2:25 Archives - Donna & Andy

Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

Andy Duinker — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:43:21 +0000

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Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Christmas A to Z.

Part of a Song Collection

Christmas A to Z is one of 12 songs from the song collection "It's Christmas Time". Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs in a variety of styles and skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.

Learn more about this fun collection for elementary-aged kids, choirs and solo vocal students.

Purchase print copy from Amazon

Stream and purchase audio tracks

Stream or Purchase Christmas A to Z (It's Christmas Time CD) from many streaming sites including:

Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer.

The It's Christmas Time CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (20) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

Teacher Tips

Concert presentation

Creating a simple introduction to a song can set up the performance without involving a complicated, dramatic script. Here is a short introductory narration I wrote for Christmas A to Z:

Narrator: I can think of lots of things I like about Christmas. Let’s listen to the next class sing at least 26 things that make Christmas a great time of year.

If there are two speakers, here is another option for introducing Christmas A to Z:

Narrator 1: I was trying to think of things that make Christmas special but I keep losing count.

Narrator 2: Let’s listen to the grade 2s. They have organized the whole Christmas season into 26 easy to remember sections.

Visual Cue – flip book

To help students remember the lyrics for the long list of items in Christmas A to Z, create a flip book. It is easy to manage and a great way to provide the visual cues the students may need.

Create a page for each letter
Use card stock to create a more stable book. Note: Laminating may make the image shiny and difficult to see.
Add a simple image for each letter. Be sure that the image can be easily identified from where your students will be standing
Fasten the pages at the top with binder rings so the pages will flip up and over and out of the way.
Hold the flip book in front of you so the students can see it but it isn’t in view of the audience.

An alternate option to the flip book is to create individual cards that are not fastened together. Hold all the cards and remove the top image, placing it out of the way on a music stand, stool or other nearby surface.

Expressive singing

Combining classes is a great way to increase the volume of the performers without requesting that they “sing louder”. Young singers have smaller voices and less ability to project their sound, so a combined group helps address this issue without straining young voices.

If remembering the lyrics is an issue, when combining classes or a small group class in a vocal studio, divide the verses up so there are small groups of students who are responsible for specific letters. Be careful not to create groups that are so small that the volume issue mentioned above becomes problematic.

If a microphone is being used be sure to practice with the students before the concert. They need to know that the microphone is going to do the work of amplifying their voice. They also need to know how close to be to the microphone and get used to using it to allow them to give their best performance.

Alternate lyrics

This song has both Christmas and winter lyrics for versatile concert programming.

Student ukulele lead sheet

A lead sheet with simplified chords (only using D, G and A) is provided for use with ukulele players. NOTE: The simplified chords will clash with the more complicated chords played in the recorded accompaniments. If using piano and ukuleles, the accompanist is advised to follow the ukulele lead sheet and use the same chords supplied in the student version.

Props

Represent each letter on a card or use a letter-shaped cutout.

When each letter is sung, have a student hold up the corresponding card.

If there are more than 26 students, they can hold up cards with pictures of some of the items or include more than one card for each letter.

Composer's Notes

Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z

List songs can be hard to remember unless there is an organizational framework. The alphabet makes a pretty good foundation! I created the words for this song for my students for a school Christmas concert. It was fun to think of all the things that make Christmas special and include those things in the song. I thought the alphabet would help them remember the words, but there were a lot of things! I created a flip book with pictures for each letter which I held up so they could see what to sing for each letter. It turned out to be a fun song (with our helpful lyrics visuals) and it was a successful performance.

In later years, our school Christmas concerts changed and more winter elements were added. This accommodated students who didn’t celebrate Christmas, but who were happy to sing winter songs as part of our concert. The alternate winter lyrics also meant the song could be used any time in our Canadian winter when we wanted to celebrate the winter season. I love versatility and songs that can be used for multiple things. This song filled the repertoire search for a variety of performances using different lyrics to suit each occasion.

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performance video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of Christmas A to Z & Winter A to Z and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Christmas A to Z / Winter A to Z appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Jiggle Wiggle Freeze

Andy Duinker — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 21:44:56 +0000

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Jiggle Wiggle Freeze

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics - original version

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Jiggle Wiggle Freeze.

Audio & Lyrics - extended version

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for the extended version of Jiggle Wiggle Freeze.

Teaching tips

The following teaching tips are explained in more detail in the PDF download.

Use the Donna & Andy performance track and have students concentrate on moving freely and freezing without being responsible for singing the words.
Discuss the actions that will accompany each of the word combinations: jiggle wiggle, zigga zagga and wishy washy.
Suggested actions are provided in the PDF download. However, students will have fun contributing their own movement ideas.
Create your own silly movement words to include in the song.
Add instruments when singing the move and freeze game versions.
Create a tongue twister activity. Have students practice saying the tongue-twisty words before they attempt to sing them.
Create a rhythmic ostinato and add it when singing Jiggle Wiggle Freeze.

Two melody/lyric options are provided for the extended version of Jiggle Wiggle Freeze. Choose the simplified melody for very young singers. The notes can be sung with a bit of a swing or the notes can be sung with even quarter notes. Since the students will be learning the song by rote, the teacher can make this decision and present the song whichever way works best for the students.

Jiggle Wiggle Freeze is an excellent repertoire choice for a concert performance. Students love to share their creative freeze poses and audiences enjoy the energy of this piece!

Composer's Notes

Jiggle Wiggle Freeze

Sometimes a composer writes a song because of an inspiration, a funny thing they have seen, a beautiful sunset, or a heartfelt sentiment they wish to convey. Other times, the need for a song is a practical thing. Such was the case for Jiggle Wiggle Freeze. I had a wiggly group of young students who were expected to perform at the school concert in December after being in school for only a few months. They were not really ready to sing, and they were a lively bunch. I decided to write a movement song for them. I had fun playing with words that had similar sounds, almost like a tongue twister. Students at this age also love to freeze dance, so I added that element into the song. It worked well in our December concert with its connection to the season being the “freeze” part and a small reference to winter weather. The “littles” are always a highly anticipated addition to a school concert and Jiggle Wiggle Freeze allowed them to deliver a simple song, some fun actions and do what they do best – be entertaining for family and friends.

Older students also love to move and freeze, so Jiggle Wiggle Freeze has been pressed into service throughout the year with classes of various ages as they arrive in the music room. We certainly have had fun doing jiggle wiggle, wishy washy, and zigga zagga dance moves, and of course, staying very still for the “freeze” parts!

Part 2 of the story….

In addition to being fun in the classroom, as time went on, Andy and I included Jiggle Wiggle Freeze in our Donna & Andy concert performances at schools and festivals. We created a longer version of the song with instructions that were very clear and easy for children to pick up right away. We also sang the song at a faster speed because one of my super powers is that I can sing lots of words quickly and I find it fun to show off my impressive tongue twister talent!

We went to the studio to record Jiggle Wiggle Freeze with fabulously talented musicians. It was a blast to record this accompaniment in a Dixieland style. It was recorded as we sing it in concert, at a faster speed, which suits my ability to sing rapid-fire lyrics, and we also swing the eighths. We were delighted with the end results and I knew kids will LOVE to move along with this track. However, I was concerned that young singers might find the speed challenging, SO, I simplified the lyrics and the melody to create less repetitions that should be easier for young singers. This way they can enjoy our smoking new studio tracks AND sing along.

I hope teachers will find a version of this song that works for the students in their classrooms and that everyone has fun singing, moving and freezing with Jiggle Wiggle Freeze!

You Are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song and doing the activities with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review of Jiggle Wiggle Freeze. Thanks!

Please send us your performing video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of Jiggle Wiggle Freeze and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Jiggle Wiggle Freeze appeared first on Donna & Andy.

The Compliant Giant

Andy Duinker — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 23:25:25 +0000

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The Compliant Giant

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics - Kids Love Saying/singing - Fee, Fie, Foe, Fum

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the tracks for The Compliant Giant

Piano Accompaniment - with melody guide

Donna's elementary school choir

Donna & Andy - performance

Part of a Song Collection

The Compliant Giant is one of 10 songs from our Donna & Andy CD "A Jolly Bunch Are We". Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs in a variety of styles and skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.

Learn more about this fun collection. Enjoy!

Stream And Purchase Audio Tracks

Stream or Purchase from many streaming sites including: Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer.

The A Jolly Bunch are We CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (20) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

Teaching Tips

Discuss dynamic contrast - loud and soft.

Look at the printed music to find the music symbols that indicate when the music should be louder and when it should be softer.

Locate and discuss the staccato and accent markings. These symbols indicate that specific notes should be sung short/detached or stronger with an accent.

Use dynamics to create interest when singing repeated lines in the song.

If singing in unison, all students will need to be able to sing stronger and then softer to create the dynamic contrast.

Select a small group of students to sing the "fee fie foe fum" responses.

Choose a giant "soloist" to add a dramatic, spoken "fee fie foe fum" at the conclusion of the song.

Speak the lyrics before singing them, working on clear diction and expressive presentation.

Colouring Page - Free download

Download, print and have fun colouring this page while you listen to the song The Compliant Giant.

Composers Notes

The Compliant Giant

You can ask anybody, “Who says, “Fee, fie, fo, fum?” and pretty much every time the answer will be “a giant”. I am not sure who decided that this was true, but it seems to be so. I have some lovely memories of “The Friendly Giant” a Canadian children’s program that aired in the 1960s. This gentle giant often held music parties in his castle where his farm animal friends would join him to play recorder, guitar and harp selections. He also read books and chatted with his friends, Rusty the rooster and Jerome the giraffe. I don’t recall that he ever said “fee fie fo fum”, but I was very young and I might have missed that part. I do know that spending time at the castle with “The Friendly Giant” was a magical 20-minutes of television, every weekday morning during my pre-school years. It was probably appreciated just as much (or more!) by frazzled parents as it was by us children. However, I digress.

Giants are often depicted as something to fear, but my experience was that giants can be friendly and loved by their friends and neighbours. I love rhyming words and playing with word combinations and a compliant giant sounded like a great idea for a song. What did the giant do that gained him the reputation of being compliant? He would have to get along with everyone. Maybe he could be helpful. What could he do? What would I want to do with a giant if I had one in my neighborhood? My giant would be careful, making sure to tiptoe (NEVER running) when moving around the village so he didn’t accidently step on anyone. Maybe he could pick people up and give them rides, or just help them get from point A to point B quickly. But wait, what would a giant eat? Maybe there could be benefits to both sides if the giant helped the people and the people made sure the giant had lots to eat. Now there was a story just waiting to be told, and of course, I had to include “Fee fie foe fum” in the lyrics!

I had a school choir at the time and I decided to write “Compliant Giant” for them. I included an echo (giving twice as many opportunities to sing the fun “fee fie fo fum” lyrics) and I wrote this phrase as a descending minor line with a marching feel to the melody. When I first introduced it in a music class, I had a group of boys who were very interested in singing “like a giant.” I let the students know it would be one of the songs the school choir would be singing in a concert. My giant was compliant and he was also a teeny bit complicit in my overall plan to introduce my students to the love of singing in a choir. The lively interest in the song resulted in many students signing up for choir that term. The choir loved singing about my compliant giant and even hesitant singers got caught up in the fun and joined in. Once they discovered how much fun it was to sing in a choir, they were hooked. I always try to include one “giant” kind of song in my choir repertoire and it always helps young singers make the decision to take part. A giant step for them on the path to life-long music making.

You are Invited

When you have enjoyed singing this song and doing the activities with your students - please drop by again and leave a Review on this page. Thanks!

Please send us your performing video - we might be able to post it on this page!

Send us your video of The Compliant Giant and perhaps we can post it here.

The post The Compliant Giant appeared first on Donna & Andy.