Expressive Storytelling Songs Archives - Donna & Andy

Gramma’s Pajamas

Andy Duinker — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:49:12 +0000

0 shares

Share 0

Share this page using these social links!

Gramma's Pajamas

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Gramma's Pajamas.

Part of a song collection

Gramma's Pajamas is one of 12 songs from the award-winning song collection "Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me". 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. The 123-page book provides the vocal score, full score and separate lyrics pages for 12 songs. Enjoy!

Please note:

Purchase audio tracks separately for the e-book version and Amazon print copies.

Print copies purchased (in North America) from the Donna & Andy website include the CD (24 tracks).

Stream and purchase audio tracks

Stream or Purchase from many streaming sites including:

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

The Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (24) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

11 - Cross-curricular Activities

11 Cross-curricular activities are provided in the PDF download extending the focus of this song to other subject areas including:

Fine arts: music, visual art, design
Language Arts
Math
Science
Social Studies
Technology

Teaching Tips

Teaching Tips

Introduce the song

- Invite students to share a favourite story about their grandmother.

- Discuss the story of this song.

Explore the Score

Find the syncopated rhythms.

Clap the rhythms.

After the teacher claps the rhythm (bar by bar, or in short phrases) have the students echo. This rote approach helps students connect what they hear with the rhythms they are reading.

Explore intervals (octave jumps) and notes affected by accidentals.

Expressive Singing

Use dynamics, facial expression and clear diction to sing expressively as you present this humorous story to your audience.

What emotions will you convey as you sing?

Humor, frustration, exhaustion, etc.

Performance Presentation

Plan what you will do during the instrumental interlude.

- Add hand clapping or foot stomping

- Pantomime Gramma wearing her lacy pajamas and giggling

- Add props like a glass of hot milk or a toy sheep

Colouring Page - Download

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring this page while you listen to the song Gramma's Pajamas.

Composer's Notes

Gramma's Pajamas

I grew up in a rambling farmhouse that included two kitchens and two living rooms. This “double house” setup accommodated my grandmother who lived with us for my whole life. It was great to be able to slip over to Gram’s kitchen for a treat or a snack when Mom’s mealtime options didn’t appeal to our taste buds. Gram also usually had a treat or two, including “store boughten” cookies. We considered this a treat, but her homemade chocolate chip cookies were also delicious and certainly worth eating.

Upstairs, a common hall connected all the bedrooms. My bedroom was across the hall from Gram’s. Sometimes Gram snored and it was loud enough that I could hear her from across the hall. Of course she denied being responsible for this nighttime din, but one afternoon when she was napping, my sisters and I crawled on hands and knees into her room to record her magnificent snoring. We presented the evidence to her later. She insisted it wasn’t really her and that we had just made up the recording ourselves.

When I first started writing this song, Gram’s snoring was the inspiration. However, my Gram was a proud and proper lady, and would have been mortified to have anyone know that she snored. So, I replaced the snoring details with lyrics about Gramma giggling from being tickled by the lace on her pink nightie and Gram’s reputation was left intact. Until now, I guess!

This song took a long time to write. I had the idea for the first line of the song in 1992. I couldn’t seem to figure out how I wanted the song to go, and the chorus and melodies for the verses kept getting mixed up. I would work on it and then put it away without completing it. In 2005, we (Donna & Andy) began planning for our Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me CD. I knew the bluegrass style of the song would be a fun addition to our CD and I decided to put on a real push to finish it. The musicians we hired to create the bluegrass instrumental track brought the music alive and the result is one of my favourite tracks on the CD. Sometimes song writing takes a long time. I am glad I kept my scraps of notes and didn’t throw them away. In this case, I think the thirteen-year wait was worth it.

You're Invited

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

Included in this

12 Song Collection

Send us your video of Gramma's Pajamas and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Gramma’s Pajamas appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Winter Concert Songs for Children – Vol. 1 – Grades K-1 (ages 5-7)

Andy Duinker — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:31:12 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

Winter Concert Songs - Vol. 1

Grades K-1 (ages 5-7)

by Donna Rhodenizer

Composer - music and lyrics details

Music and lyrics - Donna Rhodenizer

Five Little Snowflakes / Five Shiny Stars
Jiggle Wiggle Freeze!
See My Little Candle / See the Snowflakes Falling

Traditional music - Donna Rhodenizer lyrics

Winter A to Z

Traditional words and music - arrangement Donna Rhodenizer

Jingle Bells Scarf Activity

Option - purchase songs separately

Print copies Available on Amazon

Print copies are available on Amazon.

Go to Donna's Amazon Author Page to purchase your print copy.

Also, click the "Follow" button to get notified when additional new books become available.

Teaching Tips

In this book, Donna explores topics that must be considered by music teachers planning concerts for singers in Kindergarten – grade 1, ages 5-7

Factors to keep in mind when choosing music
Ways to keep a concert program interesting without over burdening young children with excessive amounts of lyrics
Choosing Repertoire
Dealing with small voices in large performance spaces
Non-singers

Composer's Notes

Winter Concert Songs for Children - Vol.1 - Grades K-1 (age 5-7)

Each song in this collection has its own story of how it came to be written and when it was first used. Overall, this collection is a result of many years of presenting concert programs with my elementary school students. I LOVE planning concerts that are fun for the children to sing and enjoyable for family and friends who attend the performance. Over the years I have needed songs for my youngest students to sing. By writing my own songs I have ensured that they meet the very specific set of criteria that I feel is required to make them worth singing and that help ensure their success. It was fun to put some of these songs together in a collection that I know will help music teachers with their concert planning process. There is no need to reinvent the wheel! I am happy to share these songs and imagine all the smiling faces as kids sing them and make musical memories of their own.

You Are Invited

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

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

Winter Concert Songs - Vol. 1 - Grades K-1 (age 5-7)

Five Little Snowflakes

Jiggle Wiggle Freeze

Jingle Bells - scarf activity

See My Little Candle

Winter A to Z

Send us your videos of these Winter Concert Songs and perhaps we can post them here.

The post Winter Concert Songs for Children – Vol. 1 – Grades K-1 (ages 5-7) appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Fluffy Flakes of Snow

Andy Duinker — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:16:43 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

Fluffy Flakes of Snow

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Fluffy Flakes of Snow.

Teaching Tips

Teaching Tips

Introduce the song

Have a discussion about activities the students enjoy doing when it snows.

Has anyone ever tried to catch a snowflake on their tongue?

Do they get together with friends to enjoy outdoor activities?

Expressive singing

This song tells a story about enjoying a snowy day with friends. Use dynamics, facial expression and clear diction to sing expressively as you present this story to your audience.

Syncopation

The melody has a syncopated feel to it because many phrases begin with a rest on beat one. Beat one is usually a stronger sounding beat and the rest shifts the accent to land on beat two. This shifting of the accent creates a syncopated feeling.

To practice this syncopation, clap or stamp on beat one to create the space of the rest. Once you are comfortable with how it feels to start the phrases on beat two, leave out the clap or stamp.

Score study

Study the score to find the following elements and discuss how they work in the song:

Swing the eighths
Rests on beat one
First and second endings
Accidentals
Additional Score Markings

The PDF download includes information about these musical elements.

Composer's Notes

Fluffy Flakes of Snow

I was driving to my mom’s house, an hour away from where I live. I was thinking it would be nice to have a new winter song for the lower elementary grades to sing so I was trying to think of a simple song as I was driving. Being in a vehicle with the monotony of the tire noise is a good time to block out the world and think about song ideas. However, this particular day everything I tried out for ideas seemed too contrived or too uninteresting and I arrived at my destination without any new songs to show for my efforts.

The next morning when I got up, I was humming to myself and this perky little tune was what “came out”. I grabbed paper and a pen and jotted down the tune and the words for the first line, “Lots of flakes of snow are falling.” I discussed my new song with Andy (as I often do) and we bounced a few lyric ideas around to find alternate words to describe the flakes of snow. We settled on “fluffy flakes” because the alliterations are such fun to sing! Although my original intention was a song for the youngest elementary students, this song is really a grade 2-3 level or higher, but when a song is being delivered by the muse, one does not quibble about such details!

I added the second “verse” lyrics as we were editing the score to be uploaded and published. I was wondering how to explain to the singers the reasoning behind singing exactly the same words twice, so by adding one small change, I had a reason for that repeat. It won’t be hard for the singers to learn one additional line and they will have a two-verse song.

You're Invited

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

Send us your video of Fluffy Flakes of Snow and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Fluffy Flakes of Snow appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Hello Ghostie!

Andy Duinker — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 17:37:32 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

Hello Ghostie!

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Hello Ghostie!.

Art Song style

Teaching Tips

Teaching Tips

Style study

Hello Ghostie! is written with two different accompaniment styles.

Sea Shanty style

The song has a jaunty, rollicking feel with heavy chordal accompaniment.

How will the story be presented in this style?

Art Song Style

Hello Ghostie! is also provided with an accompaniment written in an art song style.

How will the song be sung differently within this style?

Singers should sing expressively in both accompaniment styles.

Expressive singing

Dramatic interpretation and expressive singing can be incorporated in the responses to the ghost at the door.

Sing “Hello Ghostie” different ways:

bravely
anxiously
curiously

When singing repeated lyrics “Hello Ghostie. How are you today?” each chorus can be sung with the same emotional response, or singers may choose to sing each response with a different emotion each time.

See the “Singer’s Notes” included with the PDF download. The composer, Donna Rhodenizer, has written instructions to the singers who will be interpreting the song.

Add percussion

The purpose of a sea shanty was to have a song that could be sung while doing tasks such as pulling rigging ropes when sailors would need to work together. Singing songs with a strong and steady beat provided the reference for all the sailors to pull at the same time, therefore being most efficient and productive.

Add percussion to Hello Ghostie! The PDF download includes specific percussion suggestions to try. Singers also are invited to create a percussion part to include in the performance.

Composer's Notes

Hello Ghostie!

Halloween songs can be a great teaching tool. They often include minor tonalities, lots of “oohs” and other sound effects, and topics that are mysterious and fun to sing. These songs tie in with the anticipation children experience leading up to Halloween festivities at the end of October. However, in my music classroom some students didn’t partake in any Halloween observances. Ghosts in particular are a sticky subject. Are they real? Are they just stories? Some kids believe strongly, other do not and others are not sure. Where does my responsibility lie when students look to me for opinions?

Hello Ghostie! was written as a way of giving young singers some tools for dealing with ghosts in general. Not to present ghosts as scary, horror-movie kind of creatures, but acting like regular people by walking up to a house and knocking on the door to have a visit. How would you react if you heard a knock at the door and when you opened it, a ghost was standing there? There are certainly a variety of possible reactions and I explored both afraid and brave responses for different verses. This makes for an interesting expressive singing exercise for singers. How will they sing a chorus with the same words but conveying different emotions? Will they sing each repetition of “Hello Ghostie” with changing emotions or keep it all the same within each chorus? I also composed the ending with room for interpretation. The singer must decide if they finish with brave confidence or maybe after all their bravado, a few doubts are still lingering and they aren’t quite sure of the outcome.

Composing the accompaniment for Hello Ghostie! was an interesting journey. Sea shanty songs are popular with young singers (and older ones too!) and this song fit that style very well. That is the style I wanted for my song. However, when I first framed out the accompaniment, I wrote out simple chords, basically to get the chord structure. This was a more sedate musical style and it also works well with the song. That meant I had to decide – but then again, maybe not! I decided to provide both accompaniment versions so singers can decide which accompaniment suits their needs. It also creates a neat learning experience to compare two styles of accompaniment that make a song sound different, even though the melody and words are exactly the same for both versions. I am always interested in encouraging musical exploration and creativity.

I like writing songs where the singer has the opportunity to make musical decisions about their performance – which should happen every time someone sings, but often does not. It is one of the most difficult things I do as a composer to commit myself to one specific interpretation of a song. There are so many options and there are reasons to include or omit different dynamics in a song. In the teaching tips for this song, I included specific notes written to the singer instructing them to make the song their own by adding the dynamics they think work best, even if that means ignoring what I wrote in the score. It will be interesting to experience a variety of performances of this song as it develops its own personality in the singing world.

You're Invited

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

Send us your video of Hello Ghostie! and perhaps we can post it here.

The post Hello Ghostie! appeared first on Donna & Andy.

Ed the Invisible Dragon – Illustrated Children’s Book

Andy Duinker — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 15:49:57 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

Ed the Invisible Dragon

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the song as you read Ed the Invisible Dragon.

Stream and Purchase Audio Tracks / CD

Stream or Purchase Ed the Invisible Dragon from many streaming sites including: Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Deezer ...etc.

"Ed" is also available on the Donna & Andy CD Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me

Also:

Do an online search and find Ed the Invisible Dragon all over the internet.

Colouring Page - download

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring this page while you listen to the song Ed the Invisible Dragon.

Author/Composer's Notes

Ed the Invisible Dragon

Ed was inspired by my three boys who seemed to think that the Lego blocks left scattered about on the floor could not have possibly been left there by them. My response was to imagine that some invisible house guest must be making all the messes. Ed, the invisible dragon was the result.

The first children to sing this song were my students at Gaspereau Valley Elementary School in Nova Scotia, Canada. Some of those students went with me to a recording studio where we recorded a cassette that included Ed, the Invisible Dragon plus several other songs I had written. I created a printed book to go with the cassette and made it available to music teachers and other interested folks. This foray into publicly presenting my songs was exuberantly embraced by my mother, who loves to sell things. I think she single-handedly sold most of the first run of those books and cassettes. In any case, Ed and the other songs in that collection started to become well known within music education circles. Over 40 years later, Ed is still going strong. He has travelled to almost every continent, being sung by elementary school children and vocal studio singers in countries around the world. He has worked his way into music festivals, Royal Conservatory vocal exams, school concerts and vocal studio recitals.

Ed was one of the very first songs I sang with Andy Duinker and Wendy LaPierre as a trio performing music for children. As we went on to establish a career as the singing duo, Donna & Andy, Ed has been with us every step of the way. The song Ed the Invisible Dragon has been enthusiastically received by school children at Donna & Andy concerts for the past 30 years.

From early on, we thought Ed would make a great illustrated children’s book. It was a dream that took a long time to come true. We started working with artist, Matth Cupido who painted the covers for all our book and CD covers. We had many philosophical discussions about Ed’s invisibility. Is he invisible, but a solid being? Is he invisible and like a ghost that doesn’t take up any physical space? Is he real at all, or only to the child in the song? There was much we didn’t know how to answer about Ed. Matth’s first renditions of Ed included him wearing a hat. Matth asked us if Ed had hair. We didn’t really know. We were at the mercy of the paint brush!

Sadly, Matth passed away before we had time to work on the illustrated book for Ed, the Invisible Dragon. We had to put our illustrated book plans on hold for several years. Eventually, we were delighted to find out that Richard Bennett, a music teacher colleague of mine, was also an artist. Being retired, he had some time on his hands, and he agreed to try his hand at creating art for our book. We had great fun revisiting the philosophical points we had discussed with Matth. We still didn’t have all the answers! We threw ideas at Richard and he sent us sketches and drafts of wonderful artistic ideas. Richard was a good sport to take on the task of creating an illustrated picture book featuring an invisible dragon. All the pictures cannot be of the dragon hiding behind different objects. At some point, that dragon has to come out from behind the tree and be seen by someone! It took almost four years to bring this project to completion, and for a while, it seemed like Ed might stay hidden away forever. However, we are excited that Ed is finally ready to take this new form to be shared with the world.

Ed, the Invisible Dragon, the illustrated children’s book, is now ready to take its place on the shelf along with earlier iterations: a cassette, a CD, a printed music book, and a single song digital download. I can’t wait to see where he will show up next!

"Ed for Education"

Free Download

You are invited to download the complete Ed the Invisible Dragon music package including 19 cross-curricular activities FREE when you use coupon code EDFOREDUCATION or edforeducation at checkout. (does not include illustrated book)

Free Download includes:

Vocal score
Director/piano score
Lyrics
Accompaniment – with melody guide
Accompaniment – piano
Donna & Andy band – instrumental track
Donna & Andy – performance track
Ed For Education – 19 Cross-curricular Activities in various subject areas including Fine Arts: music, visual art, and drama, Physical Activity, Science and Technology

Enjoy!

Part of a Song Collection

The song Ed the Invisible Dragon is one of 12 songs from the Juno-nominated song collection "Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me" Donna Rhodenizer has written these songs using a variety of styles including lullaby/tango, bluegrass, blues and pop in a variety of skill levels for singers from ages 5-12+.

Learn more about this fun collection for elementary-aged kids, choirs and solo vocal students. The 122-page song book provides the vocal score, full score and separate lyrics pages for 12 songs. Enjoy!

Please note: audio tracks for the e-book version are sold separately. Print copies of the book include CD (24 tracks)

The print book (Dinosaurs, Dragons and Me - song collection - without CD) is also available on Amazon

Performance videos

Ed the Invisible Dragon has been performed by thousands of young vocal students and elementary school students around the world.

You can see performance videos further down this page. Enjoy!

Also available on Amazon

Print copies are also available on Amazon.

Also, go to Donna's Amazon Author Page and click the "Follow" button to get notified when additional new books become available.

You Are Invited

Please drop by again and leave a Review of Ed the Invisible Dragon on this page. Thanks!

"Ed" is on this CD

Ed the Invisible Dragon - music performances

Here are a few of many performances of "Ed".

Enjoy!

The post Ed the Invisible Dragon – Illustrated Children’s Book appeared first on Donna & Andy.

It’s a Pirate’s Life for Me

Andy Duinker — Fri, 23 May 2025 19:22:08 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

It's a Pirate's Life for Me

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio Sample

Listen to melody + accompaniment for It's a Pirate's Life for Me as you follow along with the lyrics.

Part of a song collection

It's a Pirate's Life for Me is one of 12 songs from the award-winning song collection "Blue Skies and Pirates". Donna Rhodenizer and Andy Duinker have 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. The 112-page book provides the vocal score, full score and separate lyrics pages for 12 songs. Enjoy!

Please note: audio tracks for the e-book version are sold separately. Print copies of the book include CD (24 tracks)

Stream and purchase audio tracks

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

The Blue Skies and Pirates CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (24) are available as download or physical CD on this website.

Teaching tips

Introducing the song

Read the lyrics aloud.
Discuss any unfamiliar words.
Have a discussion

Do students think it would be fun to be a pirate with a talking parrot and the ability to sail a ship wherever they want to go?
Has anyone ever seen or heard a talking parrot?

Lyric options

Two options for lyrics are provided for line two of verse three.
Decide if you want to sing about a pirate with a sword, or if you prefer to have the pirate sleeping.
The teacher may make this decision before introducing the song, and two separate lyric sheets are provided to accommodate this lyric choice. It is also an option to have the students vote on their preference.

Performance suggestions

Add simple props – striped shirts, bandanas, toy parrots and fake tattoos (An eyeliner is a great tool for creating temporary tattoos).

Include special pirate “soloists” to present the spoken response, “To the sea!” Invite soloists to give different interpretations of the “to the sea!” response.

Loud / soft
High pitched/ low pitched
Changing their natural voice to sound more gruff, or silly, or…..

Small group classes, elementary music classroom singers or choirs may be divided into small solo groups to sing the verses as small solo sections. This helps lighten lyric memorization demands for younger singers.

Home schoolers

Create a ship by organizing a group of chairs, turning a table upside down, or using a cardboard box.

Pretend to be pirates as you listen to the song and sing along.

Have fun!

Colouring page

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring this page while you listen to the song It's a Pirate's Life for Me

Composer's Notes

Some songs seem to “arrive” without much fuss. This is one of those songs. I don’t remember what sparked my imagination and got me started writing, but it was a simple process to include all the clichés associated with pirates as I wrote lyrics for the verses. It is great fun to include participatory bits in a song that I know the students will love to sing. The exuberant call, “To the sea!” is that kind of fun element that draws kids into the singing experience. Often the songs I write reflect the fact that I am the mother of three energetic boys. If I could write lyrics and keep my own three livewires interested, it was a good indication of how it would go for the general child population that eventually sings my songs.

The recording process for this song was also a blast. Our Donna & Andy recordings have all been recorded using the talents of the best musicians we can find. It’s a Pirate’s Life for Me was recorded for the CD: Bue Skies and Pirates, with lots of blues and jazz influenced tunes. The “heavyweights” we hired to record our tracks were high-end, well-known jazz musicians and musical monsters who are able to play with incredible skill. We took courage in hand and requested each of these highly respected musicians to add a spoken response, “to the sea!” to include on this track. At first, we thought nobody would agree, but as each musician contributed their pirate interpretation, their inner child became very evident. As the voices started accumulating, efforts were made to stand out in the group of voices. they tried to be louder, they laughed at each other, they asked to re-do their part if they thought they could do a better take. They were silly, they were earnest and they had fun!

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!

Send us your performance video - perhaps we might post it on this page!

Send us your video of It's a Pirate's Life for Me and perhaps we can post it here.

The post It’s a Pirate’s Life for Me appeared first on Donna & Andy.

My Hamster

Andy Duinker — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 23:35:13 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

My Hamster

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio Sample

Listen to melody + accompaniment for My Hamster as you follow along with the lyrics.

Part of a song collection

My Hamster is one of 12 songs from the award-winning song collection "Computer Cat". 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. The 93-page book provides the vocal score, full score and separate lyrics pages for 12 songs. Enjoy!

Please note: audio tracks for the e-book version are sold separately. Print copies of the book include CD (24 tracks)

Stream and purchase audio tracks

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

The Computer Cat CD (Donna & Andy performance and instrumental) tracks (24) are available for download or physical CD on this website.

Teaching tips

Introducing the song

Starting a conversation with students about their pets is certain to result in many stories. If students do not have a pet, they can discuss an animal they would like to have as a pet.

The pet in this song is a hamster. Somehow the hamster has gone missing. The singer thinks the hamster has run away. Perhaps it is because he would prefer different food, or perhaps he thinks the owner is hogging the blankets when they are sleeping at night. Ask the students what reasons they think might have caused the hamster to leave his cage and subsequently go missing. Don’t rule out a hamster who is looking for adventure, long lost relatives or maybe, like our school hamster, he just wanted to go to the gym for a workout and then got lost before he could return!

Score study

My Hamster is written in 3/4 time. This may be a less familiar meter for younger singers. Include activities to explore 3/4 meter.

While the teacher taps the beat, have the students clap or say the rhythm duration syllables for the rhythm of the lyrics.
Switch and have the students tap the beat while the teacher says or claps the rhythm.
Sway to the beat, changing direction on beat one of every bar. Add a scarf to this motion to assist with a visual cue for the flow of 3-beat meter.
Have the students use a 3-beat conducting pattern as they listen to the music for My Hamster.

For students who are having a difficult time with the feeling of 3/4 time, ask permission to tap on their shoulder and then gently tap the beat as they sing the song. Tap beat one with a slight accent to assist with the recognition of three-beat groupings.

Harmony singing

My Hamster includes an alto harmony part.

Introduce the harmony part after the melody line is well internalized.

Teach the harmony line on its own.

Have the harmony part sung by a student who is more experienced and able to sing an independent line to create harmony with the melody.

When adding the harmony line to the melody, have the teacher provide support by singing the harmony line with the student while playing the melody on the piano.

If the student finds it difficult to sustain their part while another part is being played or sung, invite them to cup their hands behind their ears so they can hear their own voice more strongly. We call this “elephant ears”. It allows the sound of their own voice to be captured and sound stronger while still being able to hear the other part being sung.

Expressive singing

Use good breath energy and create long, legato phrases.

Use clear diction so the story can be understood.

Use dynamics to create musical interest and highlight the lyrics as part of your expressive performance.

19 cross-Curricular activities

19 Cross-curricular activities are provided in the PDF download extending the focus of this song to other subject areas including:

Fine arts: music, visual art, dance
Language arts
Math
Social studies
Technology

Colouring page

Download (pdf), print and have fun colouring this page while you listen to the song My Hamster.

Composer's Notes

The grade five class at our school had a hamster. One day they arrived to find the hamster cage empty. The morning announcements featured the grade five request for anyone seeing their hamster to return him, or let the class know he was okay. I decided to write them a song when I heard their beloved hamster was missing. I am pleased to report that after three days, the hamster was indeed found, alive and well. He was in a bin of basketballs in the gym, down two flights of stairs and at the opposite end of the school. No one knows how he got there, but we know he must have been in good shape after navigating all those stairs and hanging out in the gym for three days!

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 My Hamster and perhaps we can post it here.

The post My Hamster appeared first on Donna & Andy.

A Birdly Debate

Andy Duinker — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:58:29 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

A Birdly Debate

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for A Birdly Debate.

Coldbrook & District Elementary School

(director - Joanna MacPhee Simpson) in rehearsal with composer Donna Rhodenizer. The singers (grades 4 & 5) are demonstrating the ending with the Cuckoo wining the debate.

This was a March rehearsal leading up to the school's year end concert in June.

Teacher Tips

Expressive singing

Use clear, crisp diction for the repeated “cuckoo” and “rat-a-tat tat” lyrics.

The melodic placement of the “cuckoos” provides the opportunity to work on singing with a light upper register tone.

Discuss how to create a contrast between the major and minor sections. The tonality, staccato or legato phrases and dynamics all play a part in creating the contrast.

Discuss the term leggiero at the beginning of each B section. How will that expressive instruction affect the way the singer will sing in this section?

Find the rit. at the end of each C section. Following this marking creates a final bit of drama and highlights the shift between the minor and major tonalities.

Composing

Decide on the final outcome of the song. This may require compromise if there are varied opinions regarding which ending should be sung. Try not to get into a singers debate!

When composing the two endings, I was thinking that the cat either manages to eat one bird or two. However, without specific details provided, that outcome is open to interpretation. If students feel better with no carnivorous activity taking place, it is certainly possible that the cat scared away the woodpecker, leaving the cuckoo to declare its status as the "winner" of the debate. Teachers are encouraged to discuss this background information with students as they make their decision about the song ending!

Call and Response

A Birdly Debate has three sections.

Section A – dialogue between the two birds

Section B – cuckoo and rat-a-tat tat alternating lyrics

Section C – minor tonality and dealing with the cat

The sections can be managed in a variety of ways with unison sections or the lyrics divided between two groups of singers using call and response.

Call and response provides the opportunity for singers to add different perspectives and hone their expressive singing skills as each singer or group expressively represents the view of “their” bird.
Call and response helps singers develop musical independence, an early introduction to a skill used for harmony singing.

The teacher and student(s) may decide together how much of the song will be sung back and forth between the two groups and which sections will be sung in unison.

Part options:

Sing sections A and C in unison. In the B section, divide the singers into a “cuckoo” group and a “rat-a-tat tat” group. Each group will sing only their words alternating back and forth (call and response style) through this section.
Divide all cuckoo and rat-a-tat-tat lyrics between the two groups of singers. This will mean the A section and the B section will include the call and response treatment of the lyrics.
Divide the dialogue lyrics so each group only sings the lyrics that correspond with the bird they are representing.

The PDF download includes more detailed instructions and suggestions for dividing the song between two parts.

Ensemble Singing

It may be helpful to involve a director to assist a small ensemble with the call and response sections and help singers stay together. If a director is part of the performance, singers will need to practice watching carefully for direction.

Without a director, singers need to listen carefully to each other so call and response sections flow seamlessly one to the other.

When practicing the 2-part version of this song, have the two groups face each other to help the singers hear and respond to the other part more clearly.

Composer's Notes

A Birdly Debate

Inspiration for a song can come in a variety of ways. This song was written because of another cuckoo song I saw in a book. The song included repeated cuckoo lyrics but they were hard to sing and the song didn’t really work for me. For some reason, that sparked the idea of two birds talking back and forth. What would they talk about? Would they argue about who was the superior bird? I jotted down ideas and knew it was going to work as a song when it made me laugh as I was writing.

The cat showed up, almost the same as it does in the song, skulking about the edges of my thought process and inserting itself into the story. I wrote two different endings for the song. I thought both had merit and I couldn’t decide which one to include. My kids used to read “choose your own ending” books. I decided to include both lyric options and leave it up to the singer to choose the ending. As much as it was really a copout on my part not to make the choice, I also think it is fun for the singer to have a bit of say in the matter. I have tried to sing this song with Andy dividing up the cuckoo and rat-a-tat tats back and forth and we usually end up laughing. When the Coldbrook & District School Grade 4-5 Choir (in Nova Scotia) premiered A Birdly Debate, they did a super job and gave this song a good start in the world! Congratulations to the singers and their teacher, Joanna MacPhee Simpson.

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 A Birdly Debate and perhaps we can post it here.

The post A Birdly Debate appeared first on Donna & Andy.

My Chihuahua

Andy Duinker — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:24:25 +0000

0 shares

Share this page with your Teacher Friends 0

Share this page using these social links!

My Chihuahua

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for My Chihuahua.

Melody guide + accompaniment (piano)

Melody guide + accompaniment (band)

Teacher Tips

Make a connection with the song topic

Initiate a discussion by asking students to share information about their pets. This creates a connection between the students and the subject matter of the song. Pets are important members of the family in many homes. Opening a discussion about pets will result in a variety of stories and multiple students who want to share.

“Time management” tip: In a classroom with a large number of students, find ways to include all the students without spending an entire class on pet stories! It is important to find ways to give students the opportunity to share without using up all the teaching time with stories.

Some options to “streamline” multiple answers include:

- Put up one hand if you have a dog/cat/hamster, etc.

- If you have more than one dog/cat, etc., hold up fingers to show how many

- If you have more than one kind of pet hold up two hands

- Hands up if your family had this pet before you were born

- Put up your hand if you have a pet (any number, any kind). Put your hand down when the teacher says the animal that is your pet. When there are only two or three hands still up, ask those students to share what pet they have.

Introduce the song

This song is about a specific kind of dog.

Ask students if they know anything about chihuahuas.

Find pictures or images to share to familiarize them with this breed of dog.

What are some characteristics of chihuahuas?

Expressive singing

Find the repeated words and phrases that will need to be sung with clear, crisp consonants so the lyrics can be understood. The expressive presentation of these repeated lyrics also add a humorous feeling to the song.

The singer’s task is to present the song authentically so the audience is convinced that the singer truly thinks a chihuahua is the best dog ever!

Accidentals

My Chihuahua is written in a major key. However accidentals are used to briefly change the tonal feeling of the song.

Using the vocal score, locate the bars where accidentals are added (bar 20 in each of the first two verses, and also in bars 38, 42 and 46).

Sing this melodic figure several times to internalize the altered notes before singing the song in its entirety.

Sing the altered notes with confidence so they sound like they belong in the melody (which they do!) and enjoy the interesting melodic colour they add to the song.

Composer's Notes

There have been a variety of dogs in my life, mostly family pets I remember from when I was a young child. Dogs were useful on our family farm but we also regarded them as beloved family members. Most of our dogs were larger and family and friends also had large dogs such as German shepherds, Irish setters and Labrador retrievers, to name a few. The one exception was the small chihuahua owned by my aunt and uncle. “Cleo” was a short-haired little dog with protruding eyes and a jaunty little tail. I remember Cleo’s little toenails clicking on the floor when my uncle would get him to dance for us.

As an adult, I also had the opportunity to meet Diago, a feisty chihuahua who truly lived up to his name. He had a sturdy, wide chest (for a chihuahua) and short stubby legs. His best trick was when his owners would say “Sing, Diago” and he would plant his feet, throw back his head and howl in a most impressive operatic style. He had a big voice for a little dog! I don’t think he understood that he was the smallest individual in the room, and if he did realize that, I am sure it didn’t matter to him at all. He was a fun chihuahua with lots of confidence!

It was good to be able to tap into all this dog experience when writing My Chihuahua, but one might wonder why I chose that topic at all. I had written about a pet hamster (Pickles) after a request from my friend, Nikki Loney at Full Voice Music. A voice teacher who had used Pickles with her students contacted Nikki asking if she might be able to have a chihuahua song written. In turn, Nikki contacted me just in case it might spark an idea for a song. I jotted down the idea in one of my song-idea notebooks and every now and then I would push around lyrics that I thought might work, but I didn’t ever really work on it seriously. I finally got around to writing the song two years later! My Chihuahua is a fun and spicy little song, and I think Diago would approve.

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!

More Dog Songs

Sing more dog songs written by Donna Rhodenizer

It's Raining Cats and Dogs
I Got a Sister (but I wanted a dog)
Cyril, the Sausage Dog
Cat and Dog Canons
Dogs Hide Bones (singing game) (included in New Singing Games for Young Singers Vol. 1 & Vol. 2)

Send us your video of My Chihuahua and perhaps we can post it here.

The post My Chihuahua appeared first on Donna & Andy.

A Robin’s Tale

Andy Duinker — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 21:29:37 +0000

0 shares

Share this page using these social links!

A Robin's Tale

by Donna Rhodenizer

Audio & Lyrics

Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for A Robin's Tale.

Teacher Tips

Introducing the song

Pre-singing discussion connects students’ interest to the song content. Questions may include:

Have you ever seen a robin pulling worms out of the lawn?

How do you think they know where the worms are? Do they hear the worms? Do they feel the vibration with their feet? (Both would be amazing skills!)

What facts do you know about robins?

Do you have a favourite bird?

Score Study

Dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

The melody of A Robin’s Tale is written with dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

While the teacher sings the song, have the students listen and follow the score.

Find all the bars where there are dotted quarter note/eighth note combinations.

Have students tap or clap the rhythm of the song as the teacher sings one more time.

Have half the students sing the song and the other half tap the rhythm. Switch.

Phrases

Listen for phrases that are the same or almost the same. Finding these similar phrases helps when learning the melody of the song.

Major/minor tonality

The B section of A Robin’s Tale is written in a minor key for a few short bars. Find the bars that are written in the minor key. Where does the melody return to the major tonality?

Expressive Singing

Use good breath energy to sing the long, legato phrases.

Breath marks show where the singer will take a breath even thought the notes look like there is no spot to breathe. Take as much time as needed to take a comfortable breath.

How will you sing differently to create a contrast in the B section when the melody is written in the minor key?

Use clear diction so the story can be understood.

Add dynamics to create musical interest and highlight the lyrics as part of your expressive performance.

Composer's Notes

I enjoy watching the birds in my backyard. A bird feeder of seeds encourages certain birds to make regular visits. Robins don’t frequent the feeder. They prefer worms and stay on the lawn to forage for their snacks. The robins hop from spot to spot. It is interesting to watch the tug-of-war that ensues when they locate a worm and try to pull it from its hiding spot. Because they eat worms and grubs, robins leave Canada to go to warmer climates for the winter. We know spring has arrived when they show up again. A Robin’s Tale was written as I watched this vignette playing out in the backyard. Andy and I worked on the words together and we ended up with this short song for young singers.

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 A Robin's Tale and perhaps we can post it here.

The post A Robin’s Tale appeared first on Donna & Andy.