Author: Mr. G.

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William Tell

Introduction

A statue of William Tell and his son Carl.

The legend of William Tell is the story of a heroic man who fights back against a bully. A legend is a story about someone who the storyteller thinks lived in a story about their life that teaches a lesson. It usually involves them being a hero in some way. Legends are folktales, so they do have different versions and change here and there, but the lesson usually doesn’t, and that’s the point.

A composer named Gioachino Rossini wrote an opera based on the legend of William Tell. The piece we are playing today is the end part of the overture. The overture is the music that plays before the story begins kind of like in a movie when you see the actors names at the beginning before the story really begins. The overture is the music that plays during that part. Operas have an overture and this is one of them. 

The legend of William Tell is a good story and you can watch a short video of it below. 

Video

The Story

The Lesson

At The Piano

Full Speed

Slower

Sheet Music

There are a few challenges in playing this piece, but they are challenges that you have faced before, so don’t worry.

Make sure you watch the video above for a discussion of the sheet music and explanations. Remember to notice when you have to switch and play with a different hand.

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

Let’s see some exciting performances!

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!

Digging Deeper

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Sorida

Introduction

Sorida is a song from Zimbabwe, which is a country in Africa.  The word sorida means hello.  Every language has a word for hello. Do you know how to say hello in a different language?

Zimbabwe is the home of a world-famous waterfall, called Victoria Falls. Look down below for a video of it taken from a plane flying overhead. Try moving it around. You can look around and even straight down!

Listen To The Song

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!

Enrichment

Victoria Falls

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Row Row Row Your Boat

Introduction

This is a song that everyone knows. It is usually sung as a round. That means that the different parts sung by the different sections are actually the same part just started at different times. We have sung these in class regularly.

See the videos below for demonstrations and an explanation. Why not sing-along just for fun?

Video

The Lesson

At The Piano

Full Speed

Slower

Sheet Music

There are only a couple of challenges in playing this piece.  The most important thing to focus on is rhythm.

Notice the left hand over marking in measure number 5. The notes are higher than the usual one we see for this marking. Usually we are stretching up to A and we have the option to stretch our finger out if we can, but this time we have to skip up three steps so we are going to have to use the left hand over to play these notes.

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!

Digging Deeper

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I Lost A Tooth, Book 2

Introduction

You might remember this song from Book 1. It’s about an important rite of passage in everyone’s life, losing a tooth!

There’s a few little musical jokes in the song, like the spaces in between the notes and rests, which create a space in the sound of the song. Take a look at the video below where I explain more.

Are you a new student this year, or need a simpler version?  Check out the version of I Lost A Tooth from Book 1!

Listen

The Lesson

At the Piano

Sheet Music

Make sure that you approach this song the way that I described in the video above. Start with the right hand playing the melody.  Add the left hand a little at a time.  You might even need to break it down to one measure at a time, and that’s fine.

Have fun with it and do your best.

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!

Enrichment

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Morning

Introduction

Edvard Grieg was a composer from Norway who lived from 1843 through 1907. The song we are learning this week is from his Peer Gynt Suite.

Portrait of Edvard Grieg

Have you ever been awake just when the sun is starting to rise? Can you picture first beams of light coming over the horizon? Maybe just the first few streams of light peeking through the shades in the quiet of the morning? The sun continues to rise little by little and the sky gets brighter and brighter until it is finally morning. That’s what it sounds like to listen to this song.

While you are listening, use your imagination and try to remember when you have had an experience like that. Is it the same? Is it different?

Video

The Lesson

At The Piano

Full Speed

Slower

Sheet Music

There are a few challenges in playing this piece, but they are challenges that you have faced before, so don’t worry.

I covered most of the really tricky stuff in the video above so make sure you have watched that. If you need to, you can play it over and over again until you understand. Once you understand the tricky repeats and endings, everything else should be pretty similar to something done before.

One of the most important parts of the song is the way that it sounds in the way that it makes you draw a picture in your mind of the morning sun rising. Keep working on playing it until you can get it smooth enough to really sound like a beautiful sunrise.

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!

Digging Deeper