Under My Bed
$7.50 – $22.00
Under My Bed is about the things that might be found under a bed. Are they things that have been hidden when cleaning, or are they treasures squirrelled away for safekeeping? Perhaps there are things that need to be secretly stashed to keep them safe from little brothers. Maybe it is just a room cleaning strategy that will get you in trouble with your parents!
The accompaniment includes chord changes that may be unexpected, but which support the lyrical melody. The melody has easily accessible intervals combined with stepwise passages. The B section is written with shifts between major and minor tonalities providing melodic contrast before returning to the dreamy opening melody. The range of the song fits comfortably in the D4-D5 range that is ideal for the developing voices of young singers. It is likely that singers will enjoy singing about cleaning under their bed more than they enjoy the cleaning process itself!
Listen to melody + accompaniment – sample:
Download Includes:
- Vocal score
- Lead sheet
- Director/piano score
- Lyrics
- Accompaniment – with melody guide
- Accompaniment – piano
- Teaching Tips
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Under My Bed
Follow along with the lyrics as you listen to the accompaniment with melody guide for Under My Bed.
Introducing the song
Ask students if they have ever found something valuable to them that they thought they had lost. What was that item?
How many students enjoy cleaning their room?
How many students leave the cleaning job until they are reminded it is a task they must do?
Score Study
FORM
Under My Bed is written in ABA form. The beginning and ending sections use the same melody, written in a major key. The B section shifts between major and minor tonalities, providing melodic contrast before returning to the A section. Locate the bars where the B section begins and ends.
TONALITY
Although there is a change in tonality in the B section, the key signature does not change. The tonality shift is created using accidentals.
Find the bars which include accidentals. Discuss which notes are affected and how the accidentals change the pitch of the notes.
FIRST AND SECOND ENDINGS
This two-verse song is written using first and second endings.
Look carefully at the score before singing to determine where the repeat sign is located (end of bar 37) and the bar to which you will repeat (go back to bar 1 and wait for the piano re-intro).
When you arrive at bar 35 the second time, you will jump to the second ending.
Expressive Singing
Find the bars which contain triplet figures. The three notes will sound a bit “lazy” as the notes are sung over a 2-beat portion of the bar.
Find the bars where there are tempo changes indicated. (Bars 23, 24 and 26). Use these tempo changes to emphasize the lyrics and create an expressive performance.
There are many natural places to breath written into the melody of Under My Bed. The melody also includes longer phrases. Notice where the longer phrases are and work on breath energy to support singing the phrase in one breath. If the phrase is too long to be comfortable for the singer, decide where a breath will be taken. Look closely at the lyrics to choose a spot that keeps the feeling of the lyric line intact. Mark your breathing spot in the score to assist consistent practice.
Find the dynamics written in the score. Use these dynamic contrasts as part of your expressive performance.
Under My Bed
Childhood memories are often a great source for song inspiration. As a young person I shared a room with my older sister. We were close in age but worlds apart when it came to our organizational skills and cleaning habits. At some point we discussed drawing a line down the middle of the room to keep the peace! If my sister wanted to buy something but was short on cash, she would pull everything out from under her bed and she was sure to find a bit of loose change. Strangely enough she grew up to be a very tidy housekeeper whereas I grew up to be a musician who would rather leave the housework for later so I could be creating music of some sort. Under My Bed captures a bit of that “stuff everything under the bed, out of sight out of mind” room-cleaning method I observed from my side of the room as a kid. We also have a younger brother so I understand the value of keeping stuff hidden, whatever it takes! I hope young singers have as much fun singing this dreamy song as I had writing it.
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| License | Single User License, Classroom / Studio License, Treble Choir License |
|---|---|
| Context | Choir – Elementary, Choir Repertoire, Classroom Songs, Expressive Storytelling Songs, Small Group Class, Vocal Solo, Choir – Unison |
| Topic | |
| Level | |
| Voicing | |
| Vocal Range | D4 – D5 |
| Duration | |
| Composer | Donna Rhodenizer |
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