Children around the world enjoy songs with fingerplays, like this endearing French “jeu de doigts” about a turtle.
In addition to improving manual dexterity, fingerplays help children remember a song and internalize the rhythm. Best of all, children love fingerplays because they are fun!
In this one, the turtle is hiding because of the rain and the song makes him come out again.
Toc, toc, toc, Tortue,
Sors ta tete, sors ta tete,
Toc, toc, toc, tortue,
Sors ta tete, il ne pleut plus
Toc, toc, toc, Tortue,
Sors tes pattes, sors tes pattes,
Toc, toc, toc, Tortue,
Sors tes pattes, il ne pleut plus
Le soleil est revenu!
(which means …)
Knock, knock, knock, Turtle
Poke your head out, poke your head out
Knock, knock, knock, Turtle,
Poke your head out, the rain is gone.
Knock, knock, knock, Turtle
Poke your feet out, poke your feet out
Knock, knock, knock, Turtle,
Poke your feet out, the rain is gone.
And the sun has risen, too!
Your weekly listen for 1/5/16 is a traditional English children’s game called “London Bridge”.
The earliest known record of the song was made in 1744, although the game is similar in form to other children’s games from the Middle Ages so it is likely much older. There are several variations on both the lyrics and on how to play the game.
In the version I teach in class, pairs of adults or older children form the “bridge” with their arms, as shown in the illustration and the video, and younger children walk under it. When we sing “My fair lady”, on the final word in the refrain, the bridge collapses and catches anyone who happens to be underneath! Hopefully, giggling ensues, the bridge is “rebuilt”, and we sing another verse.
Below is a painting of London Bridge as it would have looked around the time the song and game likely evolved. As you can see, it does indeed look quick precarious, as there were several buildings on top of it with tunnels through them which wagons and foot traffic had to navigate in order to cross. There was a saying that the bridge was “for wise men to cross over and fools to cross under”.
Be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom for the video demonstration of how to play the game. We’ll be doing this in class this week!
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.
Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
My fair lady.
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
Will not stay, will not stay,
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
My fair lady.
Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
Build it up with iron and steel,
My fair lady.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow,
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
My fair lady.
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Your weekly listen for 11/11/15 is Last Post played on the Bugle by one of Canada’s Governor General’s Foot Guards.
I bet you didn’t know I was a Canuck, did you? Well, in Canada, we have some slightly different traditions for celebrating November 11, which we know as “Remembrance Day”. We don’t take the day as a holiday, but wherever we find ourselves at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, most of us, if not at an actual service, will at least stop what we are doing, turn on a radio and listen to “The Last Post” on the bugle followed by two minutes of silence, during which we may bow our heads in silent reflection or prayer in honour of those who have fallen. We also wear pinned felt poppies on our lapels, sold at stores everywhere in the weeks leading up to November 11, which benefit the Royal Canadian Legion.
Here you can see the Foot Guard wearing a very funny tall fuzzy hat. He plays our traditional “Last Post”, followed by in this case just under one minute of silence and then “The Rouse”.
In addition to its significance as part of our cultural tradition, these bugle tunes are of interest to music students because they are composed entirely of notes from what is known as the “Overtone Series”, a naturally occurring series of tonal frequencies. In the case of the bugle, this series of notes is produced simply by changing the speed at which air flows through the horn. The same series of notes can also be created by multiplying the frequency at which one string vibrates. The overtone series is closely related to our Western system of musical scales.
Your weekly listen for Wednesday, November 4 is this adorable video of Kindergruppe Trachtenverein Hammergau-Ainring performing a traditional style German folk dance in beautiful costumes!
Hand clapping and foot slapping are hallmarks of German folk dance. Notice the fancy footwork (called Schuhplattler) in the second section! Another feature that distinguishes German dances is that a great number of them are in waltz or 3/4 time. Do you notice how the rhythm in this piece changes just before the foot-slapping section? The first section of music is in 4/4 time – that is, with the accent every fourth beat – and the second, in 3/4, with the accent on every third beat. See if you cn you hear the difference. Grown-ups might be surprised to learn that these distinctions are often easier for children to make.
You’ll probably notice that the music for this piece is performed entirely on two accordions. A traditional German instrument, also known as a ‘squeezebox’, the accordion combines a bellows system with a keyboard to create chords and melody.
Happy Hallowe’en / Feliz Dia de los Muertos! Your Weekly Listen for 10/29/15 is “Los Escueletos”.
The ancient Celts believed that on one special day per year, the souls of the dead were able to return to earth to visit the living. People put out candles and offerings of food and drink for their departed loved ones, and used scary jack-o-lanterns, bells and other protective symbols to ward off evil spirits. This tradition was eventually absorbed by the Catholic Church and became “Allhallowtide”: the three days from October 31- November 2 known as All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
The Dia de los Muertos festival in Mexico developed from ancient traditions and was originally celebrated in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar (about the beginning of August) for the entire month. When the Spanish colonized Latin America, Dia de los Muertos was shortened to three days and moved to coincide with Allhallowtide, so that it is now also celebrated from October 31 – November 2.
This playful animated music video illustrates the ‘escueletos’ (skeletons’) adventures as they rise from their tomb, eat, drink, dance and play, and then return to their rest at the end of the day. Below are lyrics for the song “Los Esqueletos” as I sing it in class. These lyrics are slightly different from the lyrics in the video.
Los Esqueletos
Cuando el reloj marca la una
los esqueletos salen de la tumba
(tumba, tumba, tumba-ba, tumba, tumba, tumba-ba)
Cuando el reloj marca las dos
los esqueletos salen comen arroz
Cuando el reloj marca las tres
los esqueletos van al reves
Cuando el reloj marca las cuatro
los esqueletos marchen al teatro
Cuando el reloj marca las cinco
los esqueletos pegan un brinco
Cuando el reloj marca las cinco
los esqueletos se pegan un brinco
Cuando el reloj marca las seis
los esqueletos juegan ajedrez
Cuando el reloj marca las siete
los esqueletos se montan en cohetet
Cuando el reloj marca las ocho
los esqueletos comen bizcocho
Cuando el reloj marca las nueve
los esqueletos cantan y beben
Cuando el reloj marca las diez
los esqueletos se bailan a la vez
Cuando el reloj marca las once
los esqueletos corren veloces
Cuando el reloj marca las doce
los esqueletos descansan por la noche
Translation
When the clock strikes one
the skeletons come out of the grave.
At two, they eat rice.
At three, they hang upside down.
At four, they go to the theatre.
At five, they jump up and down.
At six, they play chess.
At seven, they ride a rocket.
At eight, they eat cake.
At nine, they sing and drink.
At ten, they dance all together.
At eleven, they run fast.
At twelve, they go to bed for the night.
Your weekly listen for 10/22/15 is yours truly! Since last spring I’ve been researching the origins of songs, recording, mixing, writing, revising and re-revising sheet music, and receiving much-needed assistance from several wonderful friends. Now, finally, it’s finished!
“A Spoonful of Songs” is a collection of twenty-one of our favorite songs from class, recorded professionally with some very talented guest musicians and notated in written form with beautiful illustrations, which, unlike the books & CDs you receive in class, is available for sale to the general public. The official release date for both book and CD is November 17. However, you can pre-order copies on my website now, and you are invited to attend the CD Release Party on November 22. There will be pizza, and you can meet the band!
Also, please join us to celebrate on November 22! Email me to book a reservation and be sure to tell me the number in your party.
“A Spoonful of Songs” CD Release Party:
Sunday, November 22, 4-6pm
Capitol Hill (exact location will be sent to you in a private email after you confirm your reservation)
Suggested Donation: $20 adult, $10 kid (this pays the musicians and also covers the cost of pizza and other snacks which will be served)
Your weekly listen for 10/14/15 is adorable 4-month old baby Asha dancing an irish jig in a Jolly Jumper. As you may have guessed, this week’s music theme is … Irish!
Some parents in my music classes might wonder why I think it’s important to expose young children to music from around the world (last week, African, the week before, Romani, before that, Klezmer).
According to a recent article published on PBS.org, “The best musical library for your child includes a wide variety—a mixture of genres.” (Read the whole article here.)
Lily Levinowitz, professor of music education at Rowan University of New Jersey, compares the music you play to the foods you serve. “Create an ear food buffet,” she says. “Your musical menu should consist of songs from your culture and those around the world.”
In my ten plus years teaching guitar to children, I discovered that many of my students didn’t actually listen to music outside of lessons at all! Many students came to me unable to identify a single genre of music they liked, or any musical artists other than Taylor Swift and Jason Mraz. That is not to criticize Taylor Swift or Jason Mraz – they are both very good at what they do – but there is a whole world of music out there besides the Top 40 pop charts.
And as this video clearly shows, it’s never too early to start raising a global musical citizen!
Your Weekly Listen for 10/7/15 is a video from the Africa Heartwood Project featuring three African children’s clapping games.
Virtually all cultures around the world have clapping songs and games played by children. In all likelihood, musical and rhythmic clapping games date back to prehistoric times, and have been found in the folklore of ancient Rome, Britain, Africa, Asia, Australia and many other regions around the world. In North America, familiar clapping games include “Pat-a-Cake”, “Miss Mary Mack”, “Pease Porridge Hot” to name just a few.
According to a study by Dr. Idit Sulkin and Dr. Warren Brodsky at Ben Gurion University in Israel, hand clapping songs improve children’s cognitive skills. “There’s no doubt [hand clapping games] train the brain and influence development in other areas,” said Brodsky. Read more about this study here: Hand Clapping Games Improve Child Cognitive Skills
African music is characterized by complex polyrhythms so it’s not surprising to find complicated rhythmic sequences even in children’s musical games from Africa.
Your weekly listen for 9/16/15 is Kesselgarden, a fabulous Seattle-based Klezmer duo. They will be playing this coming Saturday, September 19, at Couth Buzzard Books in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, in a double bill with a five-piece band called the Klezmer Balabustas.
Couth Buzzard is a kid-friendly venue with a listening room in back, a kids area and a coffee counter with snacks and beverages. I took my four year old to a show there a few weeks ago and it was a good experience, so I am definitely planning to bring her along to this event also!
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. It consists primarily of lively dance tunes and other instrumental pieces.
Carl Shutoff of Kesselgarden was kind enough to allow me to interview him about his upcoming show. He has played the clarinet since childhood and has two grown children who are also musical. Carl was a classical musician until his son’s Bar Mitzvah, when the hired band, The Mazeltones, inspired him to start playing Klezmer.
Saturday’s show at Couth Buzzard will be a lot of fun for both kids and grown-ups. Check out the video below and see for yourself!
Kesselgarden & The Klezmer Balabustas
Saturday, September 19, 7:30 pm
Couth Buzzard Books
8310 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 436-2960
Your weekly listen for 9/10/15 is Correo Aereo, a Seattle-based latin duo comprised of Abel Rocha and Madeleine Sosin. They play a fantastic blend of traditional Latin American music and their own original songs. Abel sings & plays harp, guitar and cuatro. Madeleine sings & plays violins, maracas, bombo and jarana.
A cuatro is a small stringed instrument similar to a guitar or lute. Since “cuatro” means “four”, a traditional cuatro has only four strings, although modern cuatros may have more. A jarana is also similar to a guitar but smaller and with eight strings, and a bombo is a small bass drum.
In the video you will see Madeleine playing maracas and Abel playing a four-stringed cuatro, accompanied by a bass player.
While most people will enjoy the upbeat and passionate feel of latin rhythms, unless you grew up listening to music like this or are a trained musician in this style, you may find it difficult to relate to the rhythmic patterns (ie, you may have a hard time “finding the beat”). One of the cool things about exposing young children to polyrhythmic music such as this is that their brains, which have twice as much connective tissue as our adult brains, are actually better equipped to interpret unfamiliar patterns of sound, so they may actually get even more out of their listening experience than you!
Even if you aren’t overly concerned about polyrhythms and brain waves, Correo Aereo (Air Mail) is an energetic, upbeat duo and a rich cultural experience. They’re playing live at the FREE SeaTac International Festival this coming Saturday, September 12 at 4pm. The festival is sure to be fun for the whole family. I plan to attend with my daughter and I hope to see you there!
SeaTac International Festival at Angle Lake Park
19408 International Blvd., SeaTac
September 12 & 13, 2015, 10 am – 8pm
Admission to the festival is free.
They also offer a children’s play area which costs $5/day and opens at 12 noon.
The festival features food, arts and crafts as well as music all day.
More details here on the SeaTac International Festival Web Site
Live at SeaTac International Festival September 12
