2017 Term 2, Week 3: More New Zealand Music and Musicians

Last week some classes had a go at playing the spoons.  Here's the Topp Twins (as Camp Mother and Camp Leader) performing with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra playing the William Tell Overture. Camp Mother plays the spoons and Camp Leader plays the cymbals - sort of.  

Here's the Topp Twins teaching a young girl to play the spoons.

Add bar lines to fit the time signature. 

Dances: Follow this link to choose from our favourite dances. 

How many Sleeps - by Claudia Robin Gunn  (NZ) 

Years 1 and 2: Nursery Rhymes 

 Dance:Hickory Dickory Dock

We continue our topic of nursery rhymes with Three Blind Mice 

•  Here's a Walt Disney cartoon called the Three Blind Mousketeers, from 1936.  Listen and watch for how the animals' movements and actions become part of the music and rhythm patterns. 
• And a Muppets version of Four Blind Mice - done as a round. 
• Something really different - a jazz version of Three Blind Mice from 1962 by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. What instruments can you identify? Listen to all the different drumming sounds and patterns.  Can you identify the basic tune? 
• And a Teddy Rock version of Three Blind Mice so you can practise you air guitar and air drumming skills. 

We have learnt that piano means soft and forte means loud, pianissimo means very soft and fortissimo means very loud.  This week we are learning that crescendo means getting louder and decrescendo means getting softer. 

Here's our piano - forte song. 

Here's a song about crescendo and decrescendo 

Years 3 and 4:  Songs that tell a story: 

The Wreck of the Diddley by Fatcat and Fishface (NZ) 
Here's a link to the lyrics. 
Here's a link to the chords (guitar, ukulele and piano). It goes very fast, and you may not be able to keep up all the time, but you can maybe keep up with the chorus. Rcorder players - you can use the chord notes as the notes to play. 

Some vocabulary:
typhoon - a very big storm
port - the lefthand side (or direction) from a vessel when facing the front.
starboard - the righthand side (or direction) from a vessel facing forward.



anachronism - something which is historically incorrect because it wasn't invented or known about at the time. For example, the flush toilet in the Wreck of the Diddley video is an anachronism because those kind of toilets did not exist on ships at the time the song is written about.
dozen - twelve
abandon - leave 

core - centre

Years 5& 6, 7&8 - More Ukulele Links: 

Try these new chords for Walking on Water by Ben Tipene 

or you could just sing along with Ben Tipene here. (NZ)

Here's  the chords for Royals by Lorde 

D and G  chords will be new for many of you, but just play the D parts to start with.

Here's the link to the You Tube video Royals by Lorde (NZ),  so you can play along with it. Listen to the percussion - can you hear a regular beat 

And another one chord song - Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone (1969) which can be played entirely in the Key of G. 

And, by popular request, Locked Away by Adam Levine and R.City. 

2017 Term 2, Week 2: NZ Music Month Part 2 - Baked Beans and Buckets

This "Baked Beans" video  (NZ) is from 1977, and is by Mother Goose,  a band originating from Dunedin and then moving to Australia and USA.  They were known for their crazy costumes and for  setting many attendance records at concerts.  Baked Beans is one of their most well known songs. 

And because it's another funny song about baked beans, here's a link to the Baked Bean song (nothing to do with NZ Music Month, but a catchy little ditty to get stuck in your head). 

There's a Hole in My Bucket - by the Topp Twins (NZ) 

Follow this link to find the lyrics. 

Follow this link to see the book and hear the song.

Here's a Muppets version - why do you think there are some differences in the lyrics? 

You can follow this on the ukulele if you can play G and C (D7 optional) 

Warm ups: 

 How Many Sleeps? by Claudia Robin Gunn (NZ) Claudia will be singing some of her songs at the Botany Library at 10:00 am on Saturday May 13th.  

Note values Exercise : Find crotchets, crotchet rests, quavers, minims, dotted minims, semi-breves. 

Add bar lines. How many beats does each note have? 

Dynamics: Loud and Soft 

f  stands for forte and means loud 

p stands for piano and means soft / quiet

ff  stands for fortissimo and means very loud 

pp stands for pianissimo  and means  very soft / very quiet

Listen  and watch this little song about dynamics in music. 

And something to sing for New Zealand Music Month - Walking on Water by Benny Tipene 

2017 Term 2 Week 1: New Zealand Music Month Part 1 - and Star Wars Day

May is New Zealand Music Month.  This is an annual event, managed by the NZ Music Commission, Te Reo Reka o Aotearoa.  The purpose of New Zealand Music Month is to celebrate and grow awareness of home-grown music.   The theme for this year is finding something new - a new band, new tracks, or a new album by a NZ artist. 

Each week there will be links to songs and music by New Zealand artists. Hopefully something  new for everyone!  

 And - because it's May the Fourth this week - Happy Star Wars Day 

Here's a rhythm activity we can do to The Imperial March from Star Wars, by John Williams, and here's John Williams conducting an orchestra performing the Imperial March. 

Clap this rhythm. Can you name the notes? 

Juniors:   

Warm up music:  How Many Sleeps?  by Claudia Robin Gunn (NZ) Claudia will be singing some of her songs at the Botany Library at 10:00 am on Saturday May 13th. See poster at end of blog. 

Nursery Rhyme: Hickory Dickory Dock. This first appeared in a book of nursery rhymes in 1744.

Actions for Hickory Dickory Dock

We can clap the beat and the rhythm for Hickory Dickory Dock.

And here is Kermit the Frog having problems with Hickory Dickory Dock. 

Years 3 and 4 Juniors: 

Wonky Donkey  Spunky, Hanky Panky, Cranky, Stinky Dinky, Lanky, Honky Tonky, Winky Wonky Donkey

Year 5 &6 and Intermediates: Add bar lines to the these rhythm patterns to have four beats in each bar. Note the new notes in the extension exercise. Can you work out what their value is? 

Dances: 

Hickory Dickory Dock. 

Freeze 

Ma nah ma nah 

Skip to My Lou

Mickey 

Shout 

Love Me 

Johnny B Goode    Lyrics

Extra Songs: 

The Ants go Marching 

Life in Sunshine (NZ) 

Roar 

Nature (NZ) 

Walking on Water (NZ) 

                       

Come along to this Concert

Mrs Lee and Mrs Vincent are singing in this choir.

Faure's Requiem  

Vivaldi's Gloria
 

2017 Term 1 Week 10 Music and Songs for Anzac Day and Easter

Here's an interview on Radio New Zealand with Claudia Robin Gunn - the composer and singer of our favourite Lullaby Time song that we use for a settling down song for creative movement at the beginning of our junior music classes. 

Add bar lines to make 5 bars with four beats in each bar. 

Dances: 
Johnny B Goode 
Best Day of My Life 
Bunny Hop   (for the Easter Bunny?) Here's an old vid of what it looks like.
     Here's the steps - it's very easy: 
     (1) Get in a line - any amount from 2 people. 
     (2) Hands on shoulders (or waist) of person in front).
     (3) Keep weight on left foot - right foot out to the side and back. Repeat.
     (4) Keep weight on right foot - left foot out to the side and back. Repeat. 
     (5) Small hop forwards on two feet- pause for one beat.
     (6) Small hop backwards on two feet - pause for one beat.
     (7) Three hops forward without pauses. 
     (8) Repeat from (3)

Chicken Dance (for the Easter Chicken) 

Songs: 
Hoki Mai  This was a song written to welcome the Maori Battalion back from serving in World War 2.  We will be singing this at our Kids for Kids Concert later on in November this year. 
Hot Cross Buns - with simple actions 

Rose, Rose 

Listening and Viewing: 
Anzac Day is coming up in the holidays, and you may get the opportunity to go to an ANZAC ceremony or see an item about it on television.  You will hear the Last Post played. It is a very solemn piece of music played to remember those who died serving their country in war.  While the last post is played, everyone keeps very still, and flags are lowered as a sign of respect for the dead.  This is the Last Post played at Gallipoli for the dawn service. 

Ukulele: 
Here's two songs from World War 1. They can be played separately, and then put together and sung in counterpoint.

From Ukulele Rocks 

Scroll down to last week's blog for more ukulele songs.

2017 Term 1, Week 9: Time for tests

This week we are assessing our progress on the ukulele, in reading and clapping rhythm patterns (Seniors and Intermediates) in singing (Seniors) and in following instructions and keeping in time in dances and clapping games, and singing (Juniors). 

Add bar lines to make 5 bars with four beats in each bar. 

Dances: 
Juniors warm up: Lullaby Time
Happy 70th Birthday, Sir Elton John!  
Here's our tribute to Elton John, Crocodile Rock 
Hold Still 
Freeze Game
Everything is Awesome (Note: If you mirror this song, note that their left will be your right. Best to organise in rows of 5 - 7 before hand for linking arms part of song.)

Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry 1965 (our dance version) 
Johnny B Goode -  Live with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 1995 

Ukulele: Basic (note that G7 can be played instead of G in these songs.)
Coconut song (C7)
Banana Boat Song (F, C7) 
Rock 'n' Roll medley (C, F, G7) Rockin' Robin, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog 
Surfin' USA  (C, F, G7)
Best Day of My Life   C, F (and a wee bit of Dm) 
The Lion sleeps tonight (C, F ,G or G7)
You are my sunshine (C, F, G or G7) Fast forward to 35 seconds in. 
Yellow Bird (C, F, G7)
La Bamba (C, F, G)
Don't Worry, Be Happy   (C, Dm, F) 
Roll over Beethoven   (Use the 12 bar blues in C pattern below for this.)

Ukulele  more advanced. 
I'm Yours  C, Am, F, G 
Love, Love, Love C, Am, F, G 
One Call Away   C, Am, F, G 
Count on Me  C,  Em, Am, G, F, Dm 
Fight Song   G, Em7, C, G, D, 
Sweet Home Alabama  D, C, G, F

Dynamics Quiz: 
Try this interactive quiz out to test your knowledge of the vocabulary of music dynamics.  It's a drag and drop game and may need a bit of practice to work it out. 

Songs: 
Threw it out the Window (Scroll down this blog post to find the lyrics) 
Baby Shark song
Watch out all you two legged mice
Wonky Donkey (Lyrics only)

Rose, Rose (piano backing only)
Rose, Rose (Sung as a round)

Note that the music above may not exactly match the music or singing in the links above. Can you hear where there are differences? (Clue: listen and watch bar 1.) 

2017, Term 1, Week 8: RIP Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan 

This week Chuck Berry died, aged 90.  He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century , and was one of the first rock and roll guitarists.  Many of the world's greatest rock and pop musicians have covered his songs, performed on stage with him, and acknowledged his influence on their own music style.

Chuck Berry and Tina Turner

Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley 

Chuck Berry and Bruce Springsteen

Chuck Berry and Mick Jagger

He was born Charles Edward Anderson Berry on October 18, 1926, in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Both his parents were the grandchildren of slaves. His father was a carpenter and a deacon in his church, and his mother was one of the few black women of her generation to gain a college education. Berry grew up in a middle class black neighbourhood and had never seen a white person until he saw firemen putting out a fire when he was three. He thought they had turned white with fear of the flames.

Berry learnt to play guitar as a teenager and performed first at his high school. He was involved in an attempted armed robbery and spent some time in a reform school, then worked for his father and for General Motors as a janitor. He also studied hairdressing and cosmetology at night school and became a beautician. In the 1950s he joined a band and had his first Top 10 hit with Maybelline, followed by several others, including Sweet Little Sixteen,  Roll Over Beethoven, and Johnny B Goode which is in the top ten rock songs of all time and is considered to be one of the most recognisable rock songs of all time. It was the first hit song to be written about rock and roll music, and is loosely auto-biographical. 
                                   
Chuck Berry is also famous for his duck walk. Although other guitarists may have done it before him, he popularised it and is credited as the inventor.  Berry said that he used to do it as a child to entertain his family, and that when he performed it on stage in 1956, the audience loved it so much he included it in his routine from then on.

Johnny B Goode played by Michael J Fox also appears in Back to the Future.  Note that one of the characters rings his cousin Chuck Berry to say he's found the new sound Chuck had been looking for . . . 

Add bar lines to make five bars of four beats in each bar. 

Ukulele: 
Yellow Bird (C,  F, G 7) 
Rock 'n' Roll medley   (C,  F, G7) Rockin' Robin, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog 
Coconut song (C7)
Banana Boat Song (F, C7)
La Bamba (C, F, G)
You are my sunshine (C, F, G) Fast forward to 35 seconds in.
The Lion sleeps tonight (C, F ,G)
Roll over Beethoven - play along with Chuck Berry in C Major

Advanced 
I'm Yours   Introducing G and A minor.  

"Johnny B. Goode"

Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play a guitar just like a ringing a bell.

[Chorus:]
Go Go
Go, Johnny, go, go
Go, Johnny, go, go
Go, Johnny, go, go
Go, Johnny, go, go
Johnny B. Goode

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Or sit beneath the tree by the railroad track.
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade,
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made.
The people passing by, they would stop and say,
"Oh, my, but that little country boy could play!"

[Chorus]

His mother told him, "Someday you will be a man,
And you will be the leader of a big old band.
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down.
Maybe someday your name will be in lights
Saying 'Johnny B. Goode tonight'."

[Chorus]