2018, Term 2, Weeks 5: New Zealand Music Month - with Baked Beans!

Check out this video to hear Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C Sharp Minor (known as Moonlight Sonata) (FF to 24 seconds in)  played with audible passion - and see how a group of Korean  street dancers have interpreted his music  - also passionately - for a dancing competition recently. 
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This is the last week of New Zealand Music month, and we will look at one of our favourite New Zealand songs and videos.

Here's a New Zealand Music quiz. This will be too tricky for most of you - but you will definitely be able to answer some, based on the work we have covered this term. 

This week's video clip and song is called Baked Beans by Mother Goose.

                                   

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Mother Goose were a rock and roll band, formed in 1975 in Dunedin,  who were very successful in the late 1970s, particularly in Australia. They still hold attendance records for some of their gigs in NZ and Australia. Although they played a wide range of music, they are most well known for their video for their novelty 1977 single 'Baked Beans'. It was one of the most played clips in Australia in the 1970s.  Part of the band's identity was to dress up in outrageous costumes - including a sailor, a pixie, a ballerina, a baby and a bumble bee.   The "Baked Beans" video references Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and includes the most well known lines of the Halleluiah Chorus  from Handel's Messiah from 1741. 

                                          
And,just for the fun of it, a silly song about baked beans. 

                                

And a bit more silliness - This is an ad  for Heinz baked beans - taking advantage of the cup song example.   And another version of the same ad with a girl singing all parts. 

Try it yourself - Here's how to master the movements of the can song. 

Rhythm tracks: 
Here's an awesome You Tube site to practise your sight reading of rhythm patterns and notation with increasing difficulty over ten levels. 

And this is a great way to test of you can keep the rhythm when the music stops. Try to keep the pulse (beat) in the silences and see if you are still in time when the music comes back. 
                                       Dances: 
Juniors
Everywhere Stars - creative movement 
I like to Move It, Move It   (Here's the original version from the movie - can you see any similarities?) 
Can't Stop the Feeling
Twist - excellent to help learn Left and Right (while mirroring the video) 
Funky Robot

Choose any from above or below

Seniors (Choose from):
Kidz Bop - Watch Me  (A good way to practise some new dance moves) 
Rock around the Clock - note that you will need to use the opposite hands to his instructions if you want to mirror the actions, i.e., when he says move to the left - you move to the right. 
Limbo - you may want a partner for this 
Bailar (Just Dance)
Kung Fu Fighting 

Songs: 
NZ Sign Language ABC song
Old MacDonald had a Farm - in New Zealand Sign Language
Walking on Water - Ben Tipene
Make you Mine - Ben Tipene

2018, Term 2, Week 3&4: Poi E / Slice of Heaven - NZ Music Month Part 3

New Zealand Music Month - Part 3  - Poi E 

Poi E   (1984) by the Patea Maori Club was a number-one hit song and the biggest selling  song in NZ in 1984 - outselling all other international recording artists. It was one of the first songs entirely in Maori language to achieve popular success. It features a blend of Maori culture and Western music influence and had appeal across all generations, but particularly to youth - the so-called "hip-hop generation". (Break dancing was in its earliest days then.) It is still a popular song 

Poi E lyrics were written by Maori linguist Ngoi Pewhairanigi  to promote ethnic pride among young Maori people. The score was arranged by Dalvanius Prime, who created his own record label, Maui Records, when other recording companies showed no interest. 

The song became popular after a news item about it, and its popularity increased when the Patea Maori Club toured the United Kingdom and gave a Royal Command Performance.  It entered the charts again in 2009 after it was used in a Vodafone ad, and in 2010 after featuring in the NZ movie Boy. It is the only NZ song to appear in the charts over three decades. In 2016 the song featured in a movie about it called Poi E: The Story of  our Song. Poi E is also included in the very successful World Vision Kids for Kids Concert featuring massed choirs of  primary children. 

                                     

Taika Waititi (Director of Thor) included a  haka (inspired by Michael Jackson's 'Thriller') to 'Poi E' in the closing credits of the movie Boy (2010). 

Have a go at singing along with the lyrics on this video. 

And another New Zealand Classic - Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn and Herbs. 
It was awarded the "Best Song of 1986" at the New Zealand Music Awards and was number 1 on New Zealand and Australian music charts.  The song was from the soundtrack of Footrot Flats: The Dog's  Tail Tale. The unusual instrument you hear at the beginning is an a synthesised Japanese flute. The video features Dave Dobbyn and Herbs singing and playing instruments, and includes clips of dancers at live performances because they didn't have time to recreate dancing scenes.  In 2009, the song was voted the 7th most popular New Zealand song of all time. 

Here's a version with the lyrics if you want to sing along. 

Artists have had a bit of fun with some music images - what can you recognise? 

       

Dances:

Juniors

Moving to music - Claudia Robin Gunn: Everywhere Stars 

Point your Fingers and Do the Twist

Can't Stop the Feeling 

Get Ready to Wiggle

Jailhouse Rock 

Seniors

Tapati Tapata   (Click on "Show More"  then scroll down a bit to find the lyrics.) 

YMCA

Cheap Thrills 

Beep, Beep, I'm a Sheep just to prove that  anything can be made into a song! (Don't be surprised by the "Meow, meow, I'm a cow" line. it is, after all, a pretty silly song, but there are some fun dance moves. 

Blue (da ba dee da ba dye)  Because Tapati Tapata doesn't make sense either.

Speedy Gonzales
                                                

Songs:

NZ Sign Language ABC song
Old MacDonald had a Farm - in New Zealand Sign Language
Walking on Water - Ben Tipene 
Make you Mine - Ben Tipene 

                     

Add bar lines and clap the rhythm.  Scroll down to find the completed version

Basic

$ n n n q q n q q q n h h Q Q q q Q Q]

Extension

$ d qH n qH h w n q Q nn q H n d]

And with bar lines 

Basic

$ n n n q‘ q n q q‘ q n h‘ h Q Q‘ q q Q Q]   

Extension

$ d q‘H n q‘H h ‘w ‘n qQn‘n q H‘ n d]

And just because it's funny . . .