Author: Mr. G.

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Martin Luther King Advanced

Introduction

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who fought for equal rights, peace and justice.  His life was spent in working toward those goals, for which we still work toward today.

The song for today uses a line from his most famous speech for the words.  You can watch a video about this speech at the end of the lesson.  I even included a video of him actually giving the speech.  Be sure to watch those.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very important man that you should know about.

Listen

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

Read a biography about Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I Lost A Tooth

Introduction

Today’s song is about an important “rite of passage.”  That means something that happens to everyone as they grow up.

Losing a tooth!

Have you lost a tooth yet?  Some kids start losing them when they are 4, and some don’t start until they are 6 or 7!  Something really amazing about losing a tooth is that it is sort of like your first step toward being a grown-up!  After all, your grown-up teeth replace the teeth you lose.  Those are the ones you’ll have forever.  Isn’t that amazing?

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

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The Farmer In The Dell

Introduction

This rhyme was first recorded in Germany in 1826, as “Es fuhr ein Bau’r ins Holz”. It was game, with a farmer choosing a wife, then selecting a child, and a maid. This was probably taken to America by German immigrants, where it next surfaced in New York City in 1883, in its modern form and using a melody similar to “A-Hunting We Will Go“.

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

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Dormi Dormi

Introduction

This is a really pretty Italian lullaby.  Italian is a beautiful sounding language.  It is lyrical and expressive, and because of that, it has been used for the lyrics in music for centuries.

Once, I was walking through an airport in Rome, Italy with my brother and there was an announcement in Italian.  Probably something like, “Flight 22 is leaving from gate 7 in 5 minutes.  Hurry up or you’ll miss your flight!” and my brother looked at me and said, “that sounded like a song” and he was right.  Italian is so beautiful that it makes an airport announcement sound pretty, like a song.

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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C Major Scale

Introduction

This is not a song, it’s a SCALE.  In music, a scale is a set of notes that start and end on the same letter note.  So, a ‘C’ Major Scale starts and ends on C.

Notice that in measures 1 and 4, you’ll need to do a funky little move, slipping your thumb under your 3rd finger going up and hopping over your thumb with your 3rd finger on the way down.  The same thing happens in measures 6 and 7 with the left hand.  Doing them at the same time can be a challenge, but go for it!

Video

The Lesson

At The Piano

Full Speed

Slower

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

As I said earlier, this is NOT a song, but it did inspire one, written by Richard Rodgers from the movie, The Sound of Music.  In the song, the singer is teaching the children solfege, which is a way of singing notes.  In solfege, a Major Scale is sung with the sounds Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do.

Notice that the singer sings a major scale right before starting the words to the song.  Enjoy!

Did you know that there is a formula for figuring out ANY major scale on the piano?  Watch this video below and think of this pattern:  Whole – Whole – Half – Whole – Whole – Whole – Half

The pianist in the first video at the top of the page is named Lang Lang, and he is a world renown pianist.  Check out this performance of his.

Here is Lang Lang at the age of 12.  Practice up, guys!!