Author: Mr. G.

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The Entertainer

Introduction

Scott Joplin

This piece was written by Scott Joplin, who was an American ragtime musician and composer. He is widely considered the greatest ragtime composer of all time.  He was born in Texas around 1868 and grew up in Texarkana, Texas. His relatives were railroad workers. His father wanted him to find work that would pay. His mother said he should learn music. Even though he was from Texas, most of his pieces were written when he was in Missouri and New York City. 

Video

The Lesson

Sheet Music

Piano
Ukulele
Guitar

 

 

Sorry!  No recorder for this one!

Recorder
On-Screen Piano (No Xylophone)

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

Music from the Jungle Book in Rag Style

More Rags by Scott Joplin

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Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music)

Introduction

Statue of Mozart

This is a piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  It is part of Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, written in 1787.

Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, the youngest child of Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart. From a very early age, the young Mozart showed great musical talent. He toured Europe with his parents and older sister “Nannerl” for several years performing for royalty and the aristocratic elite.

As a young man, Mozart tried but failed to establish himself as a composer in Paris. He returned to Salzburg where he was briefly employed in the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. He was restless, aware of his genius, and thought Salzburg too small for his talent. He relocated to Vienna where he met with some success. He married Constance Weber and fathered two sons. He died in Vienna after a brief but unknown illness.

Mozart wrote more than 600 musical works.

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!

Enrichment

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Can Can

Introduction

This is from Orpheus In The Underworld a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy

The opera is a joke version of the ancient legend of Orpheus and Eurydice that makes fun of the story.  In this version, Orpheus is not the son of Apollo but a country violin teacher. He is glad to be rid of his wife, Eurydice, when she is abducted by the god of the underworld, Pluto. Orpheus has to be forced into trying to rescue Eurydice.

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!

Enrichment

Opera Arias

This is a video in which Maciek O’Shea, who is an opera singer tells you about and sings a whole bunch of operatic arias.  Aria is what a song in an opera that is sung by one person is called.  It’s a fun video and I hope you enjoy it.  Opera is one of my favorite types of music.

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Happy Birthday To You

Introduction

birthday cake

Here’s a song that everyone has heard before!  This is the birthday song that we sing at someone’s birthday party.

Once you’ve learned it, I hope you’ll play it whenever it is someone special’s birthday!

We start on the left-hand and then switch to the right hand for one note and then back the left-hand and it keeps going like that for the first 5 measures.  Then, in the last 4 measures, most of the notes are on the G Clef, played with the right hand.  FermataDon’t forget to make that fermata just the way you want it in measure 7.

Make sure you break the song into small pieces to learn it.  Sound out each part, then put them together.

Don’t forget to use your ears and your brain to know if it sounds right.   If not, check your hand position first, (point, slide, curl, glue and add your fingers too) then go back and try it again.

Video

The Lesson

As you look at the sheet music for this piece, there is a new symbol in measure 7 that you should notice right away.  It looks like this:

It is called a fermata and it is a simple idea to understand.  It just means that you get to play the note for as long as you want.  In this song it is over the note that is sung with the birthday person’s name.  That’s why you sometime hear some singer showing off and holding the note for a REALLY LONG TIME, like “Happy Birthday dear Mr. Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Happy birthday to you.”

Here is a video about fermatas.

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

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Musette

Introduction

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most famous musicians ever.  When he was alive, he was not very well known, but he worked at a church and had to write new music for every week’s service and because of that, he ended up writing a lot of music.  Years after he died, his music was discovered and people realized how special his music was.

Today, most people think of Bach as one of the greatest classical composers of all time.

This song was written in something called, Notebook for Anna Magdalena, which was a book of tunes Bach wrote for his wife, Anna.

Video

The Lesson

The Story of Johann Sebastian Bach

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