Term 3, Week 1 - Commonwealth Games

Welcome back to Term 3.

This week  is the start of the Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, Scotland.  
Here's some highlights of the opening ceremony. 


We  are continuing to learn about special music for special occasions and talked about some of the music that would be played at the Commonwealth Games. 

We learnt  about national anthems and when they are played or sung. We did a role play of  a medal ceremony for the Commonwealth Games  and practised the New Zealand National Anthem in Maori, English and New Zealand Sign Language.

We looked at  some videos of the national anthem of Great Britain and learnt that this was also the national anthem of New Zealand before God of Nations became our anthem.   God Save the Queen used to be played before the movies and everyone was expected to stand up and show respect while this was being played.

This is a video of God Save the Queen  at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London. Listen for the fanfare  at the start. Note that even her husband, Prince Phillip, and the bride and groom sing, but the Queen doesn't.

Here's another version of God Save the Queen - with a fanfare - in Saint Paul's Cathedral in London to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

A fanfare is a short, showy, piece of music usually played for a special event. It is often played to announce the arrival of an important person, such as a king or queen. Fanfares are usually played by trumpets and other brass instruments, often with drums. (Wikipedia) 

Here's a very old movie clip of God Save the Queen - and fanfare - from her coronation in 1953. (How long ago is that?) Tis might have been the first time it was ever sung for her. 

Here's the Olympic fanfare - which continues into the theme music.

This term we are looking at songs that tell a story (like a narrative story in writing). These are sometimes called ballads.  A ballad is a song  - or a poem - that tells a story. It is related to the word ballet because it used to mean a dancing song.

Some classes learnt the song The Gypsy Rover.   There are several versions of this song - and the story.   The lyrics are on our song page.   (You might need to scroll down to find them.)



Gypsy Rover Vocabulary:
gypsy - a person who travels from place to place and doesn't have a settled home 
estate - property and belongings 
steed - a strong, fast horse - often used in warfare 
sought - looked for, searched for
mansion - a very large grand house 
'til - until 

This week is also Maori Language Week .

We had fun watching this video of the rest home people doing their own version of Happy and we  made up some of our own rhythm patterns to  fit the music. 

Term 2, Week 6: The History of Happy BIrthday

 (Intermediate Music Options Groups: Here's the link to the site where you can make up your own tunes.)


Last term and  half of this term, we learnt about the NZ National Anthem,  and what the words mean, one line at a time, in Maori, English and NZ Sign Language.  
Here's a site to help you play chords on guitar or ukulele. 

Quiz: Match one of the words  from the National Anthem below with  one of the coloured words

thy              bonds              entreat              guard             triple   shafts          strife                praises             afar      



unfair treatment             distant         connections            request  

protect         three           your            trouble         congratulations    




This week's National Anthem fact:

 The words of the National Anthem were written by Thomas         Bracken. They were first published in 1876 as a poem  in  a              newspaper.  Thomas Bracken was born in Ireland and moved to        Australia as a young boy before moving to New Zealand as a young man.   





Happy Birthday:

Happy Birthday is a song that is sung to celebrate  the anniversay of a person’s birth.  It is the most recognised song in the English language, according to the Guinness Book of Records.  The song's lyrics have been translated into many languages. The melody comes from the song "Good Morning to All", which is believed to be composed by sisters Patty and Mildred Hill, in Kentucky, USA,  and was first published by them in 1893.  Patty was a kindergarten principal and Mildred was a pianist and a composer.  They used it as a song that young children would find easy to sing.

The first printed version of Happy Birthday was in 1912, but the song probably existed earlier.  Other people have claimed ownership of the lyrics and melody and registered the copyright in 1935. This means that it is actually illegal to perform the song publicly without paying royalties to Warner/Chappell  Music.  

Happy Birthday in the key of F

Here's Happy Birthday in a range of styles. Can you work out what style each one is? 

 Here's another collection of Happy Birthday in a range of orchestral styles.

Here's  someone's version of how they think some of the great composers would have performed Happy Birthday.

2014 Term 1, Week 11: Elgar's Variation IX - Nimrod. Preparation for Anzac Day

This week we will be looking at some of the music associated with Anzac Day, and practising some of the songs for our Anzac Assembly  next term.

The Last Post is played to commemorate the war dead - at funerals or other public commemorations. It is also played on Anzac Day before a two-minute silence.

This is a video of the Last Post being played at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park in London.

Here's a video of the Last Post being played at the Gallipoli Dawn Service. Can you see the flags of Australia, New Zealand and Turkey?

This is Reveille played at the 2011  Dawn Service at the National War Memorial in Wellington.
What do you think is the purpose of the drums?

This is a recording of the Maori Battalion marching song sung in Maori.
Here's Howard Morrison singing part of the the Maori Battalion marching song.

Here's the Australian National Anthem - which we should know because they are responsible for the A in Anzac... 

This is called Nimrod by Edward Elgar.  It's from a longer piece of music called Variations on an Original Theme for Orchestra ("Enigma"), Op. 36, or the Enigma Variations for short. Nimrod is Variation 9.

Elgar was a British composer, who wrote this in the 1890s. It was not written about war at all, but it has come to be associated with Remembrance Day in Britain, and is often played at commemorative or solemn occasions.  Many people  have used this as background music when they create video memorials for loved ones lost in war.

The visual quality of this video is not that great, but you can really see the conductor (Daniel Barenboim) working to get the best feeling and sound out of the orchestra.It is a live recording so you can hear background noises.

Listen to  the music start softly and get louder and stronger.
Can you hear the themes in this music?
What instruments can you hear?
What instruments play for only some of the time? 
How does the conductor get the orchestra to play louder or softer?
Why do you think this piece of music became associated with commemorating those who died in war?

Vocabulary:

wreath -  an arrangement of flowers - often a circle - to place at the cenotaph in remembrance of thos who died in war
cenotaph - is an 'empty tomb' erected  in honour of people who are buried elsewhere - or  in unknown places
Last Post -  is music played by a bugle at military funerals or to commemorate those who have been killed in war
bugle - is a simple brass instrument, a bit like a trumpet, but it has no valves or buttons to press. The notes are played by moving the position of the lips. A bugle is usually used to play the Last Post and Reveille. Follow this link to read an article and see a video about a bugle that was used at Gallipoli by  New Zealand bugler and which will be used to play the Last Post and Reveille this Anzac Day.
The Ode - is a verse from a poem (For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon) which is said after the Last Post. One person usually says The Ode, then everyone repeats the last line, "We will remember them". After that there is silence of about one to two minutes.

Here's an interesting  link  called Last Post, First Light from the  Stuff  website.  It has lots of videos and articles relating to Anzac Day  and New Zealand's involvement in any conflicts from World War 1 onwards. It also includes interviews and videos of Anzac Day commemorations. It is updated any time a relevant article is added to the Stuff website.