Tag: MATB Book 1

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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

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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

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Swimming Down and Up

Coral Reef

Introduction

Coral Reef

This is your first song!  How exciting!

This song is about things that swim down and up. Can you think of some things that swim down and up?

Just like the things that swim down and up in the water, the notes in this song go down and up too.

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 LEFT hand.  That’s the one on this side:

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

Enjoyment

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One Bottle of Pop, Part 3

Introduction

London, England

This is a traditional round from England.  It is sung in 3 parts.

A little translation for you from the original English.

A bottle of pop is a bottle of soda.

To chuck muck is to throw garbage.

Fish and chips is a traditional dish in England of fried fish and french fries, which are called chips in England.  In England, most people eat fish and chips with vinegar.

Cheerio, chaps.

Video

The Lesson

At The Piano

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

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Duerme Pronto, In C and In D

Mother Holding Baby

Introduction

Mother Holding Baby

This is two more ways to play this beautiful lullaby from Mexico.  The words are in Spanish.

Make sure you watch the videos at the bottom, which are about Mexico’s culture.

The melody has a repeating pattern in it and there is more than one way to play it, because it is written in 4 different keys.  The key changes how high or low the notes are, because we start and end on a different note in each key.

Listen

The Lesson

At The Piano

In C Slow Speed

In D Slow Speed

Sheet Music

Make sure you watch the video above for a discussion of the sheet music and explanations. Remember that this page has the song on it 2 times.

Notice that when you play the song in D, the 3rd finger is a sharp, so you have to move it up to the black key on the keyboard.

Don’t forget to practice it over and over again until you are able to make mom or dad fall asleep! Then you can post on FlipGrid and try to make me and your classmates fall asleep.

Let’s see some performances that will put us to sleep!

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

Ukulele and Guitar

Ukulele

Chord Videos

Guitar

Chord Videos

Digging Deeper