see __________.

Tell me, tell me WHERE you can go? Where is a place. I’m sure you know.
Tell me, tell me WHERE you can go? I can go __________.

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