As the year draws to a close and the holidays are behind us, it might be difficult to find musical inspiration for the new year. Well, for me, sticking with what has stood the test of time is always a good start. I remember years ago watching the movie White Christmas. Aside from the title song, the one song I always look forward to is "Snow." It was probably deemed a "throw-away" song back in its day, but the overlaid harmonies and jazzy swing rhythms have stuck with me, kind of like a good snowfall! Though I don't get much snowfall where I live, I do like to bring the notion of snow to my students and offer these two bits of Snow Business for you to enjoy! Snow Business #1 Here is a variation on the song Let Us Chase the Squirrel. I have changed the title and lyrics to Let Us Pass the Snowball: This can be a fun warmup activity at the beginning of a lesson: as students sing the song, they pass a "snowball" (pom pom, bean bag, etc.). The student holding the snowball at the end of the song then throws the snowball in the air while classmates sing a vocal glissando following the up and down movement of the snowball. The range and duration of the glissando is, of course, determined by how high the student throws the snowball. I also add in that if the student drops the snowball (whether by accident or on purpose) then their pitch should follow the snowball all the way down. Repeat as many times as you wish. Snow Business #2 I offer here an interpretation of a piece from Music for Children, Volume II, p. 45 #4 Andante by Orff/Keetman (Margaret Murray edition). I came across this piece many years ago as I was looking for a piece to teach at my Orff Level III practicum. I ultimately used a different piece, but always had this little gem in the back of my mind. I ended up writing lyrics for it and slightly changing one of the ostinatos and used it with my 4th and 5th grade chorus for our winter concert a few weeks back. I hope you enjoy it!
