2018, Term 3, Week 3: Mozart's Requiem, Part 3 - Kyrie

Juniors
Dances: 
Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem (Creative) 
Freeze Game 
I like to move it 
I've been working on the railroad 
Rock around the Clock 
Songs:
Junior Songs (using the pentatonic scale):
Bought Me a Cat
Ten in the Bed
John Kanakanaka
Bickle Bockle (and game)

The Fox   (Scroll down to find lyrics) 

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly   (Scroll down to find lyrics) 

Seniors:
All You Gotta Do is Dance (You may not know this one but it has some interesting new dace moves) 
Banana Boat Song (Day O!)
Dynamite    
Can't stop the Feeling - watch the video and then have a go at making your 5 seconds of dance move. 
YMCA

Here's the lyrics to Can't Stop the Feeling 

I got this feeling inside my bones
It goes electric, wavy when I turn it on
All through my city, all through my home
We're flying up, no ceiling, when we're in our zone

I got that sunshine in my pocket
Got that good soul in my feet
I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops
I can't take my eyes up off it
Moving so phenomenally
Room on lock the way we rock it
So don't stop

And under the lights when everything goes
Nowhere to hide when I'm getting you close
When we move, well, you already know
So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine

Nothing I can see but you
When you dance, dance, dance
Feeling good, good, creeping up on you
So just dance, dance, dance
Come on
All those things I shouldn't do
But you dance, dance, dance
And ain't nobody leaving soon
So keep dancing

I can't stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance
I can't stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance
Come on

Ooh, it's something magical
It's in the air, it's in my blood, it's rushing on
Don't need no reason, don't need control
I fly so high, no ceiling, when I'm in my zone

'Cause I got that sunshine in my pocket
Got that good soul in my feet
I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops
I can't take my eyes up off it
Moving so phenomenally
Room on lock the way we rock it
So don't stop

And under the lights when everything goes
Nowhere to hide when I'm getting you close
When we move, well, you already know
So just imagine, just imagine, just imagine

Nothing I can see but you
When you dance, dance, dance
Feeling good, good, creeping up on you
So just dance, dance, dance
Come on
All those things I shouldn't do
But you dance, dance, dance
And ain't nobody leaving soon
So keep dancing

I can't stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance
I can't stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance
I can't stop the feeling
So just dance, dance, dance
I can't stop the feeling
So keep dancing, come on

I can't stop the—
I can't stop the—
I can't stop the—
I can't stop the—
I can't stop the feeling

Nothing I can see but you
When you dance, dance, dance
(I can't stop the feeling)
Feeling good, good, creeping up on you
So just dance, dance, dance
Come on
(I can't stop the feeling)
All those things I shouldn't do
But you dance, dance, dance
(I can't stop the feeling)
And ain't nobody leaving soon
So keep dancing

Everybody sing
(I can't stop the feeling)
Got this feeling in my body
(I can't stop the feeling)
Got this feeling in my body
(I can't stop the feeling)
Wanna see you move your body
(I can't stop the feeling)
Got this feeling in my body

Break it down
Got this feeling in my body
Can't stop the feeling
Got this feeling in my body
Come on

Here's the lyrics to Dynamite:

Dynamite

I came to dance (4x)
I hit the floor cause that's my plans (4x)
I'm wearing all my favourite brands (x4)
Give me space for both my hands (x4)

Yeah, yeah
Cause it goes on and on and on
And it goes on and on and on
Yeah!

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying "Ayo! Gotta let go!"
I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying "Ayo! Baby, let's go!"

Cause we gonna rock this club
We gonna go all night
We gonna light it up
Like it's dynamite!
Cause I told you once
Now I told you twice
We gonna light it up
Like it's dynamite!

I came to move (4x)
Get out the way me and my crew (x4)
I’m in the club so I’m gonna do (x4)
Just what the folk came here to do (x4)


Yeah, yeah
Cause it goes on and on and on
And it goes on and on and on
Yeah!

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying "Ayo! Gotta let go!"
I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying "Ayo! Baby, let's go!"

Cause we gonna rock this club
We gonna go all night
We gonna light it up
Like it's dynamite!
Cause I told you once
Now I told you twice
We gonna light it up
Like it's dynamite!

I'm gonna take it all out
I'm gonna be the last one standing
I'm over it all and
I'm gonna be the last one landing
Cause I, I, I believe it
And I, I, I, I just want it all
I just want it all

I'm gonna put my hands in the air!
Hands, hands in the air!
Put your hands in the air!

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Saying "Ayo! Gotta let go!"
I wanna celebrate and live my life
Saying "Ayo! Baby, let's go!"
Cause we gonna rock this club
We gonna go all night
We gonna light it up
Like it's dynamite!
Cause I told you once
Now I told you twice
We gonna light it up
Like it's dynamite!

Requiems tend to use the same words - all the composer needs to do is add music and their own style.    The words are often repeated.   A requiem is divided into several parts - called movements, each with a different meaning and style or feel, and tempo. 
In the Kyrie movement the only words are Kyrie, eleison! Christe, eleison! (Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy), but they are repeated many times  - and sung in many different ways. 

In this version, all four singing parts (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) sing the same music but start at different times, (called a fugue) then come together for extra impact. 

Here's how Mozart wrote it.

                                           
Here's a choir singing Kyrie. Watch how the conductor indicates to each group when it is time  for them to start singing.  Notice how the singers hold their music up high so they can follow it but still keep their eyes on the conductor. 

This version is a bit slower, but you see the conductor's movements and gestures very clearly.  Note that the singers must know this music by heart as they aren't holding music!

This video is excellent to show you how the conductor changes his gestures to indicate dynamics (volume) and the feel of the music.  Look for how he smoothly changes from giving signals to  different sections of the orchestra and then to different sections of the choir. Start at about 3:50 to see how he changes from one movement to the next. Note: You only see the conductor in this video - not the orchestra or choir. 

Here's what the score (music) looks like for the singers. Can you follow each part? Can you see when each part comes in and stops?  Try listening to it with your eyes closed - can you identify each of the four parts? 

And here's just one part - the alto part - at a slower speed so that singers can practise it to get it right before doing it faster with their choir. 

And an electric guitar version of all four parts. 

Do the maths!

The music is in 4/4 timing, which means every bar is equal to four crotchets - or one semibreve. 

Look at the snapshots  below and see if you can work out  how every bar is equivalent to 4 crotchets - or one semibreve. 

This is the very end of the movement, but it's an easier place to do the maths. 

There might be some tricky notes for you, but use the table below to help. 

                                         

2018, Term , Week 2: More Mozart

     FREE CONCERT 

3 pm, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4 

at Vodafone Events Centre, 

MANUKAU 

Follow this link for more details  

Share this event 

Background music  to visual presentations (movies / slideshows, and so on) can create a significant atmosphere and arouse a range of emotions depending. 

New Zealand film maker Peter Jackson restored rare film footage from Gallipoli to make this short tribute to the ANZAC soldiers. The film footage was rare because it was in the very early days of moving pictures, and it was incredibly difficult - and extremely dangerous - to film anything at all in the middle of a war zone, and then get it back to safety to be developed.

The background music is Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626). It was composed in Vienna in 1791. It was still unfinished at the time of Mozart's death on December 5. A requiem is a special church service (called a mass) with special music to remember people who have died.
View a bit of this movie filmed in Gallipoli in 1915, and turn the sound off.  Then watch it with the volume up, and listen to Mozart's Lacrimosa from his requiem. Do you notice a difference?  Did the music change how you felt about what you were seeing.  (Note: stop the video at 2:50). 

Most religious music was written in Latin. If you listen carefully, you can follow the words as they are sung. Can you hear where the words are repeated?

Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa dies illaQua resurget ex favillaJudicandus homo reus.Huic ergo parce, Deus:Pie Jesu Domine,Dona eis requiem. Amen.

(translated from Latin)
Full of tears shall be that dayOn which from ashes shall ariseThe guilty man to be judged;Therefore, O God, have mercy on him.Gentle Lord Jesus,grant them eternal rest. Amen.

Some questions to think about while listening:
- Why do you think Peter Jackson chose this particular music to go with the film?- What is it about the music that you like or dislike?
- What does Mozart do to make the music sound more interesting?- Can you hear the sopranos singing the very high parts?- Can you hear the basses sing the very lowest parts?- Can you hear parts where just one group (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) is singing, or different combinations of those groups?
- Where are the crescendos and decrescendos?

                                 

This is Mozart's own writing of part of the requiem.

On November 20,1791, Mozart was so ill he had to stay in bed. Even so, he still worked frantically on the requiem - right up until his final hours.

At 2pm on December 4, Mozart sang the alto parts of the requiem with his friends and family singing the other parts. They sang through to the Lacrimosa which was as far as Mozart had got composing the requiem. Apparently the last thing Mozart did was to imitate the kettledrums in his requiem.

Because his illness, Mozart’s body was very swollen, so a doctor cut him regularly so he would bleed ( it was thought to be help lessen the swelling in those days). Mozart died shortly afterwards at 1:00 am on December 5 1791.

An artist's impression of what it looked like while he was working on his requiem.              

Because they were very poor, he was buried in an unmarked paupers’ grave ( grave for poor people). When his wife went back with flowers a few days later, she could not find his grave, so it remains a mystery where one of the greatest composers is buried.

It is thought that Mozart’s wife, Constanza, got several people to help finish the requiem, using notes and drafts left by Mozart, so that she could still get paid the rest of the money from the mystery person who commissioned the requiem.

An artist's impression of Mozart and his wife Constanze as he wrote his requiem.                     

Here's a movie interpretation of Mozart's death and burial  from the movie Amadeus - with Lacrimosa playing as background music.  

2018 Term 3, Week 1: Mostly Mozart and Musical Maths

Mrs Lee and Mrs Vincent are singing in this concert. Afternoon tea is included in the ticket price.

Welcome back to Term 3 music.  

Dances

Juniors: 

- Goodnight Moon 

- Can you point your finger and do the Twist 

- Can't stop the Feeling 

- Gummy Bear 

Seniors: 

 - All you Gotta Do is just Dance   (with some interesting new dance moves) 

- Bailar 

- Blue 

Songs: 

Wreck of the Diddley   By Fatcat and Fishface 

The Fox  (See lyrics on this blog post. Scroll down the page.) 

Sarasponda

  

MOZART: 

This term we are learning a bit about one of our favourite composers - Mozart.  Watch this  video of Dies Irae from Mozart's Requiem.   A requiem is a special mass (church service) asking for peace for the soul of a person who has died. It is Latin for rest or repose (sleep).  The lyrics (words) of Dies Irae  are in Latin, and they mean Day of Wrath (anger). 

 And here's a version Mozart could never have imagined - a heavy metal accompaniment! 

Mozart didn't compose Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - but he is well known for making an arrangement  (version) of that music.  Here's a Sesame Street version of the alphabet as if Mozart had done it. Note that in New Zealand we say zed instead of zee  - but, of course, it doesn't rhyme with "me"

And now - watch how a conductor leads the orchestra (with Sesame Street Connections). Murray Monster and Ovejita (Little Lamb in Spanish) travel to join the New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert to find out just what a conductor really does. Ovejita plays timpani while Gilbert conducts Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) with Juilliard student musicians. 

And on a similar note  . . . see what happens to Gonzo while he tries to play Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik on the bagpipes while sitting on a pole. 

And for those who think that playing the recorder is only for children, here's Mozart on a range of different recorders. 

Here's a young 7-year-old-boy conducting Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. (Skip to 1:00 minute in.) Note that he conducts without reading the music. 

Here's an easy-to-understand short video about the life of Mozart. 

                                      

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was an Austrian composer and musician. He was born in what is now Salzburg, Austria. His father Leopold Mozart was a choir master, a composer and a teacher.

Mozart's sister Nannerl began keyboard lessons  at  age 7,   and younger brother Wolfgang began lessons at age 4. By age 5 he was composing short pieces. In the following year Wolfgang and Nannerl began traveling through Europe with their father, giving concerts in the courts of Europe. Mozart learned to play the violin and the organ. At the age of 8 Wolfgang published his first two sonatas for the harpsichord. By the age of 13 he had composed his first opera at the request of an emperor. 
                                           
By the time Mozart was in his mid-twenties he had established himself as one of the most accomplished keyboard players in Vienna, and was recognized as an talented composer. 

On December 5, 1791, Mozart died at 35 years of age. He had no money and was buried in a paupers' grave. He left behind a collection of more than 600 compositions. Some of these pieces are considered to be the finest works in the Classical style.

                                     

Vocabulary: 

- requiem - special church service for the dead 

- wrath - anger 

- lyrics - words of a song 

- conductor - person who leads the orchestra 

- baton - a stick the conductor holds so musicians can see his or her movements 

- tempo - speed of the music 

- symphony - a longer piece of music made up of several parts

- opera - music that tells a story in song and acting

- pauper - a person who is so poor they have no money or home and very few possessions. 

Musical Maths: 

How many ways do you think music is mathematical?  How many ways do you think we could teach maths through music, or use music to help understand maths? 

Some vocabulary you might need: 

- whole note -  also known as a semibreve. It has 4 beats. 

- half note - also known as a minim. It has two beats. 

- quarter note - also known as a crotchet. It has one beat.

- equivalent - having the same value; e.g., $1.00 is equivalent to two 50c coins. A minum is equivalent to two crotchets. 

- pizza - a useful item to help explain fractions.  

Let's start with notation and fractions. 

Imagine the whole note  (or semibreve) is a pizza. It is four beats long. (Hold the note and count to four.) 

Now, imagine that half a pizza is like a half note  - half the value of a whole note, unsurprisingly. A half note has two beats long and is called a minim. Hold the note and count to two. 

                                                         

Then, a quarter of a pizza is like a quarter note (or crotchet)  - quarter of the value of a whole note, and half the value of a half note. Hold the note and count to  . . . one. 

Confused?  It will make more sense after we've done a few activities. 

We arrange our notes in groups - called a bar (or measure) so we can read them easily and keep in time.  For our purposes  this week, every bar will be equivalent to a whole note. 

Which of the following bars are equivalent to a whole note (four beats in a bar). 

Now, where would you put bar lines to make each bar equivalent to a whole note (4 beats). 

Here's a bit of a test. Play Level 1 of this video and see if you can keep in time with the rhythm.  You will need to know know what a quarter note (crotchet) rest looks like - but that's easy enough to pick up. 

2018, Term 2, Week 10 - Last week of term and Matariki

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in mid-winter and is the beginning of a new year. Matariki means the ‘eyes of god’ (mata ariki) or ‘little eyes’ (mata riki). 
Maori mythology says that the sky father, Ranginui, and the earth mother, Papatūānuku, were separated by their children. The god of the winds, Tāwhirimātea, became so angry that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.

It was a time for remembering the dead and for celebrating new life. In the 21st century, observing Matariki has become popular again

 Follow this link for more information about Matariki


Matariki
For 2018, June 7th is listed as the day that Matariki sets and July 6 - 9 as the rising, which is when you can see Matariki just above the horizon before the sun comes up. The celebration period  for 2018 has been set for 6 -13 July.

Here's the Matariki Macarena  
And here's a a tutorial to show you how to do it - with a boys' part as well. 

Here's the words so you can sing along.
Waiti
Waita
Waipuna - a - rangi
Tupu - a - nuku
Tupu - a - rangi
Ko Uru - a - rangi te potiki
O te whanau Matari 

Here's a story of Matariki 


Here's another Matariki song called Nga Tamaki O Matariki

Wai-ti, Wai-ta, Waipuna-rangi

Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Ururangi e

Koine nga tamariki o Matariki

Nga whetu e piataata i te rangi e

Nga whetu e piataata i te rangi e

Wai-ti, Wai-ta, Waipuna-rangi

Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Ururangi e

These are the children of Matariki

The bright stars that shine in the sky

The bright stars that shine in the sky

 Leopold Stokowski  (1882 - 1977) was one of the world's greatest conductors.  Her was known for not using a baton, and conducting with his hands instead. HE is also known for his appearance in Walt Disney's Fantasia  and is characterised by Bugs Bunny in this  cartoon video called Bugs Bunny Opera. 

---oo 🎼 oo----

2018, Term 2, Week 8, New Zealand Children's Music, Part 4

Here's  another cool song  NZ children's song by fleaBITE, called No Toast 

No Toast 

No toast
No toast for me
I’m heading out to sea
No toast
No toast for me
A sailor is what I be

Out across the waves
The wind she blows
Mind the rocks below

No toast
No toast for me
I’m sailing across the sea
No toast
Or mouldy bread
A hammock for my head

Seas as big as trees
The ship she flies
Sailors tell no lies

A 1-2-3
A 2-2-3
Boom and a boom and a boom
And a boom
Crash Crash
Boom and a boom
And a go to your room

No toast
No toast for me
I’m heading out to sea
No toast
No toast for me
A sailor is what I be


Dances: 

Havana - tutorial by the Kidz Bop kids - except if you mirror their actions, you will be doing it using your left foot / arm actions for their right ones.  You decide how you want to do it.  

Here's the KidZ Bop version of Havana 


Recorder / Ukulele / Glockenspiel  ideas for this week: 

Rocking All Over the World by Status Quo 

I knew You were Treble  (parody of I knew you were Treble by Taylor Swift)

Brahms Lullaby  - you'll know this, even if you've never heard its name or composer before. 




The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has recorded a classic German lullaby in te reo for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford's baby.

It performed the famous lullaby, Cradle Song or Wiegenlied, by 19th century German composer Johannes Brahms.Opera singer Simon O'Neil​ recorded the piece before one of the orchestra's Wellington performances at the Michael Fowler Centre. 

2018, Term 2, Week 8: New Zealand Children's Music Part 3

Bobby McFerrin is an American jazz vocalist and conductor. He wrote and sang "Don't Worry Be Happy" which became a Number 1 hit song  - taking over from Sweet Child o' Mine by Guns N' Roses. Don't Worry, Be Happy also won song of the year  at the 1989 Grammy Awards. 

                                           
Watch this video of Bobby McFerrin demonstrating the Pentatonic Scale 

(Junior) Dance:
Don't Worry, Be Happy 

(Senior) Dance 
Don't Worry, Be Happy -  can do it in groups of three, although it's probably safer to adapt some of the moves. 

Do animals have a sense of music? Check out this video of a dog playing notes on the piano. 

Singing - see previous blogs, too. 
Junior Songs (using the pentatonic scale): 
Bought Me a Cat 
Ten in the Bed 
John Kanakanaka
Bickle Bockle (and game) 

More New Zealand Children's Music 

A song by Fleabite called Don't sit under the Poo Tree! 

You can fart in a jar
You can spit at a star
But don’t sit under the Poo Tree
You can eat till you burst
You can cuss you can curse
But don’t sit under the Poo Tree

My granny had a horse
My granny had a whip
She looked me in the nostril and she give me this tip
What she say?
“Hey little Johnny now you listen to me
Don’t sit under the Poo Tree”

You can lie to your friends
You can steal all their pens
But don’t sit under the Poo Tree
You can wear dirty clothes
Stick a stick up your nose
But don’t sit under the Poo Tree

Birdies like to eat all day
But every night they rest
In the tree down yonder where the sun sets in the west
They’re full of worms and beetles
And seeds and bits of fruit
So just before they say their prayers
They do a mighty poop
And that is why I tell you what my granny said to me
“Never sit below that stinky old Poo Tree”

You can eat off the floor
You can slam closed the door
But don’t sit under the Poo Tree
You can dance with baboons
By the light of the moon
But don’t sit under the Poo Tree

Fatcat and Fishface - Bird Brain 

The brain of a bird is a marvellous thing
It can teach you to fly. It can teach you to sing
It can teach you to operate both of your wings
Oh the brain of a bird is a marvelous thing

The brain of a bird is a marvellous thing
It can make you take journeys in winter and spring
It can make you make nests of tinfoil and string
Oh the brain of a bird is a marvelous thing

Your bones may be hollow
Your feet may be webbed
Your song may be just a quack
Yet you can fly thousands of nautical miles
And know how to get yourself back

The brain of a bird is a marvellous thing
It can help you to see when it’s terribly dim
It can lead you to water to duck, dive or swim
Oh the brain of a bird is a marvellous thing

2018, Term 2, Week 7: New Zealand Children's Music Part 2

Paul Hindemtih (1895 - 1963) was a German composer, violinist and conductor.

Here's an example of the above quote, from Fawlty Towers,  a British comedy from the 1970s.  Can you work out which character thinks Brahms Third Symphony is meaningless noise?

                                                

DANCES: 
Junior:
Everywhere Stars  - creative movement - Listen for Matariki.
I like to Move It, Move It (Here's the original version from the movie - can you see any similarities?)
Can't Stop the Feeling
Funky Robot

Funk Town  - a bit harder but some fun dance moves. 

Senior: 

Choose from Funky Robot, Funky Town and Can't Stop the Feeling (above) 

Watch me (Whip/Nae Nae)

Celebrate (for a bit of '70s dance moves)  

Don't Stop Me Now   Continuing on our Queen theme from last week. 
Everybody Dance Now  

                                
NZ Songs for Juniors: 
Taniwha Song (Note the lyrics may be a bit different to the one you know)
The Library Song - A bit of a noisy song for the library!

A Fatcat and Fishface favourite of ours from a few years ago - Tip of My Tongue                         
Tip of My Tongue 
Are you able to play tennis on a turning tennis table?
Will your mother mollycoddle Mrs Morse’s daughter Mabel?
Can you lick a lolly scramble like a lizard at a lake?
Can you carry half a carton full of crunchy carrot cake? 

Did your sister get a blister from assisting Mr Morse?
Or was it helping Harry hit a home run? Yes of course
Can you stick a naked bunny in a cranny or a nook?
Can you bring a bacon buttie and a bottle and a book?

Chorus: It’s on the tip of my tongue

How do horses hear a hoodlum when they’re hurtling hell for
leather?
Why do weasels whistle wetly in the wild and windy weather?
Did your father find a feather for the funky fashion show?
Or did he force young Norman Morse to tell him where to go?

Can you count the clucking chickens as they cackle in the
clover
After Mrs Morse’s Morris Minor nearly ran them over?
Did you drink a drip of danger juice and drain the bottom drop?
Can you eat the ears of elephants and never want to stop?

Chorus: It’s on the tip of my tongue

Can someone tell the Morses that their dog is here for dinner
That their cat has lost its confidence, their guinea pig is
thinner?
The Morses are our neighbours Mr, Mrs, Norman, Mabel
And all of them play tennis on a turning tennis table

Chorus: It’s on the tip of my tongue

And a new tongue twister nonsense song by Fleabite (same singer as in Fatcat and Fishface) called Liver Lover:

 "Liver Lover" lyrics

1.Chicken liver, duck liver, cock-a-doodle cluck liver
Lamb liver, cow liver, give it to me now liver
Shark liver, goat liver, stick it up your coat liver
Turkey liver, pig liver, juicy and so big liver

Camel liver, bear liver, breadcrumbs everywhere liver
Frog liver, toad liver, cycling up the road liver
Kiwi liver, bat liver, we’ll have none of that liver
Monkey liver, gnu liver, crested cockatoo liver

Liver, liver lover, liver
Don’t be angry, just forgive her
You can’t live without your liver

2. Cat liver, rat liver, rabbit from your hat liver
Beaver liver, mouse liver, running round your house liver
Cod liver, eel liver, it’s not a big deal liver
Sparrow liver, mole liver, halfway down a hole liver

Dog liver, snake liver, sorry my mistake liver
Worm liver, slug liver, chug-a-lug-a-lug liver
Moose liver, crab liver, cooked in a kebab liver
Less liver, more liver, even dinosaur liver

Liver, liver lover, liver
Cry your tears into the river
You can’t live without your liver

3.Horse liver, ass liver, hiding in the grass liver
Lizard liver, snail liver, reading all my mail liver
Tiger liver, hen liver, please say that again liver
Wolf liver, fox liver, think outside the box liver

Eagle liver, goose liver, hanging from a noose liver
Mammoth liver, quail liver, banging in a nail liver
Mongoose liver, weevil liver, is it good or evil liver
Hippo liver, otter liver, I’ve not got a lot of liver

Liver, liver lover, liver
Be you fat or be you thinner
You can’t live without your liver

Oh
Monkey liver, bee liver, swinging through the trees liver
Penguin liver, croc liver, tick tick tock liver
Zebra liver, possum liver, sitting on your bottom liver
Bison liver, shag liver, don’t be such a nag liver

Spider liver, crow liver, long long way to go liver
Hedgehog liver, whale liver, wave your furry tail liver
Lion liver, deer liver, had it up to here liver
Tui liver, trout liver, shake it all about liver

Liver, liver lover, liver
Kangaroo or caterpillar
You can’t live without your liver

                 

And something from our You Tube favourites department: Just to prove that you are never to old or too young to dance - watch this video with an old man and two young girls doing a shuffle dance in China.                   

2018, Term 2, Week 6: New Zealand Children's Music Part 1

Now that we have finished New Zealand Music Month, it's a good time to look at music for children by New Zealand composers and musicians. 

Last week we talked about the visual reference to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in Mother Goose's "Baked Beans" video.  Here's a Muppets version of Bohemian Rhapsody - can you find the connection? 

We revisit our favourite  from previous years - The Wreck of the Diddley by Fatcat and Fishface.   Here's a link the the lyrics. 

Some background and vocabulary to help you understand the song better: 

In the early days of European settlement in New Zealand there were very few roads, and most people wanted to live within close distance of a coastal area with a harbour or sheltered area for ships to dock.  Travel by sea  (or river) was usually the easiest and quickest way to transport people and goods from place to place.  In those days, the various types of ships and boats were as common as the trucks, trains, buses and planes we use for transport today.  Except, there was no GPS, no rain radars or satellite weather information,  no telecommunications to send signals if you were in trouble - and no rescue services.  There were many shipwrecks, and many ships disappeared without a trace.  Many,many lives of passengers and crews were lost. 

The Wreck of the Diddley is set in New Zealand waters - somewhere near the Wellington suburb of Island Bay, on the shores of Cook Strait (although NZ waters were not known to be visited by pirates, as indicated in this song). 

Typhoon - a really big storm - and another name for a tropical cyclone.  It's called a typhoon in some Asian areas, a hurricane in the Northern Atlantic areas (USA, UK) and a cyclone in the South Pacific (Australia, Pacific Islands, New Zealand).

20 foot high - a foot is a measurement of distance. It's a little bit over 6 metres. 

Port and starboard  the left and righthand side (or direction) of a ship when facing the front. 

Abandon ship everybody get off the ship

A dozen  twelve 

Was a bright summer’s day back in 1859
No it wasn’t, it was 1863
And we sailed on the good ship ‘My Darling Clementine’
No we didn’t, it was ‘Mary Jane Marie’

Then came a storm, a typhoon I recall
And the waves they crashed all around
They were 20 foot high and they looked us in the eye
And we thought to a man we would drown

Chorus: We thought we’d die diddley die
Diddley diddley diddley die
We thought we’d die diddley die
Diddley die

It was young Nick Magoo who saw the rocks ahead
No it wasn’t, it was old man John McGee
And the captain steered to port and we headed into land
No he didn’t, it was starboard out to sea

Then was a mighty crack, a terrible sickening sound
And the brave mast came a-tumbling down
The salt it stung our eyes, ”Abandon ship”, we cried
And we thought to a man we would drown

Chorus:

The water was a-boil with a dozen drowning men
No it wasn’t cos I counted 43
And we clung to bits of wood and anything we could
No we didn’t, we were sinking helplessly

We shouted to the skies and we said our last goodbyes
As the darkness gathered all around
We were frozen to the core and we couldn’t swim no more
And so to a man we did drown

Chorus:

And sometimes late at night on the shores of Island Bay
If you listen you will hear a ghostly sound
And some do say it’s wind and some do say you may
Hear the singing of the sailor men who drowned

Chorus:

And another quick Fatcat and Fishface favourite - the Undies Song.