Bluebells

Easy intervals and words help to introduce complex rhythms with syncopation.

Description

Grade: First
Origin: American Jump Rope Song/Rhyme
Key: E Major
Time: 2/4
Form: Through Composed
Rhythm: advanced: | ta ta | ti ti ta | ti ti ti ti |
| ti ri ti ri | ta ti ri (ti) | ta ti (ri) ri | ta ti ri (ri) ri |
| ti ri (ri) ri ti ri (ri) ri | ti ri (ri) ri ti ti |
Pitches: beginners: Mi So
Intervals: beginners: So\Mi, Mi/So
Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth, sixteenth; rests: eighth, sixteenth; running sixteenth notes, syncopation, beginning Orff interval
Key Words: months of the year, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, cockle shells

Bluebells, cockle shells, eevy, ivy overhead.
My mother said that I was born in
January, February, March, April,
May, June, July, August,
April, May, June, July,
August, October, November, December.

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Blow Ye Winds in the Morning

Syncopation occurring on the first quarter of the second beat and
a descending minor arpeggio built from the sixth, Dm (Mi\Do\La).

Description

Grade: Fourth
Origin: USA – Sea Chanty
Key: F Major
Time: 2/4
Form: AB, verse/chorus
Rhythm: intermediate: | ti ti ti ti | ta/ ti | syncopation, | ti ti ri ti/ | syncopation | ti ti ti ti ri | syncopation, | ta/a |
Pitches: intermediate: So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La
Intervals: intermediate: So/Do, Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, Mi\Do\La descending vi (Dm) arpeggio, La/Re, Fa/La, La\Mi, So\Re/So, So\Do
Musical Elements: notes: half, dotted quarter, dotted eighth, eighth, sixteenth; pickup beat, syncopation on the second half of the second beat (and of 2) and the first quarter of the second beat, verse/chorus
Key Words: Americans, USA geography, Boston, New York, Buffalo, NY, New Bedford, sea song, sailors song, sea chanty, chanty, advertised, becoming a whaling sailor, whaling, running gear, whaling port, land-sharks, board, fit you out, clipper-ship, ship’s watch; contractions: you’re (you are), we’re (we are); ’tis (it is)

**“Blow Ye Winds in the Morning”**

	1.	‘Tis advertised in Boston, New York and Buffalo, Five hundred brave Americans a-whaling for to go.
		Chorus:
		Singing, blow, ye winds in the morning, And blow ye winds high-ho clear away your running gear, And blow, boys, blow.
	2.	They send you to New Bedford, that famous whaling port, And give you to some land-sharks to board and fit you out.
		Chorus
	3.	They tell you of the clipper-ships-a-going in and out, And say you’ll take five hundred whales before you’re six months out.
		Chorus
	4.	It’s now we’re out to sea, my boys, the wind comes on to blow; One half the watch is sick on deck, the other half below.
		Chorus

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Blow the Man Down

Tonic and dominate 7th arpeggios with dotted eighth and sixteenth note rhythms.

Description

Grade: Second
Origin: Sea Chanty
Key: F Major
Time: 6/8
Form: ABCD
Rhythm: advanced: | ti/ ri ti ti ti ti | ta/ ta/ |
| ti/ ri ta ti | ti ti ti ta/ | ti/ ri ti ta ti ri |
Pitches: intermediate: Do Re Mi Fa So La
Intervals: advanced: Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio, So\Mi\Do descending tonic arpeggio, La\Fa, Fa\Re, So\Fa\Re\Ti descending dominate 7th arpeggio, Ti/Re/Fa ascending dominate 7th arpeggio, Re/La (perfect 5th)
Musical Elements: notes: dotted quarter, quarter, dotted eighth, eighth, sixteenth, feeling duple meter in 6/8 time, pickup beat
Key Words: sailing songs, parts of a ship, geography, Black Ball Lines, fellows, trim, preparing, aft (rear), poop (roof of the rear cabin), tinker, tailor, sights, shoemaker, sailors, aboard; abbreviations: you’ll (you will), I’ll (I will), there’s (there is)

**“Blow the Man Down”**

	1.	Come all you young fellows that follow the sea, To me way hey, blow the man down! Now pray pay attention and listen to me, Give me some time to blow the man down.

	2.	When a trim Black Ball liner’s preparing for sea, To me way hey, blow the man down! You’ll split your sides laughing such sights you would see, Give me some time to blow the man down.

	3.	Come quickly, lay aft to the break of the poop, To me way hey, blow the man down! Or I’ll help you along with the toe of my boot, Give me some time to blow the man down.

	4.	There’s tinkers and tailors, shoemakers and all, To me way hey, blow the man down! They’re all shipped for sailors aboard the Black Ball, Give me some time to blow the man down.

The Black Ballers were fast ships of the American Black Ball Line that sailed between New York, USA and Liverpool, England in the second half of the nineteenth century. When a sailor said that a man was blown down, it meant that he was knocked to the ground. Blow the Man Down is a song about the unfair treatment of sailors aboard these ships.

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Bingo

A fun tune for clapping melodic rhythms and improving memory.

Description

Grade: Kindergarten
Origin: USA – Traditional Folk Song
Key: G Major
Time: 2/4
Form: ABCCcD
Rhythm: intermediate: | ti ti ti ti | ti ti ta | ta ti ti |
Pitches: intermediate: So La Ti Do Re Mi Fa
Intervals: intermediate: So/Do, Do\So, Mi\Do, Fa\Re, Ti\So
Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth; pickup beat, clapping melodic rhythm
Key Words: farmer, dog

**“Bingo”**
There was a farmer, had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, And Bingo was his name-o.

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Big Bunch, a Little Bunch

Introducing syncopation while mastering the intervals of the tonic arpeggio.

Description

Grade: Second
Origin: Bahamian Folk Song
Key: E Flat Major
Time: 2/4
Form: ABAB
Rhythm: intermediate: | ti ta ti | ti ti ta | ta ta |
Pitches: intermediate: Do Re Mi Fa So La
Intervals: beginners: Mi/So, Mi\Do, So\Mi, Do/Mi/So ascending tonic arpeggio
Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth; intervals of the tonic arpeggio, syncopation
Key Words: Bahamas, geography, Caribbean, lard-stand, bunch, wagon team, Valentine’s Day, bunch, stand, darling, roses

**“Big Bunch, a Little Bunch”**
Big bunch, a little bunch, Big bunch o’ roses, Big bunch, a little bunch, Big bunch o’ roses. Here stands my wagon team, Here stands my lard-stand, Here stands my Valentine, Here stands my darling.

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Billy Boy

Rhythm changes to match verse syllables.

Description

Grade: First
Origin: United States of America – Traditional
Key: D Major
Time: 2/4
Form: ABCD
Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ti ti | ti ti (ta) |
| ta_ ti/ ri | | ti ti ti ti | (ta) ti ti | ti ti ta |
Pitches: intermediate: Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La Do – structured around the fifth (So) of the major scale
Intervals: intermediate: So/Do, Do\Mi, Do\So, Do\La, So\Mi, Mi/So, Fa\Re, Re\Ti, Ti/Re
Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth, dotted eighth, sixteenth; rest: quarter; pickup beat, fermata, tied notes, vocal slur
Key Words: bid, bade, charming, cherry pie, courting, dimple, chin, quick’s (quick as), three, six, seven, twenty-eight, eleven, learning numbers, young, mother, wink, eye, cat

**“Billy Boy”**

		1.	Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Oh, where have you been, charming Billy? I have been to seek a wife, She’s the joy of my life, She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

		2.	Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Did she bid you to come in, charming Billy? Yes, she bade me to come in, There’s a dimple in her chin, She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

		3.	Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy? She can make a cherry pie, Quick’s a cat can wink her eye, She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

		4.	How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy, How old is she, charming Billy? Three times six, four times seven, Twenty-eight and eleven, She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

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The Old Man’s Goat

Also known as: “Bill Grogan’s Goat”

Concentrating on the dominant, submediant, and leading tone.

Description

Grade: Kindergarten
Origin: Traditional*
Key: C Major
Time: 4/4
Form: ABCAABCD
Rhythm: beginners: | ta ta ta ta | – walking quarter notes
Pitches: intermediate: Mi So La Ti Do Re
Intervals: advanced: La\Mi, Mi/So, Do\La, So/Do, La/Do, Ti\So
Musical Elements: note: quarter note; echo song, singing in parts
Key Words: vocabulary builder, goat, kid (homonym), red, shirts, railroad, railroad track, whistle, train, shrieks, coughed, green, fright, indeed, note, frisk, right (homonym), pain, flagged

* Also known as Bill Grogan’s Goat

**“The Old Man’s Goat”**
“Bill Grogan’s Goat”

	1.	There was a man (There was a man) Now please take note (Now please take note) There was a man (There was a man) Who had a goat. (Who had a goat.)

	2.	He loved that goat (He loved that goat) Indeed he did (Indeed he did) He loved that goat (He loved that goat) Just like a kid. (Just like a kid.)

	3.	One day that goat (One day that goat) Felt frisk and fine (Felt frisk and fine) Ate three red shirts (Ate three red shirts) Right off the line. (Right off the line.)

	4.	The man, he grabbed (The man, he grabbed) Him by the back (Him by the back) And tied him to (And tied him to) A railroad track .(A railroad track)

	5.	Now, when that train (Now, when that train) Hove into sight (Hove into sight) That goat grew pale (That goat grew pale) And green with fright. (And green with fright.)

	6.	He heaved a sigh (He heaved a sigh) As if in pain (As if in pain) Coughed up those shirts (Coughed up those shirts) And flagged the train! (And flagged the train!)

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Big Rock Candy Mountain

Straight and dotted syncopation within a melody
which has no leading tone.

Description

Grade: Fifth
Origin: USA – Folk Song, circa. 1920’s
Key: C Major
Time: 4/4
Form: phrases: ABACDEF – song: AB
Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ta ta ta | ta ta/a ti ti |
| ta/a (ta) ti ti | ti ti ti ta ti ti | ta ti ti ta ti ti |
| ta ta ta/ ti | syncopation, | ta ta/a ti/ ri | syncopation, | ti ti ta ta ti ti | ta ta ta ti ti |
Pitches: intermediate: Do Re Mi Fa So La Do – no leading tone: seventh (7, Ti)
Intervals: intermediate: Mi/So (m3), La\Fa/La (M3), La/Do\La (m3), So\Re (P4), Re/Fa (m3), So\Do/So (P4), Fa/Do (P5)
Musical Elements: notes: half, dotted quarter, quarter, dotted eighth, eighth, sixteenth; pickup beat, fermata, melodic rhythm patterns
Key Words: USA history, hobo, daydreams, “Hobo Paradise,” “Hobo Heaven,” land, fair bright, handouts, bushes, sleep, night, boxcars, empty, shines, snow, rain, wind, blow, sycamore tree, soda water, water fountain, lemonade, springs, bluebird sings; contractions: that’s (that is), doesn’t (does not), there’s (there is); abbreviation: buzzin’ (buzzing) I’m (I am), isn’t (is not)
Recorder: intermediate: alternating repeated pitches, four measure phrases

**“Big Rock Candy Mountain”**
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, There’s a land that’s fair and bright, Where the handouts grow on bushes And you sleep out every night. Where the boxcars all are empty And the sun shines every day. Oh, I’m bound to go where there isn’t any snow, Where the rain doesn’t fall and the wind doesn’t blow, In the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Oh, the buzzin’ of the bees in the sycamore trees Round the soda water fountain, Where the lemonade springs and the bluebird sings In the Big Rock Candy Mountain. Hobo’s dream of paradise.

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The Big Coral

Syncopated rhythms on the last quarter of the second and fourth beats, experiencing the interval So\Re, ending two phrases on a leading tone (Re), and extended phrases promoting breath support.

Description

Grade: Fourth
Origin: USA – Cowboy Song
Key: G Major
Time: 4/4
Form: staves: ABabCc – phrases: AaBb – song: AB, verse/refrain
Rhythm: intermediate: | ta ti/ ri ta ti/ ri | syncopation, | ta ta ta ti/ ri | syncopation,
| ta ti/ ri ta ta |syncopation, | ta/a/a ta |
| ta ta ta ta | ta/a/a/a | ta ta/a ti/ ri | syncopation,
| ta ti/ ri ti ti ta | syncopation
Pitches: beginners: So La Do Re Mi So – pentatonic scale
Intervals: intermediate: So/Do\So, Mi\Do, Do/So, So\Mi\Do descending tonic arpeggio, Mi/So, So\Re
Musical Elements: notes: whole, dotted half, half, quarter, dotted eighth, sixteenth; pickup beat, quarter beat syncopation, two double bars, tonic arpeggio, verse/refrain
Key Words: USA geography, cowboy song, campfire song, cowboy life, herding cows, cowboy words, husky, brute, cattle chute, coral, branded, snoot, chuck (food), beans, meat, wrangler, britches, grease your gills; contractions: ain’t (is not), there’s (there is), wrangler’s (wrangler is); abbreviation: scourin’ (scouring)

**“The Big Coral”**

	1.	That big husky brute from the cattle chute, Press along to the big coral, He should be branded on the snoot, Press along to the big coral.
		Refrain:
		Press along cowboy, press along with a cowboy yell, Press along cowboy, press along to the big coral.
	2.	The chuck we get ain’t fit to eat, Press along to the big coral, There’s rocks in the beans and sand in the meat, Press along to the big coral.
		Refrain
	3.	The wrangler’s out a scourin’ the hills, Press along to the big coral, So hop in your britches and grease up your gills, Press along to the big coral,
		Refrain

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Biddy, Biddy

Introducing sixteenth notes with syncopation.

Description

Grade: First
Origin: Jamaican Game Song
Key: E flat Major
Time: 2/4
Form: ABAB
Rhythm: intermediate: |ti ri ti ri ti ti | ti ti ti ti |
| ri ti ri ta | (syncopation)
Pitches: beginners: Do Re Mi Fa So
Intervals: intermediate: So\Mi, Mi/So, So\Do, Do/Mi, Fa\Re
Musical Elements: notes: quarter, eighth, sixteenth; syncopation
Key Words: Jamaican, London, geography, gold, ring, hyphenated words: hol’ (hold), fas’ (fast), los’ (lost)

**“Biddy, Biddy”**
Biddy, Biddy, hol’ fas’ los’ my gold ring, Carry me to London, come back again. Biddy, Biddy, hol’ fas’ los’ my gold ring, Carry me to London, come back again.

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