Chairs to Mend - A Surprising Favorite

Have you ever had a song that turns out to be a surprising favorite of a class or grade level? 
Do you have a song that kids love right away that you thought you would have to really  "sell?"
Of course, for much of the repertoire we use there are games or activities that are very appealing to children and they latch onto the song because of the game. But there are songs we use that don't have a super fun game already attached. 

Chairs to Mend is a favorite of my 5th graders this school year. This is a street cry song with vendors peddling their wares and services. We talk as a class about the need for street cries to advertise goods at the market prior to the 20th century. "Yes, kids, there was a time before radio, TV, or the internet." (Oh my!) 

They initially learned it last September as a dotted quarter eighth note (tam ti in their world) song. The students love the simple harmonies. 

There are several ways my students have enjoyed singing Chairs to Mend. 

• Sing in a 3 part canon
• Sing in unison, then each student sings their favorite section and repeats until the conductor signals to hold the last note
• Sing with 3 groups of students; the fish mongers, the carpenters, and the quilters. Each group repeats their two measures and watches the conductor for changes in tempo, dynamics, and cut-offs. (This is especially fun to dramatize; students wander the room singing their street cry while others are wandering nearby singing a different street cry. What a fun challenge!)

Just before winter break, I placed a big order at West Music and took a chance on this book that I had not noticed before:

The book Chairs to Mend was published in 2008 and was penned by an elementary music teacher, Sue McCallum Melton. (I don't now why I had not been aware of it before now!) She tells the (fictional) story of a young girl, Rachel, living in Boston in 1885 and her day as she hears the street cries of the chair mender, the fish monger, and the ragman. There is a CD included with the song and the story narrated (complete with the sounds of Rachel's day! This is a nice option and would be great to leave for substitutes!)

My 5th graders re-visited the song as I read them the book this week.

The illustrations are very appealing to students and they enjoyed the story. Next year, I'll introduce Chairs to Mend through this book. 

It's a wonderful addition for a surprising favorite song.

What about you, do you have any surprising favorite songs in your classes? What have your students loved that you didn't expect?

Instruments of the Orchestra Part 2

"Who Am I?" Instrument ID Game
I recently shared a few of my favorite resources for teaching instruments of the orchestra. Here is a instrument ID game that has been a huge hit with my students.

Materials:

▪  Laminated pictures of single orchestral instruments (the size of an index card.)

Mine look like this:

Procedure: 

• Begin by taping a laminated picture of an orchestra instrument on each student’s back. (Everyone but the student will be able to see their instrument.)
• Lead class in brief discussion of what effective “yes” or “no” questions students could ask one another to discover what instrument is attached to their back.

Some question ideas:

“Am I in the woodwind family?”

“Do you use a reed to play my instrument?”

“Do you often play my instrument with a bow?”

• Establish game rules. Students may roam around the roam asking one another only “yes” or “no” questions to discover which each instrument they have on their back. Students must go to the teacher to verify which instrument they are.
• If a student guesses incorrectly, I give them an additional instrument to figure out. (This motivates them to ask good questions.)

This is an easy game to set up and the students ask to play again immediately.

Instruments of the Orchestra Resources

We are very lucky in Colorado to have a well-established symphony orchestra who include in their programming many concerts for children. My husband and I have been taking our son to their Family Series of concerts for the past 3 years and every year I bring the 5th and 6th graders on a field trip to hear a Colorado Symphony Orchestra Youth Concert.

In addition to studying the program music we review the instruments of the orchestra. (In my district instrument families are included in the 4th grade curriculum.)
There are many wonderful resources out there. 

Here are a few of my favorites that particularly appeal to 5th and 6th graders:

Books:

The Composer is Dead

 

I love this book. It's got it all, murder (kind of), mystery, intrigue, and a dark, (but not too dark,) sense of humor.  I came to this book in a roundabout way. The illustrator, Carson Ellis, is the illustrator for the album covers and posters for the band The Decemberists, (she is also married to their lead singer, Colin Meloy.)  As a Decemberists fan, I've been on the lookout for her work in other places which led me to this gem. The CD is included and the narration and composed music is very well done. 

Each instrument family is interrogated by the inspector regarding the crime. Many stereotypes of specific instrumentalists are bantered about, (the confirmed-bachelor-tuba's alibi is his card game with his landlady, the harp, played while drinking warm milk from a small blue cup.) The writing style is witty and just jaded enough to capture the interest of 12 year olds. I was fortunate to see this piece performed by Colorado Symphony Orchestra live last year.

Here is a sample of the story:

Side note: I recently went to a reading/book signing of Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy's new book Under Wildwood, the sequel to their first book, Wildwood. I highly recommend both books for the 12-16 year old set interested in Narnia-like fantasies. (Wildwood was a bit too scary for my son, who is 7.)

The Remarkable Farkle McBride

If you are a music teacher reading this I hope you are saying to yourself, "Of course The Remarkable Farkle McBride, everyone reads this to the students!" If you are not familiar with this book then just go find it and read it to the kids. You won't regret it.

The Philharmonic Gets Dressed

This was a recommendation from Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis when I saw them at the above mentioned book signing after I gushed about how much I loved Carson's work in The Composer is Dead. (Unfortunately, I was too nervous to mention my adoration of The Decemberists. I don't always say what I want when faced with people I greatly admire. Especially when my kids are pulling on my purse and asking for gum. Such is life.)

It's a fun book for the younger set (1st - 3rd grade) that shows the musicians getting ready for their performance. Then they come together at 8:30pm to make music and perform the concert. Be advised: there are partially naked drawings, (but no naughty bits.)

Students will giggle when they see people drying off after bathing but it's worth reading to them.

YouTube clips:

PDQ Bach - Beethoven Symphony No. 5

I live in a sports-obsessed town where the streets become nearly deserted during Broncos games, (a GREAT time to run errands, by the way.) 

If this captures the attention of my students and get them interested in the symphony, I'm showing all ten minutes and thirty four seconds of it. It's very entertaining and attainable for 9-12 year olds. (I do remind them that the audience expectations at the CSO concert are very different.)

Peter and the Wolf beatbox flute

My students listen to Peter and the Wolf in 2nd grade. This a wonderful connection and re-introduction to that piece. Greg Pattillo is slammin'!

Cello Wars, A Star Wars Parody

Cellos, Star Wars, what's not to love?

Parent have been letting me know that kids are making their whole family watch this video. Yeah, cellos are coooool!

Me and My Cello: Happy Together

Yes, more from The Piano Guys. I couldn't resist.

(And no, I don't play the cello.)

Radio Broadcasts/Websites

From the Top

From the Top is a PBS radio show (broadcast every Sunday evening on Colorado's classical station.)

The show features excellent kid musicians performing and being interviewed about their day-to-day lives and interests. It's a wonderful "slice of life" view of normal kids passionate about making music.

It's great having so many mediums to feature professional musicians. 
(Don't you love living in the future?)
This short list barely scratches the surface of the quality resources available.

Did I miss your favorite book/video/website?

Let me know!