Archive | May, 2011

“Baby Boy, in my arms, 9-days-old”

31 May

STORY FROM A MOM

It’s too good a story not to share! A mom in one of my classes just gave birth to her second child, but thankfully he waited to be born till after we’d chanted over and over (and over!) again about stuff being 9-days-old. The mom emailed me to let me know that she spent the 9th day of her new baby’s life chanting, “Baby Boy hot, Baby Boy cold, Baby Boy in my arms, 9-days-old.” (Think of all the rhythmic neural pathways being formed in his brain, and he’s not even two-weeks-old, yet!)

It almost makes me want to have another baby, just to do that chant myself. (Did I just say that? No, please…I take it back…)

“Tsakonikos” in Greece (or: Check Out The Pom-Poms on That Guy!)

26 May

Remember “Tsakonikos,” the song we’ve been dancing to in class that has a “surprise beat?”  (We’ve been counting: “1-2-3-4-surprise!”)  Here’s a video clip from Greece of people doing the real dance, dressed in authentic costumes. What’s especially neat about this clip — thanks to the pom-poms on the men’s shoes — is how you can really see the dancers feet as they move to the five beats in this song. Can you see the right-left-right-left-pause in their feet? (They “pause” where I shout, “Surprise!” in class.)

TRY THIS AT HOME

Put on the Maracas CD, play “Tsakonikos,” and try out the Greek right-left-right-left-pause way of moving to the song.  Maybe we’ll try this circle dance in class next week, too.  Who knows…I might just bring some pom-poms for our shoes…

one, two, THREE, one, two, THREE

24 May

2 -4 – 6 – 8 – 10 – 12 – 14 – 16 – 18 – 20 – 24 – 26 – 28 – 30…

3 – 6 – 9 – 12 – uhhh….

I’ve heard about a late musicologist who strongly believed that the predominance of 4/4 music in our pop culture (think of the driving beat in Lady Gaga’s “Telephone”) deprives our children of ease in manipulating odd numbers. In other words, our pop music leads our children to be able to count by two’s easier than they can count by three’s. His theory was that if you increase a child’s exposure to music in 3/4 time (or 6/8 or 9/8) that they would build the brain structures to process odd numbers more easily and efficiently.

Now, I don’t know the name of this musicologist, so I don’t have access to any of his research findings, but here’s a little something that I discovered at home with my daughter, quite by accident. Last summer, we were counting by two’s and three’s as a way to get ready to memorize times tables (as the two’s and the three’s are building blocks for multiplication). She nailed the two’s, but the three’s were really hard. The book we were using suggested that we put a “dot-dot” before each 3, 6, 9, etc. in the counting-by-three’s progression. So I started saying, out loud, “Dot-dot-three, dot-dot-six, dot-dot-nine, dot-dot-twelve.” (Try saying that string out loud now, so you can hear what it sounds like.) My daughter turned to me right away and said, “Hey! That’s just like the waltzes I play on the piano!” Now, her piano “waltzes” are those super-easy, Book-One kind of waltzes, where “Mike-and-May… like-to-play… in-the-hay…” We’re not talking Strauss here. But, who cares! She heard the rhythm of “dot-dot-three” and remembered playing “Mike-and-May.” That connection made, counting by three’s became easier and way more fun. Very cool stuff.

TRY THIS AT HOME

Put on a waltz (“Dancing with Teddy,” perhaps or, “I’m a Bell”), grab your child, and dance around the living room. Maybe say, out loud, “One, two, THREE, one, two, THREE…” as you’re turning around and around. One day, your child might turn to you while counting by three’s and say, “Hey! That’s just like that Teddy song we dance to!” Wouldn’t that be cool?

Hop, Ol’ Mom

19 May

STORY FROM A MOM

This just in… A mom emailed me to tell me about this great game she and her two children came up with while singing “Hop Ol’ Squirrel.” They were hopping on large stones encircling a tree and singing about what they were doing. It all started with squirrels hopping, but then they switched from hopping to wiggling and jiggling (and avoiding falling into the “moat”!). They also changed the “squirrel” to their own names, which tickled the children to no end. (The mom, however, would have been fine not hearing the kids sing, “Hop, ol’ mom…”)

I love what this mom said at the end of her email, too: “Maybe when I’m truly old, this song will come back to me, and I will catch an extra spring in my step.” Oh, yes, I wish that for her. If there’s any fountain of youth on this planet, I believe that music is the thing.

I’d love to hear other parents’ and caregivers’ stories, too. Please email me at anne@annesailer.com, anytime.

Think, Think a Song

17 May

This week in class, we’re playing with “Hop Ol’ Squirrel,” with half the room singing, “Hop ol’ squirrel,” and the other half singing, “Eidle dum, eidle dum…” The 2nd time through, the “squirrel” group sings their part, as usual, but the “eidle” group only thinks their part. Then, we switch the 3rd time around, so that the “squirrel”s get to take a turn thinking (and not singing) their part. What a fun way to play with audiation!

Remember that song from Sesame Street: “Sing, Sing a Song?” Well, we’re still singing, but we’re also spending some time just thinking a song, too. When we think the music — hear it inside our heads — we’re audiating. And, we’re giving our children the chance to audiate, too. If our kids are ever going to “Sing, Sing a Song,” they’ve got to “Think, Think a Song,” first. (I almost wrote, “Think, Think a Thong,” but that’s a very different kind of post…)

TRY THIS AT HOME

I know I said it in class, but it’s worth repeating:  See if you can get another grown-up at home to be the “squirrel”s or the “eidle”s, and you can take turns singing and thinking the song. Or, if you don’t have another grown-up to play with, then just pretend you’re two people and take turns with yourself! Watch what your child does, too, during the “thinking” parts. In class, we’ve noticed children laughing, staring expectantly, moving their arms and legs, vocalizing one or two notes, or filling in the missing parts. Whatever your child does while you play this game, it’s great to take notice. Have fun!

A “Brincan y Bailan” Jam Session — guitars, fiddles, tambourines, earrings, and candles galore!

11 May

Wait till you see this! Singer/guitarist Jimmy Kelly and his band of merry music-makers just rip up “Brincan y Bailan” in this clip. I love hearing the verse sung, as well as a few different words in the chorus. I love the accordion-player’s earrings. I love how happy all the musicians look. But I LOVE the MOST how they play with tempo — starting slow and then speeding up like crazy — just like we do in class. I just may buy this song and bring it to class sometime for a dance or a playalong, so get ready!

Check out more Jimmy Kelly here…

Pound That Nail, Eidle Dum, Eidle Dum

10 May

TRY THIS AT HOME

I’ve had quite a few dads come to class lately, and I always try to “man” up the experience a bit. (For example, I try not to have us dance around like ballerinas when there are a couple of big, burly dads in the room.) Now, I know that there are gung-ho dads who wouldn’t mind twirling around at all, and I don’t mean to stereotype, but some dads just need a bit more testosterone in music class activities.

This got me thinking about dads making music at home. I realized that my “Try This At Home” examples might be expanded to the tool bench. Why not sing along to some home improvement stuff, like: “Pound that nail, eidle dum, eidle dum / Pound that nail, eidle dum dee,” or, “Listen, listen, everyone, listen to me bang my hammer.” (Look, they really don’t have to rhyme…)

No matter what the dad does in your house — hammer, paint, fix the car, make breakfast, grill the burgers — I bet you can find a way to put it to song.

(Note: In my house, I’M the hammerer and painter and all-around fixer, so don’t think I’m all 1950′s in my thinking. But I know there are lots of dads who prefer the tool belt to the apron.)

“Russian Folk Song” — in Russian!

5 May

Here’s a link to a YouTube clip of a Russian children’s choir singing the lullaby we’re singing in class these days: “Russian Folk Song.” It’s fun to hear it sung in its native language and as more of an up-tempo marching tune than as a lullaby!

May there always be sunshine,
May there always be blue skies,
May there always be mommies/daddies/music/etc.,
May there always be me.

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“Pacifier Participation” — There’s Nothing Passive About It

4 May

This morning, a mom apologized for her daughter’s non-stop pacifier-sucking during class last week. “I hid it from her today,” she said. Thank goodness this mom told me what was going on — it gave me the chance to let her know that it’s 100% okay to suck on a pacifier (or fingers, or a thumb) all the way through music class. 

Since pacifiers are meant to induce a peaceful, calm state, we tend to think of children with sucking them as passive, disengaged, and silenced. Musically, however, pacifiers can be an active part of the child’s experience. Sucking stimulates the mouth and the tongue, which are integral parts of our music-making system. I’ll frequently see children with pacifiers sucking rhythmically during class, either on the beat of the song/chant we’re doing, or to her/his own personal tempo. (It’s fun to see the brightly colored plastic bounce up and down to the beat!) It’s also common to hear a child with a pacifier (or sucking a thumb) humming or toning pitches we’re singing in class.  In fact, I’ve seen children stop singing or expressing rhythm when the pacifier comes out of the mouth.

So, go ahead and let the binky/passy/thumb/finger-sucking rage on in music class. After our conversation this morning, the mom from class breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing into the knowing that her child’s “pacifier participation” is anything but passive.

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For My Lullaby Tonight, Please Sing…Nothing!

3 May

When my now-11-year-old son was an infant, I was certain that singing to him at bedtime would calm him down, stop him from screaming, and lull him to sleep. (After all, that’s what lullabies are for, right?) Boy, was I wrong. I quickly learned that making music with my baby was a magical experience — as long as he wasn’t trying to go to sleep. During waking hours, I made up songs about poopy; I sang the old Burl Ives favorites I remembered from my childhood; I beat on drums and shook maracas; and I danced around the house to a mix of Celtic tunes, Prince, Afro-Pop, and swing. But when he was going to sleep, all he wanted was rhythmic rocking, with none of the noise.

I’ve been interviewed about that experience for The Longest Shortest Time (a fantastic blog exploring, through spoken interviews, “the truth about early motherhood”). Here’s the link, if you want to hear more about my lullaby story:

http://longestshortesttime.com/2010/12/29/your-singing-really-interferes-with-my-going-to-sleep-process/

But I discovered today another  mom who’s faced this same please-don’t-sing-me-a-lullaby issue. Here’s the link to her blog post:

http://thedailyprick.blogspot.com/2011/04/betty-music.html

And, let me just say, to anyone else dealing with unsuccessful lullaby time — if bedtime’s not the right time, just find the time that is. I’m so glad that I continued to be musical with my baby at every other time of the day. Now in 5th grade, he hums and sings his way through life, has taught himself to play the ukulele and guitar, jots song lyrics in his journal, and loves discovering new music to hear, sing and play.

Even so, to this day he still craves silence at bedtime.

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