Music | Mama Lisa's World Blog

Archive for the 'Music' Category

Posts

Raffi Lyrics and Musical Arrangements

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Many children love Raffi’s music! I’ve just discovered something wonderful on his site… Raffi’s Lyrics and Scores – which include his specific arrangements to many of the songs he sings.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in CD's, Children's Songs, Childrens Music, Countries & Cultures, English, Folk Songs, Great Britain, Languages, Learning, Mama Lisa, Music, Music, Questions, Raffi, Recommendations, Sheet Music, Sites about Music, USA | 1 Comment »

Come Watch An 11 Year Old Playing Fur Elise

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

Beethoven wrote this piece in 1810. In English it means “For Elise”.

Listen to Vi play it when he was 11 years old!

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Beethoven, Classical Music, Composers, Learning, Mama Lisa, Music, Music, YouTube | No Comments »

Teaching Children Who Are Learning an Instrument about What Can Be Played on That Instrument

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

When I was in elementary band, way back when, I started on the clarinet. I was never truly happy with it and I always wanted to play the saxophone. I did end up switching to the sax within a couple of years of starting an instrument.

Now I’m older, and I’ve heard enough great music to know what the clarinet is capable of. I wish that my band teacher had devoted a lesson to teaching us about our particular instruments. If he had spent time playing Benny Goodman tunes and perhaps Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, I would have understood right away what beautiful music the clarinet was capable of – in both genres – Jazz and Classical music.

If a student is playing the trumpet, they should be exposed to the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and perhaps some trumpet concertos early on.

In band we played When the Saints Go Marching In. I found the arrangement to be boring. If someone had played one of Louis Armstrong’s renditions of the same piece, it would have inspired me. I would have seen that the slow version I was playing could lead to something more lively and jazzier as I gained more experience.

I have a feeling that many young children who take band in schools can study an instrument for years without ever really hearing it played by the masters. Of course, kids have to start with the simpler stuff, but they should be exposed to the masterpieces so they know the payoff if they stick with it.

Just some food for thought for band teachers.

I ended up very happy with the saxophone. Now as an adult, I’m considering taking up clarinet lessons when both of my children are in school full time. So I’ll be making a full circle!

-Lisa

Share on Facebook and other services:

Posted in Band, Canada, Classical Music, Countries & Cultures, Great Britain, Instruments, Jazz, Learning, Mama Lisa, Music, Music, Music, Parenting, Teaching, USA | 2 Comments »

Hold a Concert in Your House – Another Way to Make Music a Part of Your Family’s Life

Friday, May 11th, 2007

Last Sunday evening I went to my friend Rae’s house, where she held a concert. It’s a tradition she started with her husband, Mike, a few years back. Every year, just before Mother’s Day, they invite their friends and family to gather together to play songs on their instruments for each other. The concert is in honor of both of Rae and Mike’s mothers who passed away.

Children and adults were invited to play.

I think this is a lovely idea. It’s a nice Mother’s Day tradition. It gives children and adults a chance to show off the hard work they’ve been doing throughout the year. It also bridges the gap between school and home – so children are playing the songs they learn on their instruments in a variety of settings.

I think of what Vince Bates talks about on his blog Musicing – about how learning music in school needs to be more a part of the child’s whole life. This approaches it from the other direction and says that the things the child is doing in school can be brought home and enjoyed by the student with his or her friends and family.

At the end of the concert, everyone was invited to join in together and play and sing, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. This gave even the littlest kids, and anyone who didn’t play an instrument, a chance to be involved. I recorded it for you! It’s a bit cacophonous – but it was a lot of fun! Click the link below to hear it, and come join in singing!

MP3 of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Here are some other posts about Mother’s Day, including some poems:

•Only a Mother's Love - A Spanish Poem with an MP3 Recording

•MY MOTHER. - A Poem

•Does Anyone Know Any Mothers Day songs or poems in Romanian?

•Mother's Day in Mexico with a Spanish Song

•Only One Mother - A Poem

•A Mother's Day Poem That Kids Recite in France

•"My Mother" a Victorian Poem

•Hold a Concert in Your House - Another Way to Make Music a Part of Your Family's Life

•A Hebrew Song for Mother's Day called "Mommy, Precious to Me"

•A Bolivian Song about May in Spanish with an English Translation