6-Week Online Program Week 5
WEEK 5, DAY 1:
Let’s sing Bring Me Little Water, Silvie…
Today’s stuff…
• 1 Video Lesson
• The Same Lesson in an Audio Track (coming soon)
• A PDF Song Sheet with the words to Bring Me Little Water, Silvie
• Some links to different people singing, Bring Me Little Water, Silvie
• Links to two different online piano keyboards
Today we’ll mostly just sing – listen, get a feel for it, and sing. Well, mostly, anyway. We’ll still see how the song relates to the 1-3-5 and I’ll point out to you why the last line is really simple. Other than that, we’ll just sing. Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at this song and how it works.
NOTE: I’m teaching you this song the way I sing it; after years of singing it I’m sure it’s evolved and changed. I don’t sing it exactly the same way that these other singers sing it – so you’re learning the Nancy Salwen version.
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WEEK 5, DAY 1: Video Lesson
Singing Bring Me Little Water Silvie by Lead Belly
Right- or Option-Click to Download Video
See Sweet Honey in the Rock Sing it!
See Moira Smiley Sing it!
Listen to Pete Seeger Singing it!
Two online piano keyboard options to check out…
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/
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WEEK 5, DAY 2:
Today’s lesson is a little different.
Yesterday I told you we’d be looking at Sylvie from a more analytical perspective. Here’s how we’re going to do it:
I really want you to see what I mean when I talk about taking your song sheets and “marking them up”. I’m sending you some examples of my own scribbles, and your assignment is to go back to the previous videos where these songs are being sung and follow along using my notes. Print out the pages, listen to the songs, look at my scribbles and marks, and see if you can understand how they work and if they can help you understand how the songs work. But Please – if they don’t work for you, don’t worry about it and don’t get discouraged!
Click Here to Get Your…
• PDF of Bring Me Little Water Silvie with my scribbles and marks
(find the song on week 5 day 1)
• PDF of You Are My Sunshine with my scribbles and marks
(find the song on week 4 day 3 part 1)
• Standard musical notation for You Are My Sunshine
Notice that my marks aren’t perfect – for instance, the “ones” don’t always line up with each other – my marks aren’t always consistent from line to line. If I felt I had to do this perfectly, I wouldn’t do it at all. And that would be a shame because using song sheets this way is really useful! The idea isn’t to create pages that are useful and clear for anyone who looks at them – the idea is to make them useful to yourself. You may develop your own little language for marking up your songs sheets. Both the process of marking up the pages, and then later having the pages to refer to, are useful.
About Standard Musical Notation…
By the way, if you know how to read standard musical notation, you might still want to make your own marks on the written music, so that key aspects are highlighted and easier for you to understand.
Knowing how to read music is super helpful, but most of my students don’t. Just to bust through any “Fear of Reading Music” you might have, I’m also attaching the written music for You Are My Sunshine. DON’T PANIC! Don’t worry about what the notes are, or what the symbols mean. Just look at the contour of the little dots. Even if you only use musical notation in this way, it can be very helpful at times, especially as a way of jogging your memory about songs you already kind of know.
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WEEK 5, DAY 3:
Today we’re going to do some more work with Michael Row Your Boat Ashore. In Week 4, Lesson 4 we sang it and talked about how the first 3 notes of the song are 1-3-5. Watch the video below to learn more about how this song works. Print out the PDF and refer to it as you watch.
Then go back to Week 4, Video 4, and sing it again with me. Go back and forth between the videos a few times – study, play, study, play – and see how it changes your experience of singing this song.
Today…
• 1 Video Lesson
• A PDF Song Sheet with the words to Bring Me Little Water, Silvie
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WEEK 5, DAY 3: Video Lesson
Get a Better Understanding of Michael Row Your Boat Ashore
Right- or Option-Click to Download Video
Download your PDF with Michael Row Your Boat Ashore Notes
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WEEK 5, DAY 4:
THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG!!!
Let’s break down this vexing troublemaker of a song. Is this a song that you think should come easily to you? Are you under the impression that because it’s sung frequently, and often with little kids, that it’s a simple song that you SHOULD be able to sing? If so, you might be interested to know that it’s NOT a particularly easy song. It makes sense that you don’t understand how to learn it.
In this lesson, you’ll have the opportunity to listen to it and then sing it verrrrry slowly. Then I’ll quizz you a little bit to see if you can start to figure out how it works – but remember – no worries if you don’t get it yet! I’ll explain it and then you can sing it again.
Check out…
• Your Video Lesson in 2 Parts
• Your Happy Birthday Song Sheet with the number of each note written
in above each syllable.
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WEEK 5, DAY 4: Video Lesson PART ONE –
Listening to and singing with the Happy Birthday Song…
Right- or Option-Click to Download Video
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WEEK 5, DAY 4: Video Lesson PART TWO –
Deconstructing the Happy Birthday Song…
Right- or Option-Click to Download Video
Download your PDF with Happy Birthday Song Notes
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WEEK 5, DAY 5:
Overview, and revisiting your goal worksheet.
Can you go dig up your goals worksheet from Week 2 Day 1 and spend a few minutes revisiting what you wrote there? Remember – I asked you not to be goal-oriented about your goal, so as you read what you wrote a month ago, just be curious (as opposed to judgemental).
You may find that the goal no longer seems as important as it did, or that it has changed shape. Now that you’ve been singing for a while, are there new things you’d like to try or new goals you’d like to achieve? Spend a few minutes now writing down any thoughts you have about this.
Do you still connect to that original goal? If so, do you feel closer to it now than you did when you started the program? Take a little time to write about this too – in what ways are you closer? Are there ways in which you’re a little bit stuck and need more help? Are there steps that you can take, either during our last week together or after the program is over to make your goal a reality? Keep writing!
MY goal right now is to help you keep singing, even after this program is finished. I don’t want you to finish without some kind of plan in place that will help you to KEEP SINGING!
Below is your video lesson and a PDF that lists the tools and activities in your bag of tricks. See you next week!
Take lessons in-person, over Skype, enroll in an on-line program, or come to a workshop!
What People Are Saying…
“I really surprised myself, in many ways. I had a wonderful time and came away with more confidence than I felt possible!”
– A Workshop Participant
“This is so exciting – it’s like a miracle to me!”
– A Skype Student
“I never thought I’d be able to sing at all, but with practice and training, I can sing with a group and not shatter glass. It has encouraged me to try anything at least once no matter how much I don’t think I could do it.”
– Ash, Singing Student
“I absolutely wouldn’t have been able to sing in front of people if I hadn’t taken lessons with Nancy. Now I sing for the residents at a nursing home. No sweaty palms, no pounding heart, no shaking like a leaf. I’m having so much fun and people are enjoying my singing. I actually get requests!”
– Cathy, Workshop Participant and Singing Student
“The lessons were definitely helpful in getting to understand some of the physical and emotional barriers that prevent me from singing and I learned some great tools from you on how to address the barriers. Singing is such a joy!”
– Becka, Private Skype Student
“After taking a few lessons, I realize that there are a lot of people who are afraid to sing or have trouble with singing, and people will respect you if you try. And this can go for anything. So, why not try?”
– Singing Student
“Nancy has helped me along the journey of bringing what I hear inside my head into the world. She brings a patience and a kindness to her process that focuses on joy and emphasizes the pleasure of singing. She has helped me replace my perceptions of singing failure with success, anxiety with relaxation.”
– Chris, Singing Student
“Nancy seems to have an endless basket of teaching tools and the were all enjoyable. I especially liked moving, scatting and adding rhythm making to our singing.”
– Workshop Participant
“I think my husband is a little intimidated by my new skills” (…said with a smile)
– Sandy, Skype Singing Student
“I had a really wonderful time during my lesson and it felt good just to sing for fun. In just the last couple of weeks some opportunities have come up that I might normally have passed up. I think I found the fun part of singing again!”
– Grace, Singing Student