BCM Blog

BCM's Beginner's Book of Easy Solo/Duet/Trio Music: "Jingle Bells"

BCM's Beginner Solo/Duet/Trio series is back for the holidays!

For a reminder of how these work, click here, otherwise head below the fold for links to PDFs for the following instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, bari sax, trumpet, french horn, low brass, violin, and recorder. 

Jingle those secular bells!

Despite my intense love for Holiday music, one of the most frustrating times of the year for a music teacher is December.  Trying to coordinate so many different holidays into one concert or music lesson can be extremely frustrating.  Christmas! Hanukkah! Kwanzaa! Eid!  Festivus for the rest of us! How many of us have been told by administrators that in order to perform a song from one holiday we have to do songs from all holidays?

This is why so many music teachers have moved their mid-year concerts to January!  Either that or focus on the increasingly popular "winter" songs which have been popping up on recent pop-star holiday CDs.  Older favorites such as "Sleigh Ride," "Winter Wonderland," or "Frosty the Snowman" are safe bets as they focus on the winter season rather than the winter holidays (sorry to all those folk in the southern hemisphere!).

Unbeknown to most people, the uber-popular song "Jingle Bells" also falls into this category.  Originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh," this tune is usually associated with Christmas, however it was composed by James Lord Pierpont  (uncle to the famed financier and banker John Pierpont Morgan) for Pierpont's brother's Sunday School class for Thanksgiving!  The song was so popular that it was sung again at Christmas, the holiday which it remains forever associated with despite the fact that the lyrics have absolutely nothing to do with candy canes, Santa Claus, or the baby Jesus! The song instead narrates an evening of fun in a sleigh, falling down, and giving love advice!

The all knowing Wikipedia explains these secular lyrics:

When James Lord Pierpont's song was originally published in 1857,^[1] it had a different chorus melody, which was more classical, even Mozart-like.^{[citation needed]} The 1857 lyrics differed slightly from those we know today. (The original words are given below in square brackets.) It is unknown who replaced the chorus melody and the words with those of the modern version. The song was reprinted in 1859 with the revised title of "Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh."^[2]

The first verse and chorus are the most often sung (and remembered) section of "Jingle Bells":

Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtail^a[›] ring (Or Hear our voices ring)

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing (Or What fun it is to ride and sing / Oh, what fun it is to sing)

A sleighing song tonight

(chorus)

|: Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way;

Oh! what fun [joy] it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh.

Jingle bells, jingle bells,

Jingle all the way;

Oh! what fun [joy] it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh.:|

Music historian James Fuld notes that the "the word jingle in the title and opening phrase is apparently an imperative verb."^[3] However, it is commonly taken to mean a certain kind of bell.

Although less well known than the opening, the remaining verses depict high-speed youthful fun. In the second verse the narrator takes a ride with a girl and loses control of the sleigh:

A day or two ago

I thought I'd take a ride

And soon, Miss Fanny Bright

Was seated by my side,

The horse was lean and lank

Misfortune seemed his lot

He got into a drifted bank

And then we [And we—we] got upsot^b[›].

|: chorus :|

In the next verse (which is often skipped), he falls out of the sleigh and a rival laughs at him: Note the incorrect form of the verb "lie." The event is being told using the past tense and should be "lay." List of commonly misused English words

A day or two ago,

The story I must tell

I went out on the snow,

And on my back I fell;

A gent was riding by

In a one-horse open sleigh,

He laughed as there I sprawling lie,

But quickly drove away.

|: chorus :|

In the last verse, after relating his experience, he gives equestrian advice to a friend, who then picks up some girls, finds a faster horse, and takes off at full speed:

Now the ground is white

Go it while you're young,

Take the girls tonight

and sing this sleighing song;

Just get a bobtailed bay

Two forty^c[›] as [for] his speed

[and] Hitch him to an open sleigh

And crack! you'll take the lead.

|: chorus :|

So there you go! Jingle Bells is officially safe for everyone, despite religious differences.  Even better is the fact that Jingle Bells has a 5 note melody and is easily played by most beginner students!

For more info on the Jingle Bells story visit the American Music Preservation website or of course, the all knowing Wikipedia entry.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Morning Cup: Old Pappy Jazz Band

Saw this video last night on Twitter courtesy of @reneeyoxon and something about it just made me smile.  I hadn't done a Morning Cup video in while and haven't had much time to actually blog anything recently so I thought I'd share this. 

Hope it brings a smile to your face, too.  :)

Trick or Treat...

So for this week's private lessons I decided it would be fun to just play a bunch of Halloween duets. But as most of my students are still quite beginner, the few books out there with Halloween themed duets offer music that is simply too hard for my elementary-middle school students. I run into this problem often and have decided to try to rectify it. 

I've come up with a theory for composing duets and I'm testing them out with a few Halloween songs. 

Allow me to explain...

In the example above you'll see a blues written for three parts.  All three parts can be played together for a trio, or parts 1 & 2 can be played as a duet, as can parts 1 & 3.  The strategy is this:  Part 1 is the melody and should be playable by a student in her second year of study (maybe a little challenging in rhythm, but range should be playable).  Part 2 is designed for a flat-out beginner of only a few months, the idea being that the teacher can play the melody and the beginner the simple pads behind it.  Part 3 is the most advanced part either for a student in her third year or more (some of the highest notes will be a challenge) or for the teacher to play if the student is playing part 1.  By offering 3 levels of technique, all I have to do is take the same music to all my students and hopefully be able to accommodate them all. 

I went an extra step and transposed and edited the tunes into all beginner instruments so that I could offer these to band directors.  All versions are in the same concert key and while parts 2 & 3 vary on certain instruments who have specific range issues, any combination of instruments can play any of their parts together (ie.  alto sax on part 1, flute on part 2, baritone on part 3).  Or for an easy class, the entire band could play their parts together.

I'm sharing two of these tunes (the ones not needing licensing) free through Bottomless Cup Music.  Feel free to download, print, make copies, and share.  I'd also love feedback.  If you try one out and run into certain problems, or feel that certain notes are in a bad range, please let me know! 

For the "Halloween Blues" (above) I brought in guest composer B. Euthyprydeus Jones who I worked with to adapt his children's tune to each instrument.  I also did a very simple arrangement of my personal favorite Halloween song, "Skin and Bones" (below), which I actually remember from my elementary school music class!

Links to PDFs are available below the fold for the following instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax, bari sax, trumpet, french horn, low brass, and recorder ("Skin & Bones" only, not in concert key). Unfortunately I can't get the Scorch links to work yet, so just PDFs for now.  Enjoy!

Brooklyn Big Band Bonanza Bedazzles!

 

Last night I broke my no-gig streak (hey, times are tight!) to head all the way to Brooklyn to hear not just one, nor two, but three big bands! This was a show I could not pass up! It started with Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra, which I had somehow managed to never have heard despite my desire to do so, followed by internet buddy Andrew Durkin's (aka @uglyrug) Industrial Jazz Group, of which I was hipped to a couple of years ago but never heard live as they hail from Portland.  The night was capped by Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, whom I've heard a ton, but always enjoy! 

 

I was a little late getting here and entered in the middle of "The Hunter," which I was very happy to recognize!  I don't know a lot of Bjork tunes, for some reason just never got into them the way some people do.  But a couple of years ago friend and jazz pianist Kelly Powers, who is a huge Bjork fan and plays occasionally with the Bjorkestra was kind enough to burn me three Bjork CDs which still make my rotation.  She must have given me the best ones; I was pleasantly surprised that I knew the majority of the tunes the orchestra played. 

I was also very pleased with the quality of the band.  They were well rehearsed and super tight- solos were great and Becca Stevens' voice clear and affective.  This is definitely a professional group who takes the reorchestration of who some would consider a pop artist's music very seriously, and it works! I'm glad I finally got to hear them play and look forward to my next listen.

Next up was the group, I must admit, I was most anxious to hear! I've been reading Andrew Durkin's blog for as long as I've had my own, and have my own personal mix of the Industrial Jazz Group on a playlist for the days I need that extra boost.  I knew going in that the IJG was not my grandfather's big band, but I had NO idea the show they'd put on!!

As you can hopefully see from the picture above, the band is almost the normal size but rather than sitting conventionally in chairs, they all stand.  Which makes sense as they all practically dance away each tune, taking a cue from the group's most energetic duo of singers.  I'm not sure I have ever seen a band that uses the word "jazz" in their name having so much fun on stage!  They were wild, they were crazy, and all the while, very musical.

Yet, I don't think that Brooklyn crowd knew exactly how to handle the IJG.  Oh they were into it, as was evidenced by their hearty applause, but it was a stark contrast between the crazy on-stage antics and the frozen, I dare say confused audience.  For not the first time in my life I wished I was one of those people that was comfortable to be the first to yell and scream and feed off the energy of the performers.  But alas, I stayed shy within the sea of passive listeners. 

This is a group I would love to see again on their home turf where I am willing to bet the fan base gives back the energy that the band so generously emits.

Last to grace the stage was the group that I believe the majority of the crowd were waiting patiently to hear, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society.  Fresh off their debut CD release, the band was tight with the prerequisite killing solos.   There is already new material the band is playing which I'm sure will be available for download on  their website before too long.  I should also mention I saw the Secret Society's in-house photographer Lindsay Beyerstein (who also runs her own political blog Majikthise) taking tons of pics through out the night so look again to Darcy's blog as I anticipate those pics to be posted, too.

Speaking of blogs... last night was the night to put faces with virtual friends! Apparently all the NYC based bloggers and tweeters were out last night! While I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with a few (@uglyrug, @numinousmusic, @theloom, @darcyjamesargue) turns out lots others where there too, including @nycjazz, @fullyaltered, and @arodjazz.   I wish I had been able to say hello to those guys too but I guess the obvious downfall to knowing faceless people via the internet is that you are unlikely to recognize them in person.  In fact, I probably would have had to introduce myself as "d0nnatr0y" instead of Kelly Fenton!  And while I did my fair share of tweeting and twitpic-ing the night away, I am sans smart phone and had no way of viewing other simultaneous tweets. 

Though I was not really surprised to hear the great sets of music or to see jazz buddies among the crowd, I was completely shocked by the huge audience of anonymous faces that started the evening out and STAYED till the end!  I have to assume Search and Restore, who helped sponsor the event is to credit for this.  They did after all have this kick-ass poster that I admit I only saw online, but obviously did the trick!

I believe Darcy is also to be credited with the evening's success for helping to organize everything.  Whatever the magic involved, I hope it happens again! Perhaps there is something exciting about the prospect of hearing 3 bands basically for the price of one.  Or maybe its the old trick of pulling fan bases.  Either way, I was heart warmed to see so many supporters for what, most of the time, feels like a dying music. 

In case you missed it...

Audio is here!

I finally have the tracks from last month's Lyceum gig ready to share.  I had hoped to improve the sound quality but my equipment is a little lacking right now.  The tracks are noisy and because I couldn't find a decent spot for the mic, they are unbalanced, rhythm section heavy.  But hopefully these tracks will give you a little taste of the band and encourage you to come check out our next show!

Set 1

1-01 The Injustice League (live)

solos by Joseph Perez (t. sax), Mike Fahie (tbn)

1-02 Elegy (for Ted Kord) (live)

solos by Brad Whiteley (pno), Jay Lepley (drms), Evan Schwam (a. sax)

1-03 Serenade (for Donna Troy) (live)

ft. Miki Hirose (flugel), additional solo by Joseph Perez (t. sax)

1-04 Love Song (live) (take 1) (live)

ft. Mel Flannery (vox), solos by Dustin Cicero (sop. sax), Joseph Perez (t. sax)

1-05 3 Hunter Street (live)

solos by Matt McDonald (tbn), Miki Hirose (flugel)

Download BCJO Live at the Brooklyn Lyceum Sep 23, 2009 (set 1)

Set 2

2-01 Love Song (live) (take 2)

ft. Mel Flannery (vox), solos by Dustin Cicero (sop. sax), Janelle Reichman (t. sax)

2-02 Secret Six Suite (live) (Mvt. I: Villains United, II: Catman, III: Cheshire)

solos by Andrew Hadro (bari sax), Dustin Cicero (a. sax)

2-03 Lament (for Sasha Bordeaux) (Full ensemble)

solos by Janelle Reichman (t. sax), Evan Schwam (a. sax)

2-04 Infinite Crisis (live)

solos by Josh Paris (bs), Mike Fahie (tbn), Evan Schwam (asx), Saturo Ohashi (tpt)

Download BCJO Live at the Brooklyn Lyceum Sep 23, 2009 (set 2)

Morning Cup: Band Class

Ahh, Saved by The Bell... a good start to any morning!  I love this clip of the band playing, though I wish I could have found the full scene where the teacher says "Today class, I have to teach TWO music classes!" Oh, Bayside High, always breaking conventional rules of teaching!

Enjoy this clip, or go watch the full episode here, where you can groove to the bad-ass dance off at the Max at the end of the episode!

BCM Picture of the Week

Found at BestFreeVectors.com and basically just thought it looked cool. :)

Fortune Cookies & Mission Statements

... Bottomless Cup Music can help you with that. 

A couple weeks ago friend, guitarist, mathematician, and former fellow band member (that was a long time ago!) Ed Prokop left the following comments on the BCM Facebook Page:

I tried substituting the word "coffee" for "music" in an attempt to create a new mission statement for BCM, but I just got dizzy at the thought of creating an Ark to save the world from a sea of music.   I've certainly had my days of musical dregs but try to have good full cups of strong energizing music (or coffee? I'm confused).  Then the idea of my cup of music being empty to begin with just saddened me.   A sea of music vs. an empty cup.  You either have too much work or no work at all.   Let's not let the latter be BCM's fortune. 

Spread the word- music is bottomless, let me prepare yours.  Or something like that.

Morning Cup: All the Single Ladies Pt. II

A quick followup to yesterday's MC courtesy of BCJO horn player Lis Rubard (you should check out her band The Loom- its awesome!).  This is a mash up of Duke & Beyonce that is pure awesomeness!

Enjoy!