2018, Term 2, Week 3&4: Poi E / Slice of Heaven - NZ Music Month Part 3

New Zealand Music Month - Part 3  - Poi E 

Poi E   (1984) by the Patea Maori Club was a number-one hit song and the biggest selling  song in NZ in 1984 - outselling all other international recording artists. It was one of the first songs entirely in Maori language to achieve popular success. It features a blend of Maori culture and Western music influence and had appeal across all generations, but particularly to youth - the so-called "hip-hop generation". (Break dancing was in its earliest days then.) It is still a popular song 

Poi E lyrics were written by Maori linguist Ngoi Pewhairanigi  to promote ethnic pride among young Maori people. The score was arranged by Dalvanius Prime, who created his own record label, Maui Records, when other recording companies showed no interest. 

The song became popular after a news item about it, and its popularity increased when the Patea Maori Club toured the United Kingdom and gave a Royal Command Performance.  It entered the charts again in 2009 after it was used in a Vodafone ad, and in 2010 after featuring in the NZ movie Boy. It is the only NZ song to appear in the charts over three decades. In 2016 the song featured in a movie about it called Poi E: The Story of  our Song. Poi E is also included in the very successful World Vision Kids for Kids Concert featuring massed choirs of  primary children. 

                                     

Taika Waititi (Director of Thor) included a  haka (inspired by Michael Jackson's 'Thriller') to 'Poi E' in the closing credits of the movie Boy (2010). 

Have a go at singing along with the lyrics on this video. 

And another New Zealand Classic - Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn and Herbs. 
It was awarded the "Best Song of 1986" at the New Zealand Music Awards and was number 1 on New Zealand and Australian music charts.  The song was from the soundtrack of Footrot Flats: The Dog's  Tail Tale. The unusual instrument you hear at the beginning is an a synthesised Japanese flute. The video features Dave Dobbyn and Herbs singing and playing instruments, and includes clips of dancers at live performances because they didn't have time to recreate dancing scenes.  In 2009, the song was voted the 7th most popular New Zealand song of all time. 

Here's a version with the lyrics if you want to sing along. 

Artists have had a bit of fun with some music images - what can you recognise? 

       

Dances:

Juniors

Moving to music - Claudia Robin Gunn: Everywhere Stars 

Point your Fingers and Do the Twist

Can't Stop the Feeling 

Get Ready to Wiggle

Jailhouse Rock 

Seniors

Tapati Tapata   (Click on "Show More"  then scroll down a bit to find the lyrics.) 

YMCA

Cheap Thrills 

Beep, Beep, I'm a Sheep just to prove that  anything can be made into a song! (Don't be surprised by the "Meow, meow, I'm a cow" line. it is, after all, a pretty silly song, but there are some fun dance moves. 

Blue (da ba dee da ba dye)  Because Tapati Tapata doesn't make sense either.

Speedy Gonzales
                                                

Songs:

NZ Sign Language ABC song
Old MacDonald had a Farm - in New Zealand Sign Language
Walking on Water - Ben Tipene 
Make you Mine - Ben Tipene 

                     

Add bar lines and clap the rhythm.  Scroll down to find the completed version

Basic

$ n n n q q n q q q n h h Q Q q q Q Q]

Extension

$ d qH n qH h w n q Q nn q H n d]

And with bar lines 

Basic

$ n n n q‘ q n q q‘ q n h‘ h Q Q‘ q q Q Q]   

Extension

$ d q‘H n q‘H h ‘w ‘n qQn‘n q H‘ n d]

And just because it's funny . . .

2018 Term 2 Week 2: Singing with sign langauge

 A mini-post this week because we are still finishing last week's work.

This week is NZ Sign Language Awareness Week 

Here's the NZ sign language alphabet. 

NZ Sign  Language ABC song

Old MacDonald had a Farm - in New Zealand Sign Language 

 National anthem in sign language

Seniors:  

Cape Reinga  - NZ song by NZ school student - with sign language 
Islands    NZ song by NZ school student - with sign language 

And a new song for NZ Music Month: Love, Love, Love, by Avalanche City.  An odd sort of video, but see what you make of it.   Avalanche City is the stage name for Auckland musician Dave Baxter. The song was reached number 1 in 2011 and was used by TV 2 for station promos. 

This is a studio version of Love, Love, Love.  

And the lyrics of Love, Love, Love  if you want to sing along

And a wee bit of history: This is what pop music looked like in the 1960s. In the days of black and white tv and only half an hour of pop music a week!  This  programme is called C'mon. 

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.