Term 4 Week 6: Chopsticks

 The tune known as Chopsticks  was originally called the Chop Waltz. It was written in 1877  by a 16-year-old British composer called Euphemia Allen - although she used the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli.  When she wrote the music, she said that it should be played with the palms of the hands facing each other vertically and the keys struck with the little fingers  - in a chopping motion.   It is one of the world's most common tunes and is often the first piano music young players pick up from other players, without needing to read music.

Here's a Muppets  episode with Liberace doing Chopsticks

You can see the sheet music and the piano playing it at the same time here. 

Here are two classical pianists having a bit of fun with Chopsticks variations based on other well-known classical pieces.

Here's a bar graph of the music and the piano playing it at the same time.

This is a version from a 1958 television (black and white) programme. It's played in several different styles, including jazz,  and includes a song as well.

This is an Australian  fun song version  by Peter Combe - with lots of children involved.

 And a Sesame Street Two-Headed Monster version.

And another Sesame Street song - about how to use chopsticks to eat food.

This is a Christmas version of Chopsticks.

and a boogie version from  1960s television programme.

And, just for the fun of it, a dancing 27-year-old cockatoo. 

Term 4 Week 1 - Count down to Christmas

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells 

Jingle Bells is one of the best-known and most-often sung Christmas songs in the world.  It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) and was published in 1857. It was actually written to be sung for American Thanksgiving. There's a bit of confusion over where the song was written.  A plaque in Medford, Massachusetts claims that Pierpont wrote the song there in 1850, inspired by the town's popular sleigh races.   Its original copyright was under the name" One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1957. It is now in the public domain, which means anyone can sing it or use the tune.  In 1857, Pierpont was actually the organist of the Unitarian Church in Savannah, Georgia, and married the daughter of the mayor.

In the days before cars,  it was common to decorate horses' harnesses with bells as a way for drivers of sleighs to hear each other approaching - especially when they couldn't be seen - because the snow muffles any sounds the  sleighs and horses' hooves made. The rhythm of the tune mimics the rhythm of the trotting horse's bells.

Jingle Bells
Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtail ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight!

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way.
Oh! what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.


Here's a Kiwi version of Jingle Bells.  
Here's a Wii Dance to Jingle Bells 
    A heavy metal version of Jingle Bells 

Here's a version with an actual sleigh ride and a few more verses.  

Here's an orchestra play Jingle Bells in many different styles. How many different percussion instruments can you see being played? 

Here's 17 different versions of Jingle Bells - how many styles can you recognise?
Here's a  Jingle Bells mash-up of a lot of Youtube animal videos 
and this one's of cats and dogs. 

Here's a very simple version of Jingle Bells. Can you clap the rhythm?

Did you know? 

"Jingle Bells" was the first song broadcast from space, in a Christmas-themed prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra. While in space on December 16, 1965, they sent this report to Mission Control:

Gemini VII, this is Gemini VI. We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, up in a polar orbit. He's in a very low trajectory traveling from north to south and has a very high climbing ratio. It looks like it might even be a ... Very low. Looks like he might be going to reenter soon. Stand by one ... You might just let me try to pick up that thing.

The astronauts then produced a smuggled harmonica and sleigh bells and broadcast a rendition of "Jingle Bells."The harmonica, shown to the press upon their return, was a Hohner "Little Lady", a tiny harmonica approximately one inch long, by 3/8 of an inch wide.

Term 3 Week 5: International Languages Week

This week is International Languages Week.

Here's "Let it Go"  from "Frozen"  in 25 languages.  Do you speak any of these languages?

 In this version you can see the singers from each language singing their part.



Here's how to say hello in 30 different languages. Do you speak any of these?

Here's many different ways to say thank you.

This is a Mother's Day greeting in 27 languages. 

Here's some animal sounds in different languages.


Here's a song to help you count to ten in Spanish - forwards and backwards.

Last week we learnt this round: Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose. There are many different versions of this folk song. 
  Here's a link to the music for it. The second part is another song taht can be sung in counterpoint with Rose.

Remember  The William Tell Overture by Rossini  from Term 1? Here's another piece attributed to Rossini - where  the  music is written as if cats were singing it. Two boys sing the parts of the cats.  It's called (In Italian) “Duetto buffo di due gatti” - Funny duet for two cats.