Author: Mr. G.

Posted on

Ambos A Dos

Introduction

This is a song from Puerto Rico which is sung by children when they are playing and dancing.

The words mean dance 2 by 2 and that is how you do the movements during the song and the game.  Give it a try if you want. It’ll be even better if you have someone to dance with, may be a grown-up or a brother or sister!

Video

The Lesson

At The Piano

Full Speed

Sheet Music

Make sure you watch the video above for a discussion of the sheet music and explanations. Remember that this song is played in C position which means you need to adjust your left hand so that your fifth finger is on C by moving down three steps.

Don’t forget to practice it over and over again until you are able to play it allegro! That means fast and spirited.

Piano
Piano Challenge Version
Ukulele
Guitar
Recorder
Xylophone or On-Screen Piano

Don’t Forget!

You can look up the ukulele chords and guitar chords and get help with reading tablature,
playing the recorder or rhythm (percussion) instruments right here on my website!

Digging Deeper

Posted on

Au Claire De La Lune

Introduction

This is a beautiful round in French that many of us sing as a lullaby.

What do you think the story behind the song is?  The words translated to English are:

In the light of the moon,
Pierrot replied
I don’t have a pen, I am in my bed
Go to the neighbor’s,
I think she is there
Because someone just lit
a match in the kitchen.

Video

The Lesson

At The Piano

Full Speed

Slower

Sheet Music

Piano
Piano Challenge Version
Ukulele
Guitar
Recorder
Xylophone or On-Screen Piano

Don’t Forget!

You can look up the ukulele chords and guitar chords and get help with reading tablature,
playing the recorder or rhythm (percussion) instruments right here on my website!

Digging Deeper

Posted on

Flying Up and Down

Introduction

This song is about things that fly up and down.

What kinds of things do that?

Even the notes fly up and down in this song!  Watch as the quarter notes step up and down to make the melody.

Sing, dance, play and FLY!

Note to grown-ups:

This song as well as the first few in book 1 are meant to demonstrate musical ideas while allowing the children to relate to those ideas using their current knowledge and experience. Allow them to move and dance and experience the movement of notes and the melody in whatever way makes sense for them.  It’s all about enjoyment!

Listen

The Lesson

At The Piano

Sheet Music

Don’t forget that the notes and finger numbers and words and motions of this song down and up all at the same time.

This song is played by the RIGHT hand.  That’s the one on this side:

You can tell because the note stems are pointing up and they are in front of the G clef.

Digging Deeper

Posted on

Abiyoyo

Introduction

This is a retelling of an old South African folktale.  It is the story of a little boy and his father who are ostracized by the people in their town.  That means that they didn’t let them live near them and they had to live out on the edge of town.

It was adapted from the original story by a man named Pete Seeger.  This is a common thing with folk tales. Folktales have a way of changing little by little each time they are told by different person.  In fact, it is usually expected of the storyteller to make the story their own.

Pete Seeger was a folksinger and activist who spent his life singing songs about lifting people up and demanding justice.

The illustrator of this storybook is Michael Hays, who has a website dedicated to information about Abiyoyo.  It really has some interesting stuff on their if you’re interested in checking it out.

Video

The Lesson

Sheet Music

Piano
Ukulele
Guitar
Recorder
Xylophone or On-Screen Piano

Don’t Forget!

You can look up the ukulele chords and guitar chords and get help with reading tablature,
playing the recorder or rhythm (percussion) instruments right here on my website!

Digging Deeper

Posted on

When The Saints Go Marching In

Introduction

This is one of the most famous American songs in history. It is considered to be the unofficial anthem of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is the birthplace of jazz, the only truly American genre of music.

Like our own city, New York, New Orleans is a port city, meaning it is in a place where it is easy for large boats to dock, so it was a place where many people first immigrated to America. New York and New Orleans are similar because people from all over the world with diverse cultures and backgrounds live there. That’s why jazz, which started in New Orleans, is so uniquely American. Jazz incorporates musical styles from all over the world, particularly African drumming and rhythms. When the musicians in New Orleans got together to play, the combination of all of their styles led them to create jazz.

One of the most important parts of jazz is improvisation. That means that you make up your part as you go. Listen to the introduction to jazz below for more detailed information. The person speaking is Wynton Marsalis, the director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Louis Armstrong

No discussion of New Orleans jazz would be complete without mentioning Louis Armstrong. Louis was born in New Orleans and over the course of his life probably did more to spread jazz all over the world than any other musician. Louis played the trumpet. Even though he was born in New Orleans, after he got famous, he moved to New York because that was where all the important jazz musicians lived. Back then, the place where all the famous musicians lived was Harlem. Even though his friends wanted him to move there, Louis felt more comfortable around regular people, so he moved to a house in Jackson Heights, Queens. His house is now a museum and it is about 8 miles away from Long Island City. The pictures on the left were taken on his front steps with some of the kids that lived in his neighborhood.

Here is a video of Louis Armstrong and his band playing When the Saints Go Marching In.

Video

Introduction to Jazz with Wynton Marsalis

Jazz at Lincoln Center - Let Freedom Swing

END OF PART ONE

The Lesson

At The Piano

Sheet Music

This song is played with your hands and C position.The biggest challenge that you will have is adding the chords in the left-hand. One thing you might try would be to sing the words while you play the chords in time.

Watch the videos above to have an idea of how the chords are played. They are played with fingers number 1, 3 and 5 together, all at the same time. Think of it like a shape that you are making with your hand to play the combination of notes that make up the chord.

Take it slow and remember to break it up into phrases.

Piano
Piano Challenge Version
Ukulele
Guitar
Recorder
Xylophone or On-Screen Piano

Don’t Forget!

You can look up the ukulele chords and guitar chords and get help with reading tablature,
playing the recorder or rhythm (percussion) instruments right here on my website!

Dig A Little Deeper