Your Weekly Listen

I teach music at a Jewish day school, and I have been sharing this charming little children’s song with my younger students, which I learned from a Jewish music-teacher friend of mine. This song reminded me that my family shares some culture and language with Ashkenazi Jews, which is not too surprising considering that my maternal grandmother’s ancestors hail from Eastern Europe. In fact, another dear Jewish friend of mine helped me figure out that his great grandfather in Poland lived only about 50 miles from my great-grandmother Amelia in Lvov, Galicia (now Ukraine).

I myself grew up with several Yiddish words in my vocabulary, which I learned from my mother who learned them from my grandmother, Sophia. Sophia spoke Swabian (a German dialect, also called ‘Swabish’), and apparently, she could understand Yiddish as well. This is less surprising if you consider that Yiddish is also a dialect of German, although it is written in the Hebrew alphabet. And, like Amelia’s Jewish neighbors, potato pancakes (better known to some as ‘latkes’) are a tradition in our family.

It was pointed out to me recently that the lyrics of “Take a Potato” instruct you to roll the potato. I assume this is an example of artistic license, since everyone I know grates potatoes for their latkes. However, to quell the complaints of the literalists, here is my grandmother Sophia’s recipe for potato pancakes.

Potato Pancakes (Latkes)
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

3 large potatoes, raw
1 medium onion
2 eggs
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
oil for cooking

Finely grate the potatoes and onion into a bowl. Drain excess water.
Add pepper, salt and flour, and stir. The mixture is right when it is not too dry and not too watery. Stir the eggs in last.

Heat the oil in a frying pan. For each pancake, put a two-tablespoon-size scoop of the mixture into the hot oil. Keep the heat high but be careful not to burn the pancakes. Fry them until they are golden brown on both sides. They should be served hot from the frying pan, with sour cream or applesauce.

My mother’s Prairie Pantry cook-book suggests this variation for children, although I don’t know if anyone in my family has ever tried it:

For children, the onion can be replaced by a grated apple and the pancakes can be served with sugar.

This popular children’s song is part of our fall music collection for 2016, entitled “Clouds and Puddles”. Here is a fun video that I hope you’ll enjoy watching and listening to.

There are several versions of this song, and it is also popular in Spanish as a rhyme without music, “Marinero que se fue a la mar”. It can be sung with no movements, or played as a hand-clapping game in partners with varying levels of difficulty. The simplest version involves two partners facing one another and clapping first one, then the other, and then both hands together, and repeating that pattern over and over. In another version, the word “sea” or “see” is accompanied by a salute. In this version, when the verse is sung a second time, the word “chop” is substituted for “sea” at the end of each line, accompanied by a “chopping” movement; a third verse then substitutes the word “knee” accompanied by a knee slap, and a fourth verse includes all three words and movements, thus: “A sailor went to sea, chop, knee … “. The Spanish version has three different movements as well, but instead of the “chop”, each partner slaps his or her arms to her chest in a criss-cross motion, and the words don’t change, only the movements.

Hand clapping games are popular with children of all cultures around the world, and help to develop rhythm, co-ordination and social and musical intelligence.

Your weekly listen for 3/1/16 is El baile de la Oruga (The Dance of the Caterpillar) as recorded by Fanny Lina Fregni Da Silva.

Is this video irresistible? Absolutely! Check out this adorable video of some itty bitties doing a Latin caterpillar dance. We will attempt this in class – soon – so get your antennas on!

Your weekly listen for 1/26/2016 is “Chocolate”, a spanish-language hand clapping game.

Virtually all cultures around the world have clapping songs and games played by children. In all likelihood, musical and rhythmic clapping games date back to prehistoric times, and have been found in the folklore of ancient Rome, Britain, Africa, Asia, Australia and many other regions around the world. In North America, familiar clapping games include “Pat-a-Cake”, “Miss Mary Mack”, “Pease Porridge Hot” to name just a few.

According to a study by Dr. Idit Sulkin and Dr. Warren Brodsky at Ben Gurion University in Israel, hand clapping songs improve children’s cognitive skills. “There’s no doubt [hand clapping games] train the brain and influence development in other areas,” said Brodsky. Read more about this study here:
Hand Clapping Games Improve Child Cognitive Skills

Children around the world enjoy songs with fingerplays, like this endearing French “jeu de doigts” about a turtle.

In addition to improving manual dexterity, fingerplays help children remember a song and internalize the rhythm. Best of all, children love fingerplays because they are fun!

In this one, the turtle is hiding because of the rain and the song makes him come out again.

Toc, toc, toc, Tortue,
Sors ta tete, sors ta tete,
Toc, toc, toc, tortue,
Sors ta tete, il ne pleut plus

Toc, toc, toc, Tortue,
Sors tes pattes, sors tes pattes,
Toc, toc, toc, Tortue,
Sors tes pattes, il ne pleut plus
Le soleil est revenu!

(which means …)

Knock, knock, knock, Turtle
Poke your head out, poke your head out
Knock, knock, knock, Turtle,
Poke your head out, the rain is gone.

Knock, knock, knock, Turtle
Poke your feet out, poke your feet out
Knock, knock, knock, Turtle,
Poke your feet out, the rain is gone.
And the sun has risen, too!

Your weekly listen for 1/5/16 is a traditional English children’s game called “London Bridge”.

The earliest known record of the song was made in 1744, although the game is similar in form to other children’s games from the Middle Ages so it is likely much older. There are several variations on both the lyrics and on how to play the game.

In the version I teach in class, pairs of adults or older children form the “bridge” with their arms, as shown in the illustration and the video, and younger children walk under it. When we sing “My fair lady”, on the final word in the refrain, the bridge collapses and catches anyone who happens to be underneath! Hopefully, giggling ensues, the bridge is “rebuilt”, and we sing another verse.

Below is a painting of London Bridge as it would have looked around the time the song and game likely evolved. As you can see, it does indeed look quick precarious, as there were several buildings on top of it with tunnels through them which wagons and foot traffic had to navigate in order to cross. There was a saying that the bridge was “for wise men to cross over and fools to cross under”.

Be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom for the video demonstration of how to play the game. We’ll be doing this in class this week!

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.

Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.

Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.

Build it up with bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
My fair lady.

Bricks and mortar will not stay,
Will not stay, will not stay,
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
My fair lady.

Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
Build it up with iron and steel,
My fair lady.

Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow,
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
My fair lady.

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.

Your weekly listen for 11/11/15 is Last Post played on the Bugle by one of Canada’s Governor General’s Foot Guards.

I bet you didn’t know I was a Canuck, did you? Well, in Canada, we have some slightly different traditions for celebrating November 11, which we know as “Remembrance Day”. We don’t take the day as a holiday, but wherever we find ourselves at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, most of us, if not at an actual service, will at least stop what we are doing, turn on a radio and listen to “The Last Post” on the bugle followed by two minutes of silence, during which we may bow our heads in silent reflection or prayer in honour of those who have fallen. We also wear pinned felt poppies on our lapels, sold at stores everywhere in the weeks leading up to November 11, which benefit the Royal Canadian Legion.

Here you can see the Foot Guard wearing a very funny tall fuzzy hat. He plays our traditional “Last Post”, followed by in this case just under one minute of silence and then “The Rouse”.

In addition to its significance as part of our cultural tradition, these bugle tunes are of interest to music students because they are composed entirely of notes from what is known as the “Overtone Series”, a naturally occurring series of tonal frequencies. In the case of the bugle, this series of notes is produced simply by changing the speed at which air flows through the horn. The same series of notes can also be created by multiplying the frequency at which one string vibrates. The overtone series is closely related to our Western system of musical scales.

Your weekly listen for Wednesday, November 4 is this adorable video of Kindergruppe Trachtenverein Hammergau-Ainring performing a traditional style German folk dance in beautiful costumes!

Hand clapping and foot slapping are hallmarks of German folk dance. Notice the fancy footwork (called Schuhplattler) in the second section! Another feature that distinguishes German dances is that a great number of them are in waltz or 3/4 time. Do you notice how the rhythm in this piece changes just before the foot-slapping section? The first section of music is in 4/4 time – that is, with the accent every fourth beat – and the second, in 3/4, with the accent on every third beat. See if you cn you hear the difference. Grown-ups might be surprised to learn that these distinctions are often easier for children to make.

You’ll probably notice that the music for this piece is performed entirely on two accordions. A traditional German instrument, also known as a ‘squeezebox’, the accordion combines a bellows system with a keyboard to create chords and melody.

Happy Hallowe’en / Feliz Dia de los Muertos! Your Weekly Listen for 10/29/15 is “Los Escueletos”.

The ancient Celts believed that on one special day per year, the souls of the dead were able to return to earth to visit the living. People put out candles and offerings of food and drink for their departed loved ones, and used scary jack-o-lanterns, bells and other protective symbols to ward off evil spirits. This tradition was eventually absorbed by the Catholic Church and became “Allhallowtide”: the three days from October 31- November 2 known as All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

The Dia de los Muertos festival in Mexico developed from ancient traditions and was originally celebrated in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar (about the beginning of August) for the entire month. When the Spanish colonized Latin America, Dia de los Muertos was shortened to three days and moved to coincide with Allhallowtide, so that it is now also celebrated from October 31 – November 2.

This playful animated music video illustrates the ‘escueletos’ (skeletons’) adventures as they rise from their tomb, eat, drink, dance and play, and then return to their rest at the end of the day. Below are lyrics for the song “Los Esqueletos” as I sing it in class. These lyrics are slightly different from the lyrics in the video.

Los Esqueletos

Cuando el reloj marca la una
los esqueletos salen de la tumba

(tumba, tumba, tumba-ba, tumba, tumba, tumba-ba)

Cuando el reloj marca las dos
los esqueletos salen comen arroz

Cuando el reloj marca las tres
los esqueletos van al reves

Cuando el reloj marca las cuatro
los esqueletos marchen al teatro

Cuando el reloj marca las cinco
los esqueletos pegan un brinco

Cuando el reloj marca las cinco
los esqueletos se pegan un brinco

Cuando el reloj marca las seis
los esqueletos juegan ajedrez

Cuando el reloj marca las siete
los esqueletos se montan en cohetet

Cuando el reloj marca las ocho
los esqueletos comen bizcocho

Cuando el reloj marca las nueve
los esqueletos cantan y beben

Cuando el reloj marca las diez
los esqueletos se bailan a la vez

Cuando el reloj marca las once
los esqueletos corren veloces

Cuando el reloj marca las doce
los esqueletos descansan por la noche

Translation

When the clock strikes one
the skeletons come out of the grave.
At two, they eat rice.
At three, they hang upside down.
At four, they go to the theatre.
At five, they jump up and down.
At six, they play chess.
At seven, they ride a rocket.
At eight, they eat cake.
At nine, they sing and drink.
At ten, they dance all together.
At eleven, they run fast.
At twelve, they go to bed for the night.

Your weekly listen for 10/22/15 is yours truly! Since last spring I’ve been researching the origins of songs, recording, mixing, writing, revising and re-revising sheet music, and receiving much-needed assistance from several wonderful friends. Now, finally, it’s finished!

“A Spoonful of Songs” is a collection of twenty-one of our favorite songs from class, recorded professionally with some very talented guest musicians and notated in written form with beautiful illustrations, which, unlike the books & CDs you receive in class, is available for sale to the general public. The official release date for both book and CD is November 17. However, you can pre-order copies on my website now, and you are invited to attend the CD Release Party on November 22. There will be pizza, and you can meet the band!

Click here to listen to the ‘sneak preview’ song!

Also, please join us to celebrate on November 22! Email me to book a reservation and be sure to tell me the number in your party.

“A Spoonful of Songs” CD Release Party:
Sunday, November 22, 4-6pm
Capitol Hill (exact location will be sent to you in a private email after you confirm your reservation)
Suggested Donation: $20 adult, $10 kid (this pays the musicians and also covers the cost of pizza and other snacks which will be served)