2017 Term 2, Week 5: Funny songs by Fatcat and Fishface

Add bar lines. Then practise keeping the beat with one hand while you play the rhythm with the other. This can be tricky to start with, especially when there is no obvious pattern. 

Can you clap /play this rhythm in time with the beat? 

We are learning to recognise, find and write the notes F, A,C, E on the treble clef. You can use this virtual keyboard to help you find the notes on a keyboard and to hear what they sound like. 

Juniors: 
Warm up and focus song: How Many Sleeps by Claudia Robin Gunn 
                                            
This Week's nursery rhyme is Mary had a Little Lamb, which is based on a real person and a real event in America.   Here's Paul McCartney (ex Beatles) and Wings sing his version of Mary had a Little Lamb. 

Here's a Muppets story with Kermit helping Don Music find a rhyme for "snow" so he can finish his Mary Had a Little Lamb song. 

And the Sesame Street Honkers do an instrumental version of Mary had a Little Lamb 
Join Dora the Explorer and friends and follow their moves for a Mary had a Little Lamb dance. (Fast Forward to 33 on the video to skip the gaming introduction.) 

Seniors: 
Here's some of our favourite New Zealand kids' songs singers - Fatcat and Fishface: 

Fatcat and Fishface 

When You've Got Your Favourite Undies On      

Noodle   and here's the lyrics .

Here's a claymation version of Noodle. 

Dog's Breath is an interesting song with just animal sounds.The video is just someone else's interpretation of it. You can find out more about it here. 

And some of our other Fatcat and Fishface favourites:
Selfish Shellfish           Lyrics
Wreck of the Diddley   Lyrics 
Tip of My Tongue         Lyrics 
Bird Brain                    Lyrics 

                                                  

2017 Term 2, Week 4: Dynamics

Work in progress 

New Zealand Music Month video clips: 

Gumboot Song by John Clarke (Fredd Dagg)

Add bar lines to each measure of music above. 

Diminuendo is also known as Decrescendo. 

Songs: 

I knew You Were Treble 

Wreck of the Diddley  (NZ)

Cat Scratch Fever by FleaBITE (NZ)  This is a song about a pet cat that tends to scratch.
Here are the lyrics.

Juniors:
This week's nursery rhyme is Baa Baa Black Sheep 

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.