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It’s Rosh Hashanah – Shana Tova Umetukah – A Good and Sweet Year!
Saturday, September 19th, 2009Today is Rosh Hashanah… the Jewish New Year. Much about the holiday centers around the theme of having a sweet year.
One of the greetings for Rosh Hashanah is “Shana tova umetukah”, which is Hebrew for “A good and sweet year”.
Apples and honey are served as a symbol of a sweet year. People dip the apple in the honey.
Noodle Kugel is often made as a side dish for its sweetness.
Challah bread is served to symbolize the cycle of the new year – in the shape of the circular bread.
In synagogue, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah the shofar is sounded. The shofar is made out of a ram’s horn. You can hear it here…
Shana tova umetukah – a good and sweet year!
Mama Lisa
Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009Matzo brei means fried matzo in Yiddish. The traditional way to make it is with a lot of matzo – you generally use equal eggs to matzo. Jewish people eat it around Passover. Savory Matzo Brei is salty. There’s a different recipe for Sweet Matzo Brei.
You can put whatever you like into savory matzo brei. Here are some suggestions: fry up any of the following first: chopped onions, green or red peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables that you might put into a normal omelet. You can also add cheese and/or herbs to savory matzo brei. If you’re using cheese, I’d recommend Swiss or cheddar cheese – but use whatever you and your family like.
Here’s how you make Savory Matzo Brei:
Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei
3 Eggs
3 Matzo
1 Tablespoon Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste1) Fry up any vegetables you want to use in a little oil or butter, until lightly brown and soft. Set aside.
1) Soak matzo in water for a minute or two to soften (no longer than that). Take the matzo out of the water.
2) Break matzo into small pieces with your hands.
3) In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk (like you would for scrambled eggs). Add salt and pepper and stir. Then stir the egg mixture in with the matzos.
4) Put pan with vegetables back on medium heat heat. Then add the egg mixture. Break up like you would scrambled eggs while frying.
5) Add small cubes of cheese if you’re using cheese.
When it’s firm (not liquidy), it’s ready to eat.
Bon appetit!
Mama Lisa
PS If you’d like to try something different, check out my recipe for Matzo Omelet.
Recipe for Matzoh Omelet
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
I’ll give the recipe here for a matzo omelet. It’s inspired by the dish called Matzo brei. There’s a little story behind this and I’ll tell it in a moment. Matzo brei means fried matzo. The traditional way to make it is with a lot of matzo – you generally use equal eggs to matzo. Jewish people eat it around Passover. A matzo omelet is different, it’s an omelet with matzo in it – more egg less matzo!
A few years ago, my mother-in-law was explaining matzo brei to me. I suppose I misunderstood her explanation. I went home and made a traditional omelet for my husband with matzo in it. I made it using a little matzo per egg. It turns out that he loved it! I made him omelets like that for years, thinking I was cooking authentic Jewish food. My bad! I wasn’t. I had come up with a new invention: a matzo omelet. It wasn’t until this year, when my sister-in-law taught me the real way to make matzo brei, that I learnt the difference. I personally prefer the matzo omelet to the savory matzo brei.
So let’s get to the recipe! I’ll start by saying the you can put whatever you like into the matzo omelet. Here are some suggestions: fry up any of the following first: chopped onions, green or red peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables that you might put into a normal omelet. You can also add cheese to the matzo omelet. I’d recommend Swiss or cheddar cheese – use whatever you and your family like.
Here’s the basic recipe for the matzo omelette:
Matzo Omelet
3 Eggs
1 Matzo
1/4 c. Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste1) Melt butter in a frying pan, fry up any vegetables you want to use on medium heat. When they’re soft and lightly brown, turn off the heat and set aside.
2) Beat the eggs with a fork. Add the milk, salt and pepper and stir again.
3) Break up the matzo into bite sized pieces and put into the egg mixture.
4) Stir the matzo in the with eggs
5) Put the frying pan with the vegetables back on medium heat and add the egg mixture.
6) Once the omelet starts to get firm you can add cheese to half of the pan.
7) Once the cheese starts to melt, and the omelet gets less liquidy, you can flip half of the omelet over the other half. I flipped it and cut it in half to help it cook more quickly. You may need to lower the heat if the bottom starts to cook too quickly.
8) You can flip the omelet again after a couple of minutes, make sure the inside gets cooked. Once the eggs are firm on the inside, you’re ready to eat it!
Bon appetit!
Mama Lisa
PS I used whole milk for the omelet because we had it in our fridge for another recipe. I don’t normally use whole milk, but 1%. The whole milk gave the omelet a more custardy taste. More yummy, though more fattening. Interesting to know as a cook!
Next: Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei
Recipe for Sweet Matzo Brei
Monday, April 13th, 2009
Matzo Brei means fried matzo in Yiddish. This is a good dish to make near Passover. That’s when most Jewish people eat it. I’d suggest trying it even if you’re not Jewish. Here’s one good reason: Matzoh is always on sale around Passover and there’s tons of it in the store. How can you not buy a box?
After you buy your box of matzo, I’ll tell you two things you can do with it! You can made Sweet Matzo Brei or Savory Matzo Brei. Don’t go away – don’t be fearful! If you like sweet things, you’ll like Sweet Matzo Brei. I was suspicious about it for years. I KID YOU NOT! I would never in a million years have put matzo, with eggs and syrup. But man, this is good. If you like pancakes or French toast with syrup, you’ll like it. If you don’t, then try the savory way (which I’ll explain how to do in my next post). My savory way is different from everyone else’s. Mine is like a matzo omelet. Sounds a bit strange, yes! But it’s actually very good. That one I have been making for years.
So, let’s get to it!
You can choose how much you’d like to make depending on the number of people eating. The key to making Sweet Matzah Brei is to use one egg per matzo. We used 10 eggs and ten matzohs for 3 adults, 2 big teenage boys with hearty appetites and 2 young girls (one six and one eight year old). Using that as a general rule, it would be about 1 to 1 1/2 matzo per person for a serving size, depending upon how hungry the people are and how much they like to eat.
Recipe for Sweet Matzo Brei
What you need:
1 Egg per Matzo
Milk (1 teaspoon per egg)
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Butter for Frying
Maple Syrup1) Soak matzo in water for a minute or two to soften (no longer than that). Take the matzo out of the water.
2) Break matzo into small pieces with your hands.
3) In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk (like you would for scrambled eggs). Add a dash or two of cinnamon and nutmeg and stir. Then stir the egg mixture in with the matzos.
4) Melt a slab of butter in a frying pan (enough to coat the bottom of the pan). Add egg mixture. Break up like you would like scrambled eggs while frying on medium heat.
Serve with maple syrup – yum!
Many thanks to Dale Durdunas for teaching me this great recipe!
Next: Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei and a Matzo Omelet!
Hiding the Matzo for Passover
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009One Passover tradition that children love is "Hide the Matzoh". An adult hides a piece of matzo that’s wrapped in a cloth napkin or put in a baggie. Then the children try to find it. Whoever finds the matzoh gets a prize. The prize is often chocolate money (gelt) or real money (like a dollar).
“Hide the Matzoh” can also be part of a larger tradition called Afrikoman. Here are some details: In a traditional Seder (Passover meal), there are three whole matzos placed on the Passover table and covered with a cloth napkin. Before the Seder begins, the middle matzo is broken in half. The smaller piece is placed back on the plate and the larger one is wrapped and hidden (if there are kids at the Seder). This piece – the larger piece of the middle matzo – is called the “Afrikoman”.
After the matzo has been found by the children, and the Seder meal has been eaten, the guests eat the Afrikoman.
Some families have a different tradition where the children "steal" the Afrikoman and then hold it for ransom. The adults then have to give money or a gift to the children to get it back!
Traditionally, the Afrikoman is supposed to be the last thing that’s eaten of the day and it should be eaten before midnight.
Chad Gadyo is a traditional Passover song – you can click the link for the lyrics, a translation, midi and score. You can hear one version of it below…
Happy Passover!
Mama Lisa
Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009We’d love it if you’d join the Mama Lisa Facebook Group. You can post anything you’d like about your culture. You can post your own musical recordings or YouTube videos… Links to culture and musical sites… Photos of your country… Questions about songs or cultural issues… Anything related to World Culture and Music…
Click on the icon below to access the group. If you have a Facebook account already, you just need to click on “Join the Group” to join. If you’re not a member, you simply have to sign up for free to become a member and then you can join the Mama Lisa Group…
Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!
Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with a Kids Song that’s either Belarussian, Russian or Yiddish?
Sunday, January 25th, 2009Martin wrote:
Hello from a sunny but quite COLD New York City!
I am wondering if anyone knows the answer to this. Not being too knowledgeable about the Belarusian language, I’m assuming that this song my maternal grandmother used to sing to me when I was in my single digits was in Russian or Yiddish or a combination of any or all of the three languages, something that sounded like:
Kot, mama, kot, mama, kot, kot, kot
Ona dyela masu
Manichka klapot.Does anyone have the full lyrics and musical notation for this song please, and what language(s) constitute the song? Please email as soon as possible. Thank you very much? Martin Peck
If anyone if familiar with this song, and could provide any information about it, please let us know anything you can in the comments below. We’d also love an English translation of possible.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Happy Hanukkah!
Saturday, December 20th, 2008
“Oy Chanukah” – The Yiddish Version of “Oh, Hanukkah” with a YouTube Video
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008The other day I posted the popular English version of “Oh, Hanukkah” with a YouTube rendition of the song. Here’s the Yiddish version of “Oh, Hanukkah”. It was originally written by Mordkhe Rivesman (1868 – 1924), who was born in Lithuania. The song was also called “Latke Song” and “Khanike Oy Khanike”.
Below you’ll find a YouTube video of 7 year old Aviv singing “Oy Chanukah”, followed by the transliterated Yiddish lyrics, and then an English translation I did to go along with it.
Chanukah, Oy Chanukah
Yiddish TransliterationOy Chanukah, Oy Chanukah
a yontif a sheiner,
A lustiger; a freilicher
nito noch a zeyner.Alle nacht in dredlech,
Shpiln mir,
zudig heise latkes, es un a shir.
tsindt kinder geshvinder*
Di dininke lichtlech ohn.**Lumir ale singen
Und lumir ale shpringen
Und lumir ale tantzen in khur.Lumir ale singen
Und lumir ale Shpringen
Und lumir ale tantzen in khur.Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
(English Translation)Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah,
A holiday, a lovely one,
A cheerful and happy one,
There’s none other like it.Every night with dreidels
Do we play,
Fresh*** hot latkes, do we eat.
Quickly children light
The thin, little candles!Let’s all sing,
And let’s all jump,
And let’s all dance together!Let’s all sing,
And let’s all jump,
And let’s all dance together!*Normally this line is in reverse: “geshvinder tsindt kinder”.
**Alternatively: “Di Chanukah lichtlech on” = “The Chanukah candles!”
***Literally: Scalding or burning hot.I welcome comments and suggestions on the transliteration and translation and we would also love for someone to send in the Yiddish text in the original characters to the version above.
Happy Hanukkah!
Mama Lisa
Oh Hanukkah – A Holiday Song with a YouTube Video
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008My mother-in-law sent me the lyrics to Oh Hanukkah. She sings it while lighting the Menorah* every year.
Oh Hanukkah was originally Yiddish. I believe the original version was written by Mordkhe Rivesman (1868 – 1924), who was born in Lithuania. This song is extremely popular in English now.
Here is a YouTube video rendition by the Chicago Children’s Choir, followed by the English lyrics.
Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah
Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah,
Come light the Menorah
Let’s have a party, we’ll all dance the horah**.Gather ’round the table, we’ll give you a treat
S’vivivim*** to play with, and latkes**** to eat.And while we are playing,
The candles are burning low.One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.*A Menorah is a nine-branched candelabrum used on Hanukkah.
**The horah is a popular Jewish circle dance that’s still done at special functions. It’s often done to the song Hava Nagila (see video below of people dancing it).
***S’vivim (also spelled ‘Sivivon’) is the Hebrew word for Dreidel or top.
****Latkes are potato pancakes.Here’s a video of people dancing the Horah…
Next I’ll post the Yiddish version of Oh Chanukah with a Video!
Happy Chanukah!
Mama Lisa
Symbolic Foods Eaten Around the World for New Years
Saturday, December 29th, 2007In many parts of the world, the foods eaten on New Years Eve and New Years Day have important symbolic meanings. These symbols seem to fall into several major categories.
The first class symbolizes financial prosperity. This type of food is round like coins. Often, the dish will be round beans, like lentils, that will expand when it cooks, symbolizing expanding fortunes. Another financial symbol is food with big green leaves, representing paper money. The green may also be for growth. Foods like this are cabbage, collard greens and kale. Golden colored foods are also good for financial rewards in the New Year.
The second type of New Years food symbol represents the hope of having food on the table throughout the year. Pork is one important symbol of eating well year round. It’s also a sign of prosperity. In the olden times, if your family had a pig, you were doing well!
In some countries, actually having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.
A third symbol involves eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year. In some countries people bake a coin in a sweet cake and the person who gets the coin will have good luck throughout the year. In Spain, Portugal, and parts of South and Central America, 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight. The hope is to eat 12 sweet grapes to have 12 sweet months!
Fish is thought to symbolize good luck in many countries.
Another symbol for good luck involves eating food in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year – that’s good luck.
In Japan, long Buckwheat Soba noodles symbolize long life. Just don’t break them while you’re eating them!
Here’s a list of some symbolic food types and the places where they’re eaten for the New Year. Feel free to let us know what’s eaten for New Years in your country, in the comments below.
Round Food (Like Coins for Monetary Luck)
Italy, Brazil & Germany (Lentils)
Germany (Pancakes)
Philippines (Round Fruit)
Southern US (Black-eyed Peas)Green Leafy Vegetables (Like Paper Money for Monetary Luck)
Southern USA (Collard Greens & Turnips)
Denmark (Kale)
Germany (Sauerkraut)Golden Food (Like Gold for Monetary Luck)
Southern USA (Corn Bread)
Pig (Symbol of Plentiful Food in the New Year)
Hungary (Roast suckling pig with a 4 leaf clover in its mouth)
Italy (Cotechino con lenticchie – pork sausage with lentils)
Germany (Kassler mit Sauerkraut – financial luck)
Pennsylvania Dutch (USA – Pork with Sauerkraut)
Austria
ChinaFood on the Table or Plate at Midnight (Symbol of Plentiful Food in the New Year)
Germany
PhilippinesSweets (Symbolic of a Sweet Year or Good Luck)
Hungary (Doughnuts)
Greece (Round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside – whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year)
Israel (Jewish New Year – Apple dipped in honey & grapes)
India
Egypt (Candy for kids)
Korea (Sweet Fruits)
Norway (Rice Pudding with an almond inside – good luck to the one who gets the almond)12 Grapes at Midnight (Symbolizing 12 Sweet Months)
Spain
Portugal
Mexico
Cuba
Ecuador
PeruRing Shaped Food (Good Luck)
Mexico (Rosca de Reyes – Luck)
Netherlands (Olie Bollen – Doughnut)Fish (Symbol of Good Luck)
Germany (Herring & Carp)
Poland (Pickled Herring)
Denmark (Boiled Cod)
Italy (Dried Salted Cod)
Japan (Red Snapper – Pink is a lucky color)
Vietnam (Carp)
China
Sweden (Seafood Salad)A Happy, Lucky and Prosperous New Year to All of You!
Mama Lisa
Many thanks to Ed Gawlinski for pointing out that they eat lentils in Italy for the New Year, which lead me on this long quest that resulted in this discussion!
The Dreydl Song and an Easy Way to Make Potato Latkes for Hanukah
Thursday, December 6th, 2007Mark Bittman at the NY Times makes an alternative to latkes that’s called potato nik. He learned it from his grandmother. It’s easy and that’s the point! You simply use your favorite potato pancake recipe (click the link to see mine). Instead of cooking them individually, Mark cooks them as one large pancake. He coats the bottom of the pan with oil and pours in the latke batter. Once one side is cooked, he slides it out onto a plate, and covers it with another plate. Then he turns it over and slides it back into the pan to cook the other side. Once it’s done, voila! It’s ready to be eaten. Much quicker than individual pancakes. You can watch Mark prepare his Potato Nik to see how it’s done.
Serve latkes with sour cream and/or apple sauce. I’d recommend trying my recipe for homemade applesauce to have with it. Yum!
If you’d like to teach your kids a Hanukah song here’s a link to The Dreydl Song and the rules for the Dreydl Game.
-Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with a Russian or Yiddish Rhyme with the Word “Meesala” or “Misala” In It?
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007Sharon wrote:
Hi,
I am hoping that someone out there remembers an old game that mothers, grandmothers, aunts and friends used to play with little ones. I think the rhyme is either Russian or Yiddish.
The baby’s hand is held palm up and the mother points her finger into the middle of the child’s hand and says, Meesala, Misala, or something like that, while making circles in the child’s palm. As the poem is repeated, the fingers march up the child’s arm and then tickle the back of the neck.
I remember the action and the feeling, but not the poem.
Help! I want to play this with my grandchildren, and my Grandmother played this with me almost 70 years ago.
Any help would be appreciated.
Best,
Sharon
If anyone knows about this rhyme, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
-Mama Lisa
A Hebrew Song for Mother’s Day called “Mommy, Precious to Me”
Thursday, April 26th, 2007Deborah Ivri sent me a wonderful song and recording recently that sounded perfect for Mother’s Day. Though Mother’s Day is not officially celebrated in Israel, it is unofficially. Here’s what Deborah said about it…
Here in Israel Mother’s Day is not an official holiday, but because of the vast amount of American Jews and South African Jews, maybe even Russians also, it is celebrated. Even schools and kindergartens do something for Mother’s and Father’s Day. The song I sent you was sung at my son’s kindergarten last year for all the Moms.
The song Deborah sent me is called Eima Yikara Li in Hebrew. Below you’ll find the mp3 recording of Deborah singing it, then you’ll find the Hebrew transliteration, and finally, the English translation.
Eima Yikara Li
Eima Yikara Li
Yikara
Eima Yikara Li
Yikara
Eima Yikara Sheli
Me-od Ohevet He Oti
Me-od Me-od
Me-od Me-odAchi-ech el-iyech
Achi-ech
Achi-ech el-iyech
Achi-ech
Shir katan a-shir al-ach
Ci ani Ohev otach
Ohev otach
Ohev otachMommy, Precious to Me
Mommy, precious to me
Precious mommy.
Mommy, precious to me
Precious mommy.
My precious mommy
Loves me very much
Loves me very much.I will smile at you
I will smile
I will smile at you
I will smile
I will sing a little song about you
Because I love you
I love you.Many thanks to Deborah Ivri for sending me this song and recording.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Israel Pages for more Hebrew and Yiddish Songs.
Here are some other posts about Mother’s Day, including some poems:
Happy Mother’s Day!
Lisa
How to Find Sheet Music, Tunes and MP3’s on Mama Lisa’s World
Saturday, January 6th, 2007In addition to this blog, I also host Mama Lisa’s World. Mama Lisa’s World is a large collection of children’s songs and rhymes from countries all around the globe.
Matt, a music teacher from Rhode Island, wrote a question to me, the other day, about Mama Lisa’s World:
Hey Mama,
I love the concept of your site. It’s been exciting to watch it grow. My only frustration is not being able to find either written (preferably) or audio music to accompany the lyrics. How do I find the tunes for all these great lyrics?
Matt
Music Teacher, Rhode Island, USAHere’s what I wrote back, I’m sharing it with you, in case it helps you too…
Hey Matt,
Thanks for writing!
We’ve just added basic sheet music to a lot of songs on the Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and Mexico pages – plus many others.
We’re now in the process of converting the whole site to a database. We’re halfway through. Hopefully by the summer we’ll have a feature that will let you do a search on songs that have sheet music, midis or mp3’s. Midis play the tune of a song. MP3’s are recordings – usually of someone singing the song.
But for now, the songs on the countries that are in the database are working on a simple system. On the country pages they have symbols next to the song if they have special features. Here’s the key…
KEY TO SYMBOLS
– this song has sheet music
Midi – this song has a Midi tune
MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
– this song has a Video recording
If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for, you’re welcome to ask – in case I know if we have it or not – I may be able to guide you to the right place to find what you’re looking for.
And, of course, we’re always looking for more sheet music, midi’s and mp3’s, so if you’d like to contribute any from your culture, we’d be thrilled!
I hope this helps!
Mama Lisa
A Yiddish Lullaby – Pretty Like the Moon – Sheyn vi di levone
Friday, December 29th, 2006Last weekend I recorded my husband’s 92 year old grandmother, Edna Pomerantz, singing a verse of a Yiddish Lullaby. It’s called Sheyn vi di levone, or Pretty Like the Moon, in English.
Here you can hear the recording and read the transliterated Yiddish lyrics, followed by an English translation (the last line might be a little different in the recording):
Sheyn vi di levone
(Yiddish Transliteration)Sheyn vi di levone,
Likhtik vi di shtern,
Fun himl a matone,
Bistu mir tzugeshikt!Pretty Like the Moon
(English Translation)Pretty like the moon
Bright like the stars
From Heaven you were
Sent to me as a present.Many thanks to Grandma Edna for singing this song for us and to Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français for helping me with the translation!
-Lisa
Come visit the Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Israel Page for more Yiddish songs.
Check out more lyrics to Sheyn vi di Levone.
While researching this song I came across a site with lots of lyrics to songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Judeo-Spanish, most with English translations.
The Dreydl Song
Sunday, December 24th, 2006We went to a Hanukah party last night. My mother-in-law, Susan Pomerantz, played The Dreidel Song on the piano – so of course I asked her if I could record it! Here you can hear the tune of The Dreydl Song, with lots of party noise in the background…
MP3 of The Dreydl Song (or click the “PLAY” triangle below).
Here are the basic lyrics in English…
I Have a Little Dreydl
I have a little dreydl
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreydl I shall play.Chorus
O dreydl, dreydl, dreydl
I made it out of clay,
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreydl I shall play.Happy Hanukah! Happy Kwanzaa and Merry Christmas!
-Lisa
Great Link for Language Learning
Monday, December 4th, 2006If you’re trying to learn a new language, I’d recommend checking out LanguageGuide.org.
Users visit different theme related pages (i.e. about insects, the family, the farm). Each page has images related to the theme. You place your cursor over the images and hear their names pronounced and see them spelled out in the language you choose.
Because it’s visually based, these pages can be used by anyone in the world, regardless of your native language.
Here are the languages they have:
English (English)
Italian (Italiano)
Arabic (عربي;)
Spanish (Español)
Portuguese (Português)
Mandarin Chinese (普通话)
French (Français)
Russian (Русский)
Japanese (日本語 Nihongo)
German (Deutsch)
Hebrew (עברית)So if you’re interested in learning any of these languages, or improving your skills, check it out!
-Lisa
Mama Lisa’s World News and Multimedia Features
Thursday, November 30th, 2006A significant part of the Mama Lisa sites is a large collection of songs and nursery rhymes from around the world. We currently have about 750 songs from around 90 countries and cultures.
When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that’s a lot of information! In order to make it easier to access all of the songs, we are in the process of converting the sites to a database. The database allow our visitors to search for songs on the site by language, by songs with sheet music, recordings, etc.
While we’re putting the songs into the database, we’re trying to obtain as much information as possible about each song. So if we can find the tune, we’ll include a midi tune and sheet music. If we find a recording of the song on the internet, we’ll provide a link to the recording. Sometimes we’ll make a recording ourselves. Anything we can do to help you know everything possible about that song.
If you happen to see any songs on the site that are missing a tune or recording and you know it, we’d be very pleased if you could help us get the tune. We’re able to make midis from sheet music, if that’s what you can send. We’re also happy to post recordings if you’d like to sing the song, play it on an instrument, or even hum it. Really, anything to help others get an idea how to sing or play the song.
Once the database is complete Mama Lisa’s World will have 98 countries and cultures and over 850 songs. How great is that!
-Lisa
UPDATE: The Database is now complete! We have 100 countries and cultures. We’re now working on a Spanish version of Mama Lisa’s World which will feature children’s songs, folks songs and nursery rhymes from around the world with Spanish translations.
![image_thumb[14]](http://www.mamalisa.com/images/blog/image-thumb141.png "image_thumb[14]")
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Copyright ©2009 by Lisa Yannucci. All rights reserved.
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