Thanksgiving Ideas

I love teaching music during the month of November. There are so many wonderful songs, games and books to use.

Songs can range from table graces to Native American Songs to songs about turkeys. Thanksgiving is a great time to sing a grace around your Thanksgiving table. Even preschoolers can participate and teach guests and family of all ages how to sing the song. When was the last time everyone in your household sang a song together? We just don’t do that anymore.

Two of my favorite Thanksgiving games are “Shoo Turkey” and “Oats, Peas, Beans”. “Shoo Turkey” is a call-response game in which the leader asks a question and the others respond “Yes, Ma’am” to almost all of the questions asked. It is a song from South Sea Island in Georgia, popularized by Bessie Jones. It can be found on her album, Put Your Hand on Your Hip and Let Your Backbone Slip or seen in the video by Linda Goss on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW9Z4UOzeHU . Her version is closest to my version.

“Oats, Peas, Beans” is a circle game about farming, another good subject for Harvest Time. It puts a farmer in the middle with the circle rotating around. The farmer gets to pick a partner and the partner then becomes the farmer. Let me know if you’d like the lyrics. There are plenty on You Tube.

My favorite Thanksgiving books are:
1. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, a take-off on the classic lady who swallowed a fly except in this version she turns into a balloon in the Thanksgiving Parade.
2. One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, using the old favorite about 10 little Indians tune but telling the story about the first Thanksgiving instead. You know the tune, don’t you?
3. Over the River a classic about going to grandfather’s house. You can pick from three books using a classic Currier and Ives illustrations, the story using turkeys instead of humans or a modern family traveling in the family mini-van.

Recordings:
1. “Harvest Home” by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, who provided music for the PBS Burns epic about the Civil War. I bought it for the harvest cover and my family pretty much wore it out every November. Yee haw! Barn dance anyone?
2. Any Native American recordings.

Halloween Music

Halloween is a great time to explore music with your child. There is suitable music in almost every genre; classical, folk, popular, or rock. Think of the Halloween songs you sang in your elementary music classes. In our town growing up no one would give us candy unless we sang a song or told a joke so we all paid really close attention in music class. Feel free to teach your children the Halloween songs of your youth.

The songs we learned in elementary music are fine for preschoolers. Of course we need to be careful when choosing music for younger children since we don’t want to scare them. Some young children are really sensitive to music in minor keys. I think it’s mostly a cultural phenomenon. Other cultures use minor melodies more frequently in folk and happy songs. In our culture we tend to use the minor modes to denote sad or scary moods. Some children pick up on this at an early age and minor music will really upset them.

When my kids were elementary school age we would get out all the spooky classical recordings. You have probably heard some of them in old movies. One of our favorite albums was Chiller, conducted by Erich Kunzel with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. There are many great songs in the album from this CD. The collection has everything from “Phantom of the Opera” to “Danse Macabre” by Saint-Saens to “Funeral of a Marionette” which was the music on Alfred Hitchcock’s show. Now you can buy the MP3 versions of these recordings on Amazon.

Lately, I’ve seen many more popular collections of Halloween music in stores. A few years back I bought a recording of Halloween songs in Wal-Mart containing songs like “The Monster Mash” and the “Purple People Eater”. These are great to play when it’s raining outside and the kids and adults need to blow off some steam without wrecking the house. Put these recordings on and dance while you’re making dinner. If you know the Mashed Potatoes dance, teach it to the kids. It’s so good for kids to see parents dancing and singing. Dads I don’t want to hear that you’re sitting the dances out. It’s especially good for the kids to see that it’s okay for dads to move to music too.

One more thing – don’t forget to go through your recordings and see what you can use as Halloween music. I’ll just bet that there is something in there that you can use.

Now, put on some recordings and rock away. I’d love to hear what music you have used during October for your family.

Snowy Day Idea #1 - The Kitchen Band.

It's the third day into a 30 inch snowstorm in Baltimore and I'm sure that many parents are losing their minds. Now is a great time to get the kids together and make some music.

Idea number one: Put on one of your favorite recordings and gather anything in the kitchen that is unbreakable. Put all of the kitchen implements into a large plastic container and take it into a room with a lot of space. Now you can have a kitchen band. Really! You can even have the kids help you choose what should go into the container. Metal measuring spoons work well. Plastic or wooden spoons make great drum sticks. Old pots and pans make great drums. Empty oatmeal containers also make good drums but they just aren't as substantial as they used to be. Don't forget cardboard boxes. Tape them back together and bang away.

If you have taken the kids to a Music Together class you may use "Playin' in the Kitchen" as your accompaniment. I'm sure that other preschool music classes have recordings for kitchen bands, too.

I'd love to hear about your kitchen band experiences. Tell us about your instruments and recordings.

Instrumental Music Lessons for Children

“When should I start instrumental lessons for my child?” is a question parents often ask me. This is a complicated question that causes a lot of parental anxiety. I usually ask the parents if the child seems interested in the instrument at this time. This is often the key to success.

For example, if your child is asking to play the piano you might well want to find a piano teacher in the area who teaches individual or group lessons for the children of the same age. Trying it won’t hurt anything. If it doesn’t work out at least your child knows that you are listening to him or her.

If your child is a preschooler you can look into parent/child music classes in your area. Classes such as Music Together, Kindermusik or Musikgarten are a great way to get a child off to a good musical start. By attending group classes with your child you show that child that you value music. During these classes you will sing, play and move to songs and music in class. You will also get a book and recording to use at home so that you can reinforce the activities used in class.

When your child reaches elementary school I hope that your child will have a music specialist who will build upon those things learned earlier in the preschool classes. In upper elementary school your child should have the option of joining the school chorus or choir. Some schools even offer instrumental music to children in fourth and fifth grade.

All of these musical activities build upon each other and stimulate the synapses in the brain that will stand your child in good stead later in his or her musical life. I’d love to hear about your child’s musical experiences – what they’ve asked for and what you have tried. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.

Singing Lessons for Children

I wish I had a nickel for every time a parent has asked me "Where can I get singing lessons for my child?" The answer to this is not until they have gone through puberty. Most educators and voice specialists will tell you that pre-pubescent children should NEVER be given voice lessons. Their voices are just too delicate.

Yes, we've all seen those child stars singing an aria on TV complete with adult vibratos. Many parents believe that their child could be doing the same thing. Don't even think about it. The young larynx is a delicate instrument and should be treated with the utmost of care.

We have all heard children whose voices always seem raspy and never seem to sound clear. Many things can cause this. When I teach preschooler I am always reminding them to take care of their voices. It's the only musical instrument that we're born with and we only get one. Too much yelling or loud singing can cause the vocal folds to thicken with growths such as cysts or nodules. These bumps on the chords are what gives the voice the raspy sound. To remove these growths from the chords the patient must seek voice therapy. If therapy doesn't work the chords must be removed by surgery. Imagine a surgeon operating on a child's small larynx. It's very delicate surgery.

Instead of voice lessons it is better to find a local choir or chorus where the child can be one of many singers making music together. Singing with other children using gentle singing techniques and child appropriate arrangements can foster good ear training and nurture a child's musical abilities without harming the voice. Some choirs such as The Children's Chorus of Maryland provide music training along with group singing. If money is tight be sure to check out your local churches and synagogues for choir training they provide.

I'll write more about the adolescent changing voice another time. For now I'd love to hear about your experiences with children's choirs.

Lullabies: Your Baby's First Musical Experience

Lullabies are usually your baby's first musical experience. Think about it. Maybe you were sung to when you were very young. There is no more intimate experience for a baby than being sung to while holding him close. Add a rocking chair and gentle rocking motion and you have the ultimate experience for baby and adult. It just doesn't get any better than this for babies or adults.

Now, what to sing. A lullaby can be any soothing song. It can be sung or hummed. Any kind of music can be used as long as it is performed quietly. I'd probably save the hard rock for another time, sometime when you'd like your child to wake up. What is your favorite quiet song? "You Are My Sunshine" works for many people. It may be a top 40 song just sung quietly. It might be a song sung to you when you were small.

Can't sing, you say? Chances are that you are a better singer than you think. Very few people are truly "tone deaf". What will it teach her if you choose not to sing because you're not good at it? The point of this activity is to set a mood and quiet the child for sleep. Secondly, it is a good time to stimulate your babies brain synapses relating to music and language. More about that later.

For a fun activity ask your parents or grandparents what lullabies they sang to you. I'm sure you'll hear some stories that you've never heard before. You might even ask them what lullabies were sung to them when they were small.

John Feierabend of Hartt School of Music researched lullabies and other children's songs by visiting nursing homes and having the residents talk about music from their youth. He came away with books of songs that he has passed on to parents and teachers.

Tell me about your favorite lullaby experience. Did your parents or grandparents sing to you at bedtime? Do you sing or play songs for your child? Please let me know. I'd love to hear your stories.

The Melodically Challenged Parent

Many parents who are melodically challenged are reluctant to sing to their children. If you are one of these people I would encourage you to keep singing to your child. The children really don't care if you can sing on key or not. By singing to your child you're showing the child that you care about music and that you think that it's important.

Chances are that you are a better singer than you think. Many people are reluctant to sing because of a comment of a friend or music teacher. I shutter to think how many people have been turned off to singing by something said to them by another. The first year I taught no less than 5 fellow teachers begged me not to hold "try outs" for the choir because of their experiences in school. So many people have been scarred for life by not having been chosen for a choir or told to stand quietly and "mouth the words".

There is nothing better for a child to be rocked to sleep by a loving parent singing to them.