2018, Term 2, Week 1: New Zealand Music Month Part 1

May is New Zealand Music Month - where we discover and celebrate all kinds of New Zealand music and musicians. 
But first of all - this Friday is May the fourth - 
STAR WARS DAY!

Watch this video of John Williams (the composer of Star Wars music) conduct the Imperial March.  He is introduced as a surprise guest conductor by the world famous conductor from Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel.  

- Can you identify the sections of the orchestra? 

- What instruments can you identify?

- How does the music change? 

- How does the conductor communicate with different groups in the orchestra? 

- Would you say this is a very formal part of the concert?  Why or why not? 

- How does the audience react to the different things that happen?

- How does the piece finish? What do the audience and the orchestra do? 

A standing ovation is when the audience stand at the end of a performance while they are clapping to show  extra appreciation and respect for a performance and performer. 

Ray Columbus and The Invaders  “She’s A Mod,” 1964

Ray Columbus was a NZ pop singer the early 1960s. He was one of the first NZ entertainers to become famous through tv appearances  on such shoes as "C'mon" and "Happen Inn" - in the days when there was only one tv channel  and all programmes were in black and white!   Ray Columbus and the Invaders' song  "She's a Mod" was a cover of a UK song, and this NZ version was more popular in Australia and NZ than the original was in UK. It's very much inspired by the Beatles' music which was in its earliest days at the same time. There are many similarities in the sound and the appearance of the band. The video is from a promotional film made in Australia and was the first music film of its kind shown on NZ tv.  "Mod"  and "Rocker" refer to different styles and fashion of clothes, music and teenage culture of the late 1950s into the 1960s. Mods wore smart suits and had a "clean cut" appearance and typically rode motor scooters and preferred '60s pop ad modern music, and Rockers wore leather jackets, rode motor cycles and preferred '50s rock and roll music. Look for the relevant  references in the lyrics.  

Ray Columbus and the Invaders was the first Kiwi band to have a Number 1 hit in Australia. Ray died in 2016 and is remembered as one of the greatest and most respected New Zealand "pop stars" and entertainers. 
          

She’s A Mod (Chords: G,C,Am,F,Dm)

She's a mod – she's a mod – she's a mod – she's a mod

CHORUS

She's a mod, she's a mod, she's a mod, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
She's a mod, she's a mod, yeah, yeah

She's a mod, she's a mod

She won't change anymore

Girl, now listen to me, 
I've got something to say,
If you chop and change anymore,
I won't have the money to pay
Fellas, she was once a drag
Then the black leather caught her eye,
After being rocker for a week,
she's a mod and I wonder why.

CHORUS
(Instrumental

She's a mod – she's a mod – she's a mod – she's a mod

CHORUS

Because I wanted her love,
I said I'd buy her new clothes

She took advantage of my trust
Now I'm broke and completely bust

CHORUS


She's a mod – she's a mod – she's a mod – she's a mod – YEAH!

 The Swingers - Counting the Beat (1981) 

And another version (HD) 

The Swingers were a three-piece pop band consisting of Buster Stiggs, Bones Hillman,  and  Phil Judd who had left Split Enz in 1977. The  song was written in Palmerston North while the band was jamming while doing a soundcheck before a performance. Each member  of the band joined in with the bass player who had started the rockabilly-inspired riff and the music and song developed from there. It was instantly popular and got people up on the dance floor straight away. 

The song went to Number 1 in Australia and New Zealand  and sold over 100,000 copies.
“Counting the Beat” probably sounds familiar if you’ve watched enough TV; Countdown  uses it for its supermarket commercials, and it's been used for Lemon and Paeroa soft drink  and K Mart commercials and some TV3 promotional video soundtracks. 

Interesting fact: Watch the video (made in Australia) and notice the dancers who fill the stage at the end of the  song. They were a group of young people on mystery bus trip and had no idea they were going to end up spending 15 minutes dancing for a music video as one of their mystery destinations.
 

Sing along (and dance?) to "Counting the Beat" - Here's the lyrics

Dancing: 
Juniors: 
Junior movement dance - Everywhere Stars by Claudia Robin Gunn. 
Yakkety-Yak   A fun song from the 1950s originally recorded by The Coasters 
Hold Still  
Hot Potato - by the Wiggles. 
Party in My Tummy  
Ram Sam Sam - an old song with a new twist. Click on "More" to see lyrics. Note the change in vowel sounds and the  change of tempo - and the accelerando. 

Seniors: 
Tapati Tapata - a new song with nonsense words but some cool dance-floor moves to learn. Scroll down to see the words - pretty easy to learn. 
Tapati Tapata -  same song, same dance moves, different performers - You choose. 
This term we are learning about some of the special words and symbols which help us understand the way music is written and played.  You may like to do with with a partner - or by yourself. Note guitar is played both left- and right-handed. 
Bailar -  Add to your Spanish knowledge Vamos a Bailer - Let's Dance!
Don't Stop Me Now - by Queen  - with lyrics. 

Songs: 
NZ Song called Paradise written by schoolgirl Waimarie Smith.  Click on "Show More" to see the lyrics, and follow the sign language gestures.  

Name the note and rest symbols, then add bar lines so there are 4 beats in every bar.  

Name the note and rest symbols, then add bar lines so there are 4 beats in every bar.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post to find the completed version. 

This could be a bit tricky but see if yo can keep up - Here's a rhythm pattern to follow (clap or clave sticks) of the beginning of the Imperial March from Star Wars.