Guided Tours. Guided Tours, page 1

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1 Guided Tours Guided Tours, page 1

2 What s in This Section Each Guided Tour tells you something about music and shows you with musical examples. How to Use Guided Tours Tour no. Title CD & Track Disk Recording a Song 1 2. Mixing a Song 2 3. Sing It Your Way 3 4. Instruments 4 5. The Drums of Agahu 5 6. Variations on Simple Gifts 6 & 7 Music 7. Why Write a Song? 8 How to Use Guided Tours Guided Tours are the most self-contained activities in Music for Kids, like music classes in a box. They are the least participatory of anything in this collection, because all the children do is listen. So that s how to use a Guided Tour: just listen. s The Guided Tours have a not-so-hidden agenda to make listening, which so often seems like a passive act, into something more active. Each tour helps to focus the ears on something wonderful about music, to make that something more vivid and enjoyable, and to help the listener to enter into the music. Each Guided Tour has its own version of that not-so-hidden agenda. Each Tour provides practice of a particular kind of attention or attitude. The agenda is explained on the page for each Tour. For instance, the first Tour, Recording a Song, shows how the different layers of a song were recorded one by one. This should be inherently interesting to many children, and it should also help them perceive the layers in music how different musicians do different things at the same time. Although many people experience music as a unitary phenomenon affecting them all at once, most music is made of layers, of different parts going on at the same time. Becoming aware of those layers can deepen one s enjoyment of music and make listening more fun and more rewarding. Children don t have to talk about layers in order to enjoy the tour and learn to perceive them. You don t need to share the agenda with the kids; just help them to enjoy the tour. The agenda isn t a secret, but listening to the Tour should serve the agenda better than talking about it. The Tours are designed to be enjoyable without any preparation, but, as with most activities, preparation can increase enjoyment. Each tour presents ideas for an optional preparation activity. Listening to Guided Tours can also be preparation for other activities. Children who hear Tour no. 3, with examples of different singers from Songs to Sing, may then enjoy recognizing voices when they listen to those songs. Listening to Tour no. 5, which introduces the drums that play for Dance no. 1, may help children learn the dance more easily. Before listening to a Tour, you might have a short discussion about the topic to find out what the children know and don t know about it. A lively discussion will activate the children s thinking about that topic, making them more receptive to the Tour. Guided Tours, page 2

3 The pause button Guided Tours can be great fodder for discussions. Some children will want to talk about what they heard. Others may have questions. Some might simply want to react. Use the CD player s pause button to freeze the Tour and discuss what the children have heard so far. Use the pause button whenever somebody has a burning question. Occasionally you or a child may want to hear something again, either something said or a musical example. Use the pause button to freeze the Tour, then press the backwards arrow to rewind the Tour a little bit. Press pause again to play. Talking about music Music is a non-verbal art form, so talking about it is inherently difficult. Guided Tours try to help with that difficult task. Guided Tours show a few things that (in our opinion) are worth talking about, and demonstrate some ways to talk about them with children. While some Tours give background information, they mostly focus on musical phenomena things that can be heard. In discussing music, sounds are the most important things to talk about, because they make up the music. The Tours find ways to point out these phenomena so that the listener can hear them in musical examples. Don t be concerned if some children can t immediately hear all the details being discussed. With repeated listening, and sometimes with conversation, children will learn to aim their ears and hear what the tour guide is talking about. Following up These Tours are small introductions to big subjects. We encourage you to follow up with discussions after the tour, talking about what was in the Tour and what wasn t in it. You or a child may have an idea for a followup project to find related music, discuss related ideas, or create something in class. Guided Tours, page 3

4 1. Recording a Song 1 Guide: Paul D. Jameson In this Guided Tour, Paul Jameson explains how he recorded the song Down by the Riverside. (Paul made all the new recordings in Music for Kids everything in Songs to Sing, Music for Dancing, and Guided Tours. ) Along the way, you ll hear how Paul combined the different instruments and voices to make this recording. The song and the Guided Tour were both recorded in Paul s studio, in a building next to his house. The studio used to be a garage. Now it has soundproofing, and two rooms have been built inside: one small room, about the size of two or three telephone booths, and one larger room, about the size of a medium sized living room. Through a large window you can see from one room to the other. Paul sits in the larger room in front of his equipment. He usually records musicians one at a time. They go into the small room and sing or play into a microphone. Just a few years ago it wouldn t have been possible to make such a fine recording in such a small studio, but recording equipment, just like other kinds of electronics, has been shrinking in size and growing in power, enabling a small studio to do the work of a very large one. Children will enjoy this tour without any advance preparation, but they might like it more if they listen to Down by the Riverside (song no. 1) before listening to this tour. Learning to sing the song will make the tour, and the details in it, even more vivid. Layers in music. Many people experience music as a single, undivided phenomenon, but Down by the Riverside, like many kinds of music, is made of many parts layered together. Listening to this Guided Tour might help children begin to notice the different layers in Down by the Riverside and in other music. Script by Paul D. Jameson and John Steinmetz Vocal: Susan Grindell Backing vocals: Andra Stasko, Hector Mendoza, Jennifer Perlich, Jason Collier Bass: Steve Nelson Trumpets: Jeff Elliott Clarinet: Richard Hardy Guitar: Paul D. Jameson Percussion: Bobby Kranc Drum machine programming: Paul D. Jameson arranged by Paul D. Jameson and Jeff Elliott For information on Down by the Riverside, see song no. 1 in Songs to Sing. Listen to the song on track A1. For more information on Paul, see About the Authors in the Appendix. Guided Tours, page 4

5 2. Mixing a Song 2 Guide: Paul D. Jameson After Paul recorded all the voices and instruments for Down by the Riverside (see Guided Tour no. 1), he wasn t finished. To make his recording into a finished product he had to mix the song. In this tour, Paul tells you what mixing is, and shows you some of the different ways he can change a sound to improve a recording. He ll show you how he mixed Down by the Riverside. Although the real work took much longer than this Tour, the tasks and tools he demonstrates are the ones he used. The changes Paul demonstrates are especially easy to hear if you listen through headphones. This tour will make more sense if you listen first to Guided Tour no. 1. Recordings are sculpted. Most of the music children hear these days is recorded music, and they probably don t realize that the performances on recordings have been electronically processed and enhanced. A recording is a humanmade artifact; its effect can be shaped and modified. This Guided Tour gives children a glimpse of what goes into making a recording. Of course every recording is different classical recordings, for instance, usually undergo less mixing than pop recordings. While they are hearing about how a recording is mixed, children will also be listening to subtleties of musical sound, focusing on details like the loudness or tone quality of one part of the music. Becoming more aware of details can make listening to music even more delicious. Script by Paul D. Jameson and John Steinmetz Vocal: Susan Grindell Backing vocals: Andra Stasko, Hector Mendoza, Jennifer Perlich, Jason Collier Bass: Steve Nelson Trumpets: Jeff Elliot Clarinet: Richard Hardy Guitar: Paul D. Jameson Percussion: Bobby Kranc Drum machine programming: Paul D. Jameson arranged by Paul D. Jameson and Jeff Elliot For information on Down by the Riverside, see song no. 1 in Songs to Sing. For more information on Paul, see About the Authors in the Appendix. Guided Tours, page 5

6 3. Sing It Your Way 3 Guide: John Steinmetz This tour listens to different ways to sing the same song, and encourages children to find their own way to sing songs. No preparation is needed to enjoy this Tour, but listening to some of the songs in advance, or learning to sing one or more of them, may make the Tour more meaningful. The songs are: Shenandoah (song no. 4, A7) The Water is Wide (song no. 42, D8) John B. Sails (song no. 40, D4) I m On My Way (song no. 20, B16) Michael Finnegan (song no. 15, B5) Nurturing musical personalities. Every child has a unique personality, taste, and musicality; singing is one of the most beautiful expressions of a person's uniqueness. Grownups can nurture each child s musical individuality. We also want children to understand that our recordings are not the only way to sing these songs there are many right ways to sing a song. One of the pleasures of living on Earth is hearing different people perform the same music. In group singing, individual voices combine to create a unified sound. For groups, too much individuality can get in the way. Too much individuality can prevent musical unity. But group sound also suffers if individuals sing too rigidly. Squelching individuality makes for a bland group sound. The best musical groups make a unified sound that reflects the character of the group and of the individuals in it. Script by John Steinmetz Vocals: Jim Hefner, Bobby Kranc, Kevin Reinhardt, Abby Honofre, Susan Grindell Saxophone: Richard Hardy Piano for "Shenandoah": Brigita Jameson For other performers, see song pages in Songs to Sing. Songs arranged by Paul D. Jameson. For more information on John Steinmetz, see About the Authors in the Appendix. Links Art: Different artists' approaches to the same subject matter. Language: Modifiers. Personalities of different writers. Math: Solving the same problem different ways. Variables. Music curriculum: Group singing, individual singing. Social studiens: Unity and diversity. Guided Tours, page 6

7 4. Instruments 4 Guide: Brigita Jameson Many different instruments can be heard in Songs to Sing. In this Guided Tour you ll hear some of those instruments play individually so you can hear how each one sounds. This Tour is easy to enjoy without any preparation, but children who have already heard some of the Songs to Sing (disks A D) may enjoy the Tour even more. Instruments have personalities. Learning the names of instruments is often fun for kids, and although naming things is not exactly a musical act, it does seem that learning to recognize the sound of an instrument is easier when you know its name. More important than knowing names, though, is to hear and enjoy how instruments personalities affect the music. Please don t test children on their ability to recognize and name instruments. That kind of test spoils the fun for most children, and it emphasizes the wrong thing. Recognizing instruments should be a pleasure, not a test. Children who have become familiar with the song recordings through repeated listening may enjoy trying to identify the songs in this Tour. If an instrument plays the melody, the song is easy to recognize. However, most of the Tour examples show instruments playing background parts. Without the rest of the music it may be difficult to recognize the song. Still, for those who love a challenge, matching instruments to songs could be a fun adventure. Another way to enjoy this Tour: after listening to it a couple of times, pick any of the Songs to Sing, and listen for instruments. It doesn t matter whether you can recognize every instrument; the fun is in recognizing any of them. Script by Paul D. Jameson and John Steinmetz Bass: Steve Nelson Trumpet, melodica: Jeff Elliott Clarinet, flute, saxophone, pennywhistle: Richard Hardy Guitar, harmonica, synthesizer: Paul D. Jameson Piano: Brigita Jameson Percussion, jaw harp: Bobby Kranc Fiddle: Dennis Fetchit Guided Tours, page 7

8 5. The Drums of Agahu 5 Guide: Kobla Ladzekpo Agahu, a dance from West Africa, is included in Music for Dancing (Dance no. 1, track E10). In this tour, Ghanaian musician and teacher Kobla Ladzekpo introduces the instruments and shows how their rhythms fit together. Kobla Ladzekpo is a member of a distinguished family of musicians from Ghana. He teaches African music and dance at California Institute of the Arts and UCLA, and directs Zadonu African Music and Dance Company. For our recording of Agahu dance music he played the lead drum and led the singing. This Tour can be enjoyed without any preparation. However, its effect might be enhanced by listening to the Agahu dance music first (E10). Listening to this tour may also help children learn to dance Agahu more easily. Layers in music. Hearing the different parts played by the different drums can make it easier to hear the many layers in this music. (Tour no. 1 is also good for hearing layers.) In addition, this Tour gives a glimpse of the rhythmic complexity and sophistication of this music. Cultural differences. This Tour also opens a small window into another culture. Mr. Ladzekpo grew up in Ghana, a former British colony, where English is spoken in addition to many indigenous languages. His way of speaking his pronunciation, pacing, rhythm, and the sound of his voice reflect his cultural roots. A few of the words in this Tour are in Ewe (EH-weh), Mr. Ladzekpo s native language, which is spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Script by Kobla Ladzekpo and John Steinmetz Agboba (lead drum): Kobla Ladzekpo Gangkogui (bell): Beatrice Dzidzogbe Lawluvi Other drums (sogo, kidis, kagangu), rattle (axatse), and vocals: Kobla Ladzekpo, Beatrice Dzidzogbe Lawluvi, Yeko Ladzekpo-Cole, and John Steinmetz Links Art: Layers, texture, patterns. Math: Fractions, wholes and parts. History: African diaspora, migrations, cultural diffusion. Social studies: music in culture, cultural differences. Geography: West Africa, Ghana, Benin, Togo. Holidays and calendar: Black History Month. For more information on Agahu, see Dance no. 1. Guided Tours, page 8

9 Guide: Nyna Shannon Andersen Music by Aaron Copland 6. Variations on Simple Gifts 6 & 7 American composer Aaron Copland used the folk song Simple Gifts for one section of his orchestra piece Appalachian Spring. In this tour children can hear the orchestra repeat that song several times in different ways. Following the Tour, the next track plays the music by itself. This tour, like all the Guided Tours, is designed to work perfectly well without any preparation. Another way to approach this tour is to learn the song first ( Simple Gifts, song no. 29, C7.) After singing the song, children will more easily recognize it in Mr. Copland s piece. Change in music. Although the energy in a pop song usually stays more or less the same once it gets going, many kinds of music involve ongoing changes. Enjoying that kind of music depends on paying attention enough to be affected by changes in the music, whether they are subtle transformations or dramatic, obvious changes. Many children (and grownups) are unfamiliar with the pleasures of music that changes. This Tour, without talking about that issue directly, provides a basic experience with that kind of music. Variations. In our part of the world repeating a tune several times with different alterations is sometimes called Variations or Theme and Variations. Whether or not that name is used, the principle repeat the same music but change it is found in many kinds of music. When Jazz musicians play a melody and then improvise new melodies over the same accompaniment, they are improvising variations. Other art forms use variation, too. Look for variations a repeating element with slight differences in architecture, art, literature, and the other arts. The phenomenon of variation is all around us in nature as well, in snowflakes, thumb prints, leaves, individuals of a species, species in a family, etc. Children can have lots of fun creating variations in different media. One great question to explore through observation and creation: how much can you change something before it stops being a variation and starts being a new and different thing? Aaron Copland ( ) is famous for discovering an American sound for concert music. Working within classical traditions that had come here from Europe, Mr. Copland used the sound and spirit of American folk music, jazz, and popular music to give his compositions a recognizably American sound. When a movie shows the wide-open spaces of the American landscape, that soaring, all-american music you hear in the background very likely imitates Mr. Copland s music. Although it gives the impression of having sprung directly from American soil, that sound had to be invented, and Aaron Copland was one of its inventors. Appalachian Spring, which he wrote for a ballet, is frequently performed by American orchestras. The first version was for a tiny orchestra of 13 players; later he wrote this version for larger orchestras. Script by John Steinmetz Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Stephen Gunzenhauser, conductor Links Related music: Simple Gifts, song no. 29, track C7. Aaron Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man, Music from Planet Earth, J29. Other variations: Just Like It's Always Been (G19), Beethoven s 9th Symphony (H17), Walkin (J6), "When the Saints Go Marchin' In" (H16). Guided Tours, page 9

10 Art: variations. Geography: Appalachia. History: Shakers, American identity. Language: Modifiers. Math: Variables. Guided Tours, page 10

11 7. Why Write a Song? 8 Guide: Mike Lopez Songs by Mike Lopez In this tour, Mike Lopez talks about what inspires him to write songs. Mike is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter from the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara in southern California. Among his ancestors are Chumash people who trace their history in California back thousands of years. Many of Mike s songs are about his family s history in the area where he grew up. Mike s songs, like his life and his family history, are rich with interactions between Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and American influences. In his concerts (sometimes given at museums) Mike Lopez tells stories of his family and early life in the Santa Ynez Valley, shows fascinating old pictures of family members, and sings his songs. The songs are both personal and public, reflecting on his experiences and his roots while presenting aspects of our nation s history that are largely unknown. No preparation is necessary. The only way to listen to the music in advance is to hear a performance or album by Mike Lopez. Children might like to locate Santa Ynez on a map of California. Arts are human. Through hearing from a songwriter, we hope that children will see that songs are made by people, and that songs reflect people s backgrounds. Sometimes a song springs from a particular event or a special moment. Mike s songs are about familiar feelings, even while telling of people whose lives may be very different from our own. In this way music can help people build bridges of understanding and sympathy. Hidden histories. This Tour also shows how one American uses music to connect with parts of the Native American past that are not often taught in history class. In many parts of the world songs spread news and give information. Songs often combine the personal and the public. Mike Lopez s songs show how music can help Americans come to grips both with personal experiences and with the complexities of our society. Tour edited by Paul D. Jameson from Mike Lopez interview. You can contact Mike Lopez at 1271 Catarina St., Santa Ynez, California. Vocals: Mike Lopez Guitars: Mike Lopez, Paul D. Jameson, Barrett Nelson Trumpet: Jeff Elliott Flutes: Richard Hardy Percussion: Eddie Tudurij Dobro: Bill Flores Bass: Rick Burrella Songs produced and arranged by Paul D. Jameson and Mike Lopez Guided Tours, page 11

12 Links Art: Projects related to personal or family history. Images from the songs. Geography: California, Sant Ynez valley. History: Native Americans, Chumash. California, Spanish colonies. Language: Songwriting, poetry. Social studies: Cultural diversity. Overlapping cultures. Cultural identity. Music as individual expression, group expression. Guided Tours, page 12