A Musical Interactive Sunflower Story!

 

Here's a fun and worthwhile music teaching game: 

1)  Find some slow music in which to "grow".  A slow movement from a symphony by Brahms, Mozart, Dvorak, or Haydn work well.  Of course, it is also perfectly acceptable to put on any slow folk or rock music if that is to your liking.

2)  You and your child or class should start out in what I call seed position which means you are curled up on the floor and ready to uncurl and grow upward as soon as the music begins.

3)  As the adult or teacher, feel free to give direction such as, "Okay seeds, the sun is out and we are growing toward it.  Oh goodness, here is a little breeze and some raindrops so you will be swaying a little bit."

4)  Use your creativity from there, whether it be to use your arms as stems and your fingers as the growing sunflower seeds.  Maybe some imaginary birds will even fly over and tickle your sunflower seeds! (your fingers)

5)  As the children are ready to be done, you all may slowly curl back down into seed position as the snowflakes make the flowers heavy.

Getting Through Winter 2021 During A Pandemic!

Greetings in the new year!  While we all are conjuring up as much hope as we can due to the Covid-19 vaccinations starting to happen, we still need our healthy coping skills to make each day positive and productive.  One of my coping skills is listening to and making music.

During the month of January 2021 I was lucky enough to work with Tony Axtell, a Minneapolis sound engineer as well as a mighty bass player and pianist to produce my new composition, SPELL.  The other musicians that helped record this tune were Joe Elliott--electric guitar; Greg Schutte--drum set; and me--vocalist and wind synthesizer.  

Composing the lyrics and music to this vocal jazz ballad focused me on the art form of creating.  It was a joy and the next highlight was working with the musicians involved.  So, not only was I coping, I was overcoming the negativity of the pandemic.

Here are pictures of the musicians and if you'd like to hear the piece, here is the address to the Joan Schubert And Friends Facebook page where you may click on the link to SPELL.    https://www.facebook.com/Joan-Schubert-And-Friends-2087644207914367

I wish all of you the best as we forge ahead into this wonderful new year!      Joan Schubert

 

Celebrating The Holiday Season

 

This Holiday Season

Just a reminder to be proactive in taking in all of the holiday music this year.  It's always good to have your classical public radio station on in the background wherever you are. We are so fortunate to have commercial free public radio that plays the classics of the musical world as well as new compositions in all genres--orchestral, chamber, and vocal.  Remember to check your local paper and online for streaming family concerts which often are reasonably priced or free.  Just to be able to have your family see one or two shows is such a holiday gift in itself.

Happy Holidays To You And Yours From The Music Child Program

A Tribute To Maya Angelou

Hello as we slide into the fall equinox!  Ms. Joan has recently made another music video and she would like to share it here.

The poem is written by Dr. Maya Angelou and this poem is from one of her children's books, Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?  Ms. Joan wrote original music for this poem and had the good fortune to find singers and a pianist to learn the music and record it.

Simply click on the link below or copy it to your browser.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svs1H3DbHiY&list=RDMMsvs1H3DbHiY&start_radio=1

Music Helps Us Study And Think

 I am posting part of a column from Reema Krishnan.  She published an article exploring the relationship between math and music and it is fun to read.

There is a strong correlation between music and the way we study. Research shows that when children are given proper instructions on musical instruments, they score high on tasks that require spatial-temporal cognition, math, and hand-eye coordination. This can be attributed to the relation between music and math skills.

A musician has to continually subdivide the beats to be able to interpret the rhythmic notations. In fact, practicing music, paying attention to details, and the discipline required to learn music can prove to be a strong base for building math skills.

Moreover, research has also shown that children who learn through music retain information better than those who learn just by verbal instructions. Kids can remember concepts or facts better when it is put in a song or rhythm. Any kind of musical element can help you recall important details.

Even playing music while working or studying can create a focused learning state. Classical music such as Carnatic music has the ability to create an atmosphere of focus and concentration.

Reema Krishnan is a content creator at Acharyanet, a platform for Carnatic music learners where they can learn music from gurus through 400+ video lessons. A music enthusiast and history buff, Krishnan’s content is well-suited to musicians, music lovers, and music learners of all ages and at all stages. She loves to volunteer with music therapy groups and bakes up a storm in her free time.

Summer Concerts 2020

It can be a time of despondence or a time of creativity--guess which one I would choose!

Many music groups are choosing to use ingenuity to get their sounds out into the public eye and ear.

Here are links to:

 The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra 

https://content.thespco.org/music/concert-library/concerts

And

The Minnesota Orchestra https://minnesotaorchestra.org/blog.  Prepared to be wowed by the concerts offered by both groups!

The Saint Paul

Chamber Orchestra

                                                                                                          

                              The Minnesota                                    Orchestra

The Minnesota Orchestra is also offering outdoor concerts right outside of Orchestra Hall in Peavey Plaza this summer.

The beauty of all this is that it is intergenerational.  A person does not need to be a certain age to enjoy all these offerings!

I hope you will enjoy the bounty of our talented musicians this summer of 2020!

A Change Of Pace (Letter by Ms. Joan, Minneapolis Star Tribune, during the pandemic)

APRIL 1, 2020 — 5:40PM

GERALD HERBERT • ASSOCIATED PRESS

A street musician stands in the nearly deserted French Quarter in New Orleans on March 22.

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For those of you working on coping strategies during the pandemic, here’s one for you: Start thinking like a jazz musician. We’ve had to cope financially and socially for years.

Can’t wrap your mind around what the future holds for you and your family? Welcome to our world! Jazz musicians who improvise must let go of outcomes every day. We are inspired by our muses and have no choice but to let go. Our muses guide us and let us know where the next paycheck, meal, babysitter or teacher is coming from. The bottom line is faith in its purest form. If you need to define terms, go ahead.

Artists are used to spending hours alone to practice, write and create. When it comes time to share our art, we often need to throw ourselves into noisy and chaotic environments to sell and share our creations. We’ve gotten good at engaging with the public and not engaging with the public. It’s a parallel universe to living in times of a pandemic.

Artists show up in their lives with the accent on creativity. I’ve seen many of you using creative coping skills and I know you’ve seen the same. Our children are experts in creativity; they know how to show up in their lives. Their spontaneity and flexibility are reminding us about humor and resilience in our new normal.

Kudos to all the helpers out there. Your spirit, tenacity and creativity are infectious — in a good way.

JOAN SCHUBERT

The writer is a jazz flutist, composer, and teacher.

A Trip To The Mountains--Creative Play With A Musical Soundtrack Of Your Choice

Let’s take a hike up the mountain!  Put on your good walking shoes.  Put your lunch in your backpack and put your backpack on. Here we go! 

We must climb, climb, climb. (Teacher and students climb while standing in place) Look at the view!  See the pretty flowers over there?  Let’s pick a few to put in our backpacks.  Our parents will like them.  Now we must climb higher.  Watch out for the slippery rocks.  Climb, climb, climb, climb. 

  

We’re getting close to the clouds.  Let’s have our lunch right here.  Find a place to sit.  Take your backpack off and open your lunch.  Eat your favorite sandwich and have a few sips of your juice.  Eat your energy bar and now it is time to clean up.  Throw your garbage away and put your backpack on your back again. 

Just a little further to climb and we will have reached the top of the mountain!  Can you count to 10 and then we will be at the top!  (Everyone counts to 10) Look at the beautiful view of the high clouds (look up) and the low valley (look down).  We are now so tired that we must lie down and have a rest. (Teacher and students lie down for a minute) Wake up and give yourself a good stretch. 

It is now time to hike down to the bottom of the mountain.  As we start climbing down, we see a very good walking stick by the side of our trail.  We pick the walking stick up and start using it so we may stay balanced and can lean on it if the way is steep. 

 As we walk, we pass some other hikers so we say, “hello!”.  Can you say hello? 

Now we have a bit of excitement because we pass by an eagle’s nest.  She is waiting to hatch her chicks.  Let’s be very quiet and tiptoe past her. Tiptoe, tiptoe.... 

We are walking again.  As we near the bottom of the mountain, we are looking forward to seeing our parents and telling them about our hike.  Reach back into your backpack to get the flowers you picked to give to them.  We see our parents and hand them the flowers.  They love them and say, “thank you”.  You walk to your family car with your walking stick helping you along. 

The End 

One Of Our Favorite Stories

Note to Teacher or Parent:  You will want to have a maraca and wood block handy for special sound effects!

Lefty and Buckaroo lived in the state of Montana.  Can you say Montana? Lefty was a girl pony and Buckaroo was a boy pony.  One day there was a rain storm and Lefty and Buckaroo ran into a cave to stay dry.  Ready to help me with a rainstorm? (Children get to clap and stomp their feet for a moment until you say "stop!")  As Lefty and Buckaroo walked into the cave, they heard a noise.  The noise sounded like a baby rattle with the rattle being shaken slowly but getting faster. (Teacher shakes maraca slowly and then faster) What was it?  Both ponies then saw a very colorful snake slithering toward them.  (Can you help me make a snake noise?) But, after the snake made a hissing noise, it began to talk.  The snake said, "Do not be afraid, my friends.  I am just a lonely snake who would like some company.  I'm so glad you're here!"  The three animals became friends and the ponies said they would come back and visit again.  Since the rain had stopped, Lefty and Buckaroo said goodbye to their new friend and galloped home. (Teacher plays wood block with mallet)

Holiday Music

Live music is best!

With the holidays coming up, remember to check your Sunday paper arts section for upcoming and age appropriate concerts for your children.  Of course, simply searching for free family concerts online is also a great way to find live music.  There are many reasonably priced and free concerts listed every week. Concerts are artistically stimulating as well as being a family bonding time.

The Thanksgiving Story

This is a re-posting of an antiphonal story (call and response) I wrote for my preschool music students.  Antiphonal stories shared with your children or students teach them listening skills, cooperation, focus, and they are fun!

The horses were in the barn and Farmer Joe was busy putting each horse into their own stall for the night.  He was just putting the last horse away in her stall when he heard a sound.  What was it?  The noise sounded like this: (The teacher sings quietly on the word Oooh--use any musical pitches you would care to use. Ask your children/students, "Can you make that sound?")

As Farmer Joe led the last horse to her stall, the horses in the barn became very quiet so they could listen, too.  The sound, which had started to sound like singing, became a little louder and sounded like this: (The teacher sings the Oooh pitches a little louder. Ask your children/students, "Can you sing just a little louder?")

Well, even though Farmer Joe was hungry for his dinner and wanted to go into his house to eat, he could hardly wait to walk outside the barn to see where that singing was coming from!

As Farmer Joe walked from the barn door to the corn field toward his house, he saw a great flock of birds had landed to eat the leftover corn left from the harvest.  They were the ones singing!

 The huge flock of blackbirds was happily eating the leftover corn and they were singing, “We are grateful”.  (The teacher sings the same musical pitches for the words, "We are grateful") (Ask your children/students, "Can you sing those words?")

Farmer Joe could hardly believe what he was seeing and hearing!  Could blackbirds really sing?

Farmer Joe walked closer to the flock of birds eating corn in the field.  They stopped singing and there was a hush. (Can you say "hush"?)

One of the blackbirds looked up at Farmer Joe and said, “Caw, caw!” (Can you say “Caw, caw!”?)
Farmer Joe said, “Hello there, I walked over here because I thought I heard you singing.”
The blackbird fluttered his wings a little bit. (Can you flutter your wings a little bit?  Children/students gently flutter their arms)  Then the blackbird went back to eating the corn.

Since the singing had stopped and Farmer Joe was hungry for his dinner, he walked toward his house.
Suddenly, he heard the music again.  (Use the same musical pitches to sing “We Are Grateful”) (Ask your children/students, "Can you quietly sing "We Are Grateful?")

Could blackbirds really sing?  Farmer Joe will never know.

Happy Halloween 2019!

Here's a great Halloween song using the tune to The Wheels On The Bus.

The witches and their cats say hee, hee, hee!

Hee, hee, hee!

Hee, hee, hee!

The witches and their cats say hee, hee, hee!

We love Halloween!

                                                                                     

The ghosts and the goblins say boo, boo, boo!

Boo, boo, boo!

Boo, boo, boo!

The ghosts and the goblins say boo, boo, boo!

We love Halloween!

We knock on the door and say trick or treat!           

Trick or treat!

Trick or treat!

We knock on the door and say trick or treat!

We love Halloween!

Part III of Summer Story

The Third And Final Part To Summer Story Starts Here!

The Rainbirds began to sing their rain song.  It sounded like this:

(Loosely Based on the melody "Ring Around The Rosie")

Mother Earth, Mother Earth

Help Us Now, Help Us Now

We Call The Rain!

And suddenly, the pitter pat of raindrops came gently and then more forcefully from the sky.  The wind became very strong and the trolls were pushed into a safe area that the Rainbirds had magically created.  The rain stopped and a rainbow appeared.

The Queen Rainbird called to the trolls and asked them why they had come to planet Earth to eat their precious fairies.  One troll explained.  “Your majesty,” said the troll, “We are starving on our planet.  Our Queen and King Trolls did not take good care of our planet and all our food dried up.  We heard that you had fairies on your planet and that they were just the right size for us to eat!”

The Queen Rainbird became very angry after hearing the troll’s explanation and took two deep breaths to calm down. (Teacher to students: "Should we take two deep breaths?"  Take two deep breaths together)

Then the Queen Rainbird spoke.  She said, “I understand now.  If I was hungry, I would go wherever I could to find food.  But, I must tell you, you may not hurt our fairies!” (Teacher to students: Let’s all say, “You may not hurt our fairies!” Repeat with students: "You may not hurt our fairies!")  She went on to say, “The fairies and Rainbirds are magic.  We will bring you as much delicious food as you can possibly want AND you may bring it back to your planet so you may feed everyone that is hungry.”

The trolls clapped their hands (everyone clap hands) and said “hooray!” (everyone says hooray!) and were so happy.

The End

Part II of Summer Story

Part II of our summer story begins here!

Long ago, the Rainbirds had flown over the earth with their large wings. (Teacher to students or children:  "Should we see what it feels like to stretch our wings?") They were protectors of everything.  They were called Rainbirds because when the earth became too dry, they could make it rain and then a huge rainbow would appear.

One day while flying, the Rainbirds heard a big noise striking the planet earth.  They quickly flew toward the noise to see what it was.  The noise sounded like one big boom! ("Can you help me make one big boom?") As the Rainbirds approached the spot, they could see giant men falling from the sky.  The giant men were called trolls and when their giant bodies hit the earth, there was one big boom. ("Ready for one more big boom?")

The Rainbirds could hardly believe their eyes!  Why were these huge men falling from the sky?  They soon found out.  The large men, called trolls, came to their planet because they had heard the fairies were delicious to eat!  Well, I know what you are thinking.  You are thinking, “Oh no!” (Shall we all say that together? “Oh no!”)  As soon as the Rainbirds figured this out, they went into action.

Another Call And Response Story That Children Love!

Summer Story  

For Children Ages 4 - 7

The forest was quiet.  Except for the toads making their croaking sound and the loons in the lake behind the forest.  The sun was setting and the stars in the sky would be out soon.  

One little fairy said to another little fairy, “Is it safe to come out now?”  The second little fairy looked around and said, “Yes!”  Suddenly many little flying fairies, both girls and boys, came out of the tall trees to play in the moonlight.  There were so many different colored fairies that it was like watching a rainbow at night.  They soared and dived and playfully chased each other because at night they were safe from the trolls.  

Of course, the fairies wanted to talk to one another but they wanted to do it quietly so the trolls would leave them alone.  This is the way they talked to one another. (Teacher demonstrates snapping of fingers and whistling.  Ask your children/students: "Can you snap your fingers?  Can you whistle?")

The fairies were magic.  They could fly near you and make you happy.  If you were sick, they could make you well.  If there was any problem at all, the fairies could fix it.  The only thing the fairies could not do was get along with the trolls.  Thank goodness they had the Rainbirds to keep them safe from the trolls.

Making A Summer Listening List

This is a recent article from Minnesota Public Radio.  It's a great idea!

Make a summer listening list Maybe you are making a summer reading list. Why not make a summer listening list? Connect your listening to summer holidays and events, or pair with favorite summertime activities. Create a listening journal. Track each piece by using this free grid worksheet we've prepared for you. Feel free to draw pictures in the "observation" box if that's more your style (or your child's developmental stage). At the end of the summer, you'll have a wonderful memento of your listening experience. Modify or extend this activity by including live music. Free concerts in the park are a great way to enjoy summer listening as a family.    Samples Here are sample summer listening lists, paired with special summer themes and events. Some pieces have a direct link to their respective activity or event; others simply suggest a certain mood or atmosphere. Use this distinction in talking about what you hear. Edit, add to, or eliminate pieces based on the age and interests of your child. Bugs! Flight of the Bumblebee, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov • The Song of the Flea, by Modest Mussorgsky • Les Abeilles, by Francois Couperin • From the Diary of a Fly, Mikrokosmos 6, No. 142 - Ostinato, by Bela Bartok Flag Day & Fourth of July: Variations on America, by Charles Ives • Feux d'Artifice (Fireworks), by Claude Debussy • Stars and Stripes Forever, by John Philip Sousa Lake Life: En Bateau, by Claude Debussy • Gymnopedies, by Erik Satie • Ballade for Piano and Orchestra, by Germaine Tailleferre • "Summertime," from Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin • Trout Quintet, by Franz Schubert Nature: Deep Summer Music, Libby Larsen • Blue Cathedral, by Jennifer Higdon •The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughn Williams • Im Wunderschönen Monat Mai, by Robert Schumann • "The Fairy Garden," from Ma Mère L’oye, by Maurice Ravel • "Peace of the Woods," from Lyric Pieces, by Edvard Grieg Parades, Carnivals & Fairs: Circus Polka, by Igor Stravinsky • "Mad Tea Party," from Alice in Wonderland, by Unsuk Chin • "Grand March," from Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi • Solace, by Scott Joplin • "Juba Dance," from Symphony No. 1, by Florence Price Road Trips: Grand Canyon Suite, by Ferde Grofe • The American Scene, by William Grant Still • "Introduction: The Open Prairie," from Billy the Kid, by Aaron Copland Summer Solstice: Lightscape, by Daniel Godfrey • "Hunter," from Orion, by Kaija Saariaho • Pavane, by Gabriel Faure Thunderstorms: Piano Sonata No. 17 (The Tempest), by Ludwig van Beethoven •Thunder and Lightning Polka, Johann Strauss II • Presto, from "Summer," fromThe Four Seasons, by Antonio Vivaldi • Rain Spell, by Toru Takemitsu Exclusive giveaway Classical 15 coloring book   We've created a coloring book, featuring illustrations by Nancy Carlson, to promote Classical 15, our initiative to give kids at least 15 minutes of classical music every day. Enter our giveaway for a copy of the coloring book now. ClassicalMPR.org | Donate | Listen Preference Center This email was sent by: Minnesota Public Radio  480 Cedar Street Saint Paul, MN, 55101 Unsubscribe