The Canadian folk band Le Vent du Nord is a champion of traditional francophone music in North America. Their recordings and performances are getting plenty of attention, especially during the yearlong celebration of Quebec City's 400th anniversary.
When it comes to classical music and American culture, the fat lady hasn’t just sung. Brünnhilde has packed her bags and moved to Boca Raton.
Hello, this is Tanya from Teaching Music: Tanya's Kodály aspiring blog. This is my favorite time of year to get into the Blues genre with my 6th graders. And, oh yes!, my 6th graders really do have the Blues these days. They are tired of being in elementary school and yearn for their summer freedom. Most school districts have K-5th grade elementary school but mine includes 6th grade. There are definitely positives and negatives in keeping 6th grade in elementary school! We have a rich tradition and history of the Blues in the United States. My 6th graders are already familiar with call and response songs, spirituals, and work songs, which lay the ground work for the Blues. There are many online resources teachers can turn to when looking for blues resources. Here are just a few: Association of Cultural Equity: Founded by Alan Lomax, this association is a cornerstone of the history of american folk music. This site is a must! Start at the Research Center and you'll find lots of information. Smithsonian Folkways Tools for Teaching: Christopher Roberts has wisely pointed Kodály Corner readers to this comprehensive website in a previous post. You can lose HOURS by pursuing this site if you're not careful! Start with the lesson plans page for ideas on the Blues. Gullah Music: This interactive site focuses on the influence of West African music in the US. The site focuses on the journey of enslaved Africans who were brought to the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. This is one you can use with the students to review work songs, the importance of drums in african music, the use of songs in the Underground Railroad. Desktop Blues: A fun and simple interactive site. If you don't mind sticking with the key of EM, you can turn the little radio on and hear a guitar strum through 12 bar blues ad naseum. Click on one of the little boxes play 4 beat guitar licks, vocal licks, or guitar/vocals licks. My students accompanied with boom whackers for the chord roots while one student added licks at the SMARTBoard. (Warning: the third from the end purple vocal box sings "I'm a drunk and hard man." I've been able to avoid it in class, just be strategic!) The Blues: Listening First, of course, we listen, become familiar with, and sing a few 12 bar blues songs. Here are some student favorites: Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash Good Mornin’ Blues - Leadbelly Crossroads - Robert Johnson Sweet Home Chicago - B.B. King C-jam Blues - Duke Ellington Stormy Monday- T. Bone Walker Before You Accuse Me (Take a Look at Yourself) - Eric Clapton Joe Turner's Blues Lyric Form: AAB I've found it best to first focus on the form of the lyrics. Students right away understand the AAB lyrical form after hearing and singing a few blues songs. Good morning blues, how are you. Good morning blues, how are you. I'm doing all right, good morning, how do you do? We spend a little time writing our own in class in small groups. I used to have students write their first verse by brainstorming subjects they're "blue" about. They often got stuck on just writing the first line, (and often they did not write good rhyming words at the end of their first lines!) Now I randomly hand out strips of sentences suppling a first line. (I am all about scaffolding for faster success!) Here are some 1st lines my students have started with, a few are from already written blues songs: Look out that window at the rain pouring down. Each night I lay down but I can’t sleep. If you see me walking down the street. Some folks have everything they need. I ain’t got no diamonds, I ain’t got no gold. I think about the good times I’ve had. What a dream I had last night. I have to say what I’ve got on my mind. Black night is falling, my pain’s coming on again. Oh everyday I have the blues. I try to do right and do what’s best. My friends tell me I’ve been a fool. Every day I feel so low. Notice the easy-to-rhyme with ending words! 12 Bar Blues Harmonic Form: Back in 3rd grade, we spent some time transferring our solfa to absolute pitches (letter name notes.) Each student gets a pack of blue solfa cards and yellow letter name cards to practice relating the letter names to their solfa pitches. They have been playing melodies on the Orff instruments but by using the cards, (and being away from the instruments,) they are able to focus on what letter sol is if C is do. Disclaimer: when I do these transferring lessons with 3rd graders, I do not initially talk about key signatures. My first concern is for students to understand building the letter names of the scale and understanding the relationship between solfa and letter names. In 3rd grade we then practice this new knowledge at the barred instruments or keyboards. (HERE is where I can emphasize the necessity for sharps and flats.) Now the 6th graders learn about the roman numeral chords and label the chord roots in different keys. Here's F major: Then we can build the 12 bar blues harmonic form and label the chord roots in different keys: It's great fun to take this to the Orff instruments and play along with recordings, first just on the chord roots playing the rhythm tim-ka, tim-ka, tim-ka, tim-ka. Jamey Aebersold's Blues in All Keys is available in iTunes. (I do not have an Orff instrument for every student, so I double-up students on one instrument and we play blues in C major.) You can also try to play a-long with Duke Ellington- C Jam Blues. I have one student tap and point along the chord changes on the SMART Board. This year I have smaller 6th grade classes and each one had their own instrument. We were able to play chord roots in CM, FM, and GM: From here you can build triads from the chord roots, (and include accidentals if you venture beyond CM!). If you are well stocked with mallets, students can play with 3 at a time to create chords. You can break up the chords and have students add a walking bass line. Putting it together: Harmonic and Lyric Forms My visual students have really benefitted from laying the sentence strips of Good Morning Blues right on top of the 12 Bar Blues form. The biggest benefit I've experienced from going visual here is the students see and understand when to sing the next line. Call and Response Improvisation What really makes any simple blues interesting is what a instrumentalist or singer can improvise over the form. When it comes to improvising in the second semester of 6th grade, I must back up the train, I mean scaffold, to ensure those vulnerable students are successful, (they were confident soloists at the end of 5th grade but things are different now; I blame it on the hormones). "Hmmm... students, do you see how there's a couple of bars where we're not singing? Why don't we improvise a simple rhythm on do in that space?" (Vocally or on instruments.) Everyone improvises first, all at once. Then a smaller group, then brave soloists. Next we add more notes to choose from in their improvisation. I've learned the hard way that when I don't provide a framework of limited choices, many are overwhelmed. There are a few jump starts for beginning the 12 Bar Blues! From here we learn a little jazz and include some rock and roll. Some year I'll figure out how to include more before the end of the school year. I'd like to make a more solid connection to more current music. (Kodály hip-hop anyone? Is that included in our "mother tongue" music at this point? Oh no, that sounds like another philosophical post!) Do you have any blues-related things you love to use? Please share!
Simply Red has had countless hits over its 30 years in soul/R&B music, and its lead vocalist, Mick Hucknall, is widely regarded as one of the finest singers ever to emerge from the UK. If all the band had ever done was record the worldwide hit “Holding Back the Years,” that alone would have been a career worth having. But with all of the deserved focus on Hucknall, what hasn’t gotten proper credit are the band’s sublime musicianship and jazz chops.
I am happy to report that I am typing this post from my big, cozy orange chair at HOME, enjoying my first official day of summer! Before I get to the "meat and potatoes" of my post, I want to take a quick moment to celebrate the work we do as Kodály educators. I have now had the chance to work in several buildings where I was the first teacher to use the Kodály method of instruction and the folk literature that accompanies it and, after finishing my first year in a new building, I can say with certainty that it is amazing! I heard parents comment all year with statements like, "Sarah won't stop singing at home" and "Drew can't wait to find out what the next rhythm you will be learning is!" I listened as students told me about how they taught their brothers and sisters at home the songs we learned in music. I saw kids playing music games on the playground and at girl scouts, watched as kids connected the dots of music literacy, and experienced the joy that comes from singing and playing together. Aileen posted about the upcoming opportunities for taking your Levels classes here. If you haven't already completed your levels, I can't recommend it highly enough! Okay...back to business. After reading Karla's last post, I was inspired to take a minute (well, many minutes) and reflect on my school year. As I tried to brainstorm what I could post about that would be helpful during this time of year, I decided to share some of my favorite choir pieces from this past year for you to consider as you plan for your concerts in the upcoming year! I would describe myself as a "Children's Choir Fanatic." I just love the sound of children singing together! I have directed children's choirs for the Denver-based Young Voices for Peace, the Spokane Area Youth Choirs and currently serve as the Preparatory Choir Director for the Boulder Children's Chorale. When it comes time to choose repertoire, I spend hours and hours wading through piles of octavos and playing through piece after piece. I often find it helpful to keep a running list of possible song ideas and use a concert planner, because it can become overwhelming to keep track of all the music that is available! I have a sample concert planner that you can download for free here and I'm working on a new and improved one that will be available soon! This year, I conducted a few of "tried and true" favorites and found some new gems, too! I hope you will find one or two new ideas or at least be reminded of an old favorite that you can use in the future! I have posted the links to the scores below, but I always encourage people to search YouTube if you want to hear a full recording! For Unison Choirs 1. Path to the Moon by Eric Thiman I consider this a must have for every children's choir library. Beautiful melodies, beautiful poetry, and great opportunities to teach breath control, phrasing, and dynamics. 2. The Little Birch Tree arr. Mary Goetze* This is based on the traditional folk song, which is a great way to make a connection to your classroom teaching. I also love to draw the connection between this melody and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. Great for teaching vowels (especially oo), dynamics, and phrasing. *Mary Goetze has a wonderful collection of folk song octavos for children's choirs. Some of my other favorite titles by her are Piglet's Christmas and Fire. You can see some of her other titles here. 3. Wee Little Piute arr. Heirholzer I taught this song for this first time this year and loved it. It is in a great register and has a lot of references to Native American traditions and language. Plus, it has some amazing "ahs" to help your young singers open up their head voice. 4. A Great Big Sea arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff A fiddle player and a spoons player are a must for this piece. The text painting in the piano is wonderful and opportunities to work on larger vocal leaps are great! For Two or Three Part Treble 1. The President's Tea by Tom Benjamin This is a piece by a modern composer filled with fun language like "sassafras silk" and "pillykin." It has several tempo and meter changes, making it a great piece to work on following the conductor! 2. Dodi Li arr. Doreen Rao (one of my favorite arrangers!) This piece sits beautifully in the child's voice. The piano is energetic and rhythmic, and it is great for teaching form to your singers. 3. Skylark and Nightingale arr. Audrey Snyder (another one of my favorites!) I already mentioned this piece in a previous post, but it is just so beautiful. It has an optional glockenspiel part which is pentatonic improvisation (perfect for tying in your classroom teaching) and the text is just lovely. 4. Kokoleoko arr. Donnelly and Strid I taught this for the first time this year after hearing the folk song in my Orff Level 1 class. It has very approachable harmonies and a fun, upbeat feel. It is a little bit long (I ended up editing one section out), but it is very easy to teach! I added some drums and other percussion to my performance to make it an energetic opener! 5. Fod! arr. Miller I love the humor and nonsense in this song, and my kids had fun singing it, too! 6. Windy Nights arr. Cynthia Gray Great poetry, 6/8 meter, and minor! My students really enjoyed this piece and it was a great way to break up the collection of major, duple meter pieces available for children's choirs! I could go on forever! I intentionally left out my Winter/Christmas/Hanukkah songs to post later in the year, but these were definitely some keepers from the year! I am always on the hunt for a new and wonderful song, so I would love to hear some of your favorites, too! And now...back to my summer book. I hope you have a great week!
Trophy by Heland shines as a refined pop gem, seamlessly blending heartfelt lyrics with expertly crafted production. Listen now on RCM.
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Post-It Tabs are a great little gem to have in your studio or classroom. The tabs are thick and sturdy with enough adhesive to stay in place and are easy to remove without damaging the instrument. These are different from the Post-It flags which look similar but are much more flimsy. Here are 5 ways you can use these tabs to help students with bowing, left hand position, and shifting: 1. Stick the tabs directly on the bow as a guide to show students what part of the bow to use when playing an exercise. The colored tabs create a great visual to help students pay attention to their bow speed and bow placement. If you allow the tab to hang below the stick it will make a noise if the student accidentally crosses one of the tabs. This will alert the student to re-focus and correct bowing to stay within the allotted boundary. 2. Use the tabs as a guide to help students keep their bow straight and keep the bow placed between the bridge and the fingerboard. Cut one tab into thirds (for a tiny violin you would have to cut one tab into fourths). Fold the bottom of the tab to create a small flap. Stick the thin tabs in between the strings to create a 'wall' where the bow should not cross when bowing on the strings. I like to tell students that the tabs are like the flags in downhill skiing. The bow must stay in the boundaries. When bowing, students watch to make sure the bow never touches the tabs. In my experience, the tabs have always stayed in place, as long as you wipe off any rosin dust on the instrument before sticking them on. 3. Do you ever have students who keep the left thumb too high over the fingerboard? These tabs create a great visual to help students break this bad habit. Stick a tab on the side of the neck. The student must keep their thumb on the clear part of the tab - they are not to allow the thumb to touch the colored part of the tab. If the thumb comes up too high, the tab will be pushed toward the string and students can easily see the issue and correct the problem. 4. Pancake wrist is a common problem among beginning violin and viola students. Stick a tab on the underside of the violin/viola on the top of the saddle. Students are to be careful to not allow their wrist to touch the tab. If a student collapses their wrist, they will feel the tab and remember to correct their position. 5. Tabs can be useful when teaching shifting. Cut a strip from a tab and use it as a tape to mark 3rd position. The flap should hang over the left side of the fingerboard. When practicing shifting, students can use the tap as a guide, but also use the tab to help guide the thumb. Some students forget to move the thumb when shifting. The tab helps students remember to move the thumb with the hand during a shift. Pick up some Post-It tabs next time you're at the store and try these ideas! I hope this tips will help you and your students. Happy teaching!
Columbia the Gem of the Ocean
Instant Thumb Piano: How to Make a Set Screw Lamellaphone: This is a method to quickly and easily make a musical instrument capable of melodic percussion and noise experimentation. The thumb piano, known as a kalimba or mbira and by many other names, is a lamellaphone that uses plucked prongs called tong…
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Of all the philosophical concepts Immanuel Kant is known for, the one I've had to struggle the least to grasp is his description of the sublime, a state in which we are overawed by the scale of some great work of man or nature.
The art of writing music, of actually placing the notes and related markings on paper, has changed dramatically over the centuries.
Fan photos of Peter signing autographs outside Screen Gems in 1968. Photos by Jeri Mastro St. John (facing the camera in photo 2) and Rebecca Reeves Zane. These photos aren't from the following...
