Although I’ve worked with many styles of music, one style I have specialized in is Scottish music, and having played and studied many of these tunes in historical context, I’m convinced that “Turkey In the Straw” originated as a type of tune called the Scots Measure.

This makes more sense when you realize how many American fiddle tunes came over from Scotland with the massive exodus of Highlanders after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Many traveled to Philadelphia, and from there into the Appalachians and beyond, both north and south. Many Scottish tunes can be found in American old-time tunes, country songs, pioneer tunes (see tune titles in Little Home On The Prairie), cowboy songs. Dvorak used a Scots Gaelic song for the first theme of his New World Symphony, a melody he learned in America.

The Scots Measure was probably a type of dance; there are many old tunes of that type but the form is no longer in use, having been folded into other forms such as hornpipes and reels. Here’s a typical example of a Scots Measure, with the repeated pattern of two eighth-note pickup notes leading to three strong quarter notes — this one is called The White Cockade:

There are many tunes of this type and it is easy to see how the basic tune of Turkey in the Straw fits into this pattern, with a little decoration, which I wrote in as “variations” on the basic tune. Give it a try, and enjoy!

I decided to give the site a try,  so I went to  www.lyricsnmusic.com  and was impressed by the homepage.  I saw several tabs at the top for Lyrics, YouTube,  Touring,  Buy Song,  Images, and More.  Below the tabs was a search box as well as icons linked to popular music players,  such as Pandora, and music news sites,  including Billboard and MTV.  It was now time to try a search, either by song title, artist name or words in the lyrics.  I tried each and, to my surprise, was taken to the appropriate page.

The search took me to a page showing the lyrics,  and information about the song and artist I had requested.  Unlike most lyric sites,  I was not attacked by pop-up pages.  As I scrolled down the page through the lyrics,  I found thumbnails which took me to related pages on YouTube, Wikipedia,  photo sites,  and  Itunes/Amazons.  I was also given information about any tours by the band or artist in which I was searching, including the cities and venue names.

I found the site easy to navigate,  with most information on one page.  I tried several searches and never came up empty handed.  I did, however,  find a very few searches that did not show the lyrics,  stating a copyright infringement.  But on those sites, the rest of the information was shown.  Before I knew it,  I had been researching on this site for an hour.  I enjoyed visiting this interesting site,  as did my music students and musician friends.  I recommend the site to music teachers and students,  as they will be able to explore and research many areas of their favorite pieces of music. I have even posted this site on my Facebook page.

Several years ago, when I moved to California, I began to subscribe to Rhapsody, which at the time cost around $15 a month. Previously I had been living in London, and a member of not just one, but three specialist music libraries with CDs available to borrow. Now this opportunity was not available to me, I was feeling deprived, not only personally but professionally, as I was not easily able to share the vast world of classical music with my students (apart from my own private collection).  With Rhapsody, I was delighted to have the opportunity to listen to a wide variety of classical music again. It had some bugs, to be sure. Some days it would decide not to play, or not to sign me in, and it could be difficult to get online support. Then too, there was the problem of the catalog.

Firstly, most of the classical recordings available at that time were adequate, but not outstanding- mostly obscure Eastern European recordings. On top of this, it was not even possible to ascertain who was playing without the aid of a microscope, as the only information was on a thumbnail image of the cover.

Then one day I tried to find a piece of music by Bartók, only to discover that Bartók’s music was catalogued in four separate places on the system: Béla Bartók, Bela Bartok, Béla Bartok and Bartok. It was not possible to search using the name of the piece and the composer, so it could take twenty minutes or so just to find a piece. At this point, I decided to write to Rhapsody to express my feelings on the subject, and received a polite and prompt reply saying that the issue was caused by the way that information was collected and compiled from all over the world and there was nothing to be done. I threw up my hands at this point, but stayed with Rhapsody as I could find no better alternative.

Until now. Upon my recent return to London, I discovered spotify. It works beautifully. It is simple and intuitive to use. You can search by the name of the piece and composer as well as artist, for example, Mendelssohn Elijah Terfel, and it pops up in no time. There are thousands of outstanding recordings. I’m paying £9.99 a month, although there is a free service with ads available also. And apparently, spotify has just reached the States.

When researching this article, I also came across Naxos. Although it does not have the breadth of spotify, it is aimed more at the classical market. Naxos includes some great resources for teachers, including an attractive and beautifully compiled Junior Section where children can learn about the instruments of the orchestra, complete with wonderful and clear audio examples of repertoire.

This is a tremendous way to be able to share music with our students. I love being able to reach for my computer and play any of thousands of works to a student at the drop of a hat. And with the cost of the service dropping all the time, we can encourage students to subscribe themselves.

Update: Rhapsody have now improved their search function, so one can search by composer and piece, but several Bartoks still remain…

What other listening resources have you discovered on line? I’d love to hear about them.

Reason #1 to Keep Believin’: Chords for Keeps

Most pop songs are really just “four-chord songs.” At least that is what “Axis of Awesome” (a comedic rock band) claim and explain in this PG-13 clip. They begin with Journey’s “Don’t’ Stop Believin” and continue with a medley of countless hits that feature the same four chords (in the same order, too!).  After watching this video I decided that my students must watch it as well (with parental consent), memorize those four chords and learn the opening line of Journey to play anywhere, anytime. Turns out,  they not only enjoy the fact that they can play the “Glee”-remake but also take pride in the fact that they now know the secret behind most of their favorite pop songs.  Bonus: their friends love to sing along and actually “believe” they can play the piano like the “pros”.

Teaching Hint: If your students know the Heart and Soul Pattern, they know the chords of most four-chord songs.

Reason #2: Trash to Treasure

Brian, a 29 year old general contractor, dragged a piano from a neighbor’s trash pile and began to teach himself piano by listening to songs off iTunes and YouTube. One of the first songs he learned by ear was “Don’t Stop Believin”. Since this past November, he comes for weekly lessons with me and even chose to plan his first “gig” at a local Whole Foods store that hosts a community piano. He requested that we play this favorite hit as a duet. After his debut, he has not stopped believin’ in what he can accomplish at the keys.

Note: the magnetic pop-hit-turned-piano-duet captivated many shoppers. They couldn’t leave until it was finished.

Reason #3:  Old and New

I do not claim to be current at all and I did not know that Journey was releasing a new album with a lead singer to replace Steve Perry. Recently, a friend told me of how moved she was by an interview with Arnel Pineda and the band members on “CBS This Morning“. After watching the clip, I was convinced yet again how this tune “Don’t Stop Believin” has power to equip, power to inspire and power to change lives forever.

Reason #4: Patterns and Passion

Even though some songs include only “four chords’ what a gift we can give our students.  When they have the power (and the patterns) to unlock the secret of the latest hits they will be hooked for a lifetime. Thank you Journey for keeping us belieivin!

The six categories of song, as posited by Levitin, are: Friendship, Joy, Comfort, Knowledge, Religion and Love.  Songs of Friendship are songs of camaraderie, togetherness and creating a functional large group.  The selective advantages (Levitin talks of evolutionary advantages) of being in a group that works together for a collective whole are obvious.  Society as we know it could not exist if we were unable to get along within larger collectives of people.  A big way of getting a group to work as a unit is through music.  Think of the last time you were at a baseball game and everyone sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”  The entire stadium is able to work together as a unit.  Also, “Music has historically been one of the strongest forces binding together the disenfranchised, the alienated.” (61)

Songs of Joy release oxytocin in the brain.  “Oxytocin has just been found to increase trust between people.” (98) This, obviously, would help in creating a group of people who can work together to create a larger society.  Levitin quotes new research that suggests that music, especially joyful music, affects our health in fundamental ways.  Music also modulates levels of dopamine (the “feel-good” hormone) in the brain.  Levitin suggests “we have the relationship with music we do because those of our ancestors who found it enjoyable to be musical were those who were successful at passing on their genes.” (109)  He continues on to state, “Fundamentally, we have joy songs because moving around, dancing, exercising our bodies and minds is something that was adaptive in evolutionary history.  Stretching, jumping, and using sound to communicate felt good because our brains – through natural selection – developed rewards for those behaviors.” (109)  Joy helps us to connect to what matters in our lives and helps to recall that connection when we need reminding.  Joy songs also help us to communicate our emotional states with others.

Songs of Comfort are fundamental to growing up.  Mothers the world over sing lullabies to their children.  What teenager would have made it through high school without the consolation of music (even if, to others, the song would not be of comfort)?  Music helps to bring a consistent energy to a room and again, bring cohesiveness to a group working together.  Many children learn to self-comfort by singing to themselves songs that their mothers sang as lullabies. “Singing can soother and comfort infants in ways that other actions cannot, and this is in part because of how different auditory stimulation is from other senses.”  (126) Sound travels through space and is an indicator, even when there is no visual or physical contact available.  Lullabies share structural similarities, as well. (126)

Songs of Knowledge are ubiquitous in all societies.  How do children learn their alphabet (The Alphabet Song)? How do children learn songs of physical knowledge about their world (“The Wheels on the Bus” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)? How do children learn to work together (“Everybody clean up, clean up, clean up”) and take care of their belongings? How do children learn to count?  Memory songs involve learning sequences (“There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”).  Most of these songs are learned through oral tradition – children at young ages do not yet read.  Schoolhouse Rock is a fabulous exemplar of remembering complicated information made easy by being set to memorable music.  “The mutually reinforcing, multiple constraints that help us to remember song lyrics are principally rhyme, rhythm, accent structure, melody, and clichés, along with various poetic devices such as those we saw in Chapter I, including alliteration and metaphor.” (156)

“The criticality of time and place is a hallmark of ritual songs.” (204)Songs of Religion are found throughout world religions.  My family recently changed churches, specifically because the music was not speaking to us.  At the first service at our new church, I found myself crying because I was able to emotionally connect to the music during the service.  ”Ceremonies with music reaffirm the propositions, and the music sticks in our heads, reminding us of what we believe and what we have agreed to.  Music during ritual is designed, in most cases, to evoke a “religious experience,” a peak experience, intensely emotional, the effects of which can last the rest of a person’s life.  Trance states can occur during these experiences, resulting in feelings of ecstasy and connectedness.” (222)  Music is able to motivate repetitive action and to bring closure, lessening the human tendency to obsess over the unknown.

Songs of Love again help to communicate emotion.  When someone hears “their song,” it brings to mind a specific time, place and emotion.  Even many years later, people are able to travel back in time through memory, when a certain song is heard.  The reason this would be selective for human evolution is that it recalls times when two people felt very close, even if at the moment they are not in close emotional resonance.  “Love for one’s partner and children evolved, culturally (and perhaps biologically), into the capacity to love life and fairness, goodness and equality, and all the ideals we associate with society.” (263)  Through music, we are able to symbolize something that is not there – be it a loved one who is out of our sight or recollection of an emotion we may not immediately feel.  Music also serves as an “honest signal” (279).  Our brains perceive information received through musical means as more honest and true.

Levitin concludes with “Although the important functions of music can be described in these six categories, the specific ways that people from different musical cultures have found to make music are very diverse.” (281)  This book lays out a compelling case for the evolutionary (natural selective) reason that we are hard wired to be musical beings (as evidenced by neurological studies – see Dr. Levitin’s 2007 book This is Your Brain on Music).  I found his arguments to be very persuasive and the book to be entertaining.  Although it deals with what could be a dry subject, it is well written, has many interviews with musicians (from Sting and Paul Simon to Joni Mitchell and David Byrne) and historians, anthropologists, and evolutionary biologists.  One of my favorite quotes from the book involves music of Religion:  Levitin’s friend, Rabbi Hayyim Kassorla, states “So what if there’s a center in the brain that makes people think of God? Why wouldn’t there be? Maybe God put it there to help us to understand and communicate with him.” (196)

I highly recommend this book for insight into sociological and evolutionary reasons we are hard-wired for music.  Music is in everything we do as human beings, and this book explores how we may have gotten to be that way.  The only thing I felt lacking in the book was that the musical examples are very North American-centric.  The book is clearly written for those living in North America, with familiarity with popular culture (song selections mentioned in the book can be heard at www.sixsongs.net), and I would have really liked to have had a broader world view presented.  But, overall, I really enjoyed the book and found it thought provoking and informative.

Levitin, Daniel J., The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. New York, NY.  Dutton/Penguin.  2008.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/World-Six-Songs-Musical-Created/dp/B002RAR126/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

Visit www.sixsongs.net for the musical examples that are prevalent throughout the book.

My top five hints for writing effective program notes are:

1. Program Notes should be concise.

There’s nothing worse than a program note that takes longer to read than the duration of the piece itself. A program note should be able to be scanned quickly in the change over time between performers and should not take your attention away from listening to the piece.

2. Program Notes should be able to be read and understood by everyone.

A bar-by-bar analysis of repertoire never makes for interesting reading, and often alienates the majority of the audience who have little or no musical training. A good writer should be able to articulate detailed concepts in general terms.

3. Explain the context of the work.

From what time, place, culture or trend did this piece emerge? Who were the precursors of the composer, who were their contemporaries, and who built on their traditions?

4. Provide a ‘hook’.

Give your audience one or two interesting facts about the work that gets their attention. This could be an anecdote from the premiere, or a quote from a review, or perhaps a story about the composer’s life.

5. What should I listen for?

Point the audience in the direction of one or two interesting parts of the piece that they can listen for. It might be a change of mood or the theme being passed from one instrument to another. This will instantly engage the listener in the performance, as they feel confident to navigate around the piece.

If you have hints for helping students to write effective program notes please leave a comment below.

A small picture frame stands by the candy dish and each week the frame features a new riddle or question of the week. In October, I enjoyed including jokes such as “What instrument does a skeleton play? A tromBONE”. During the holiday season as students were preparing solos and duets for the upcoming Christmas recital, students were required to name the composer, arranger, the key, the time signature, or the form of their pieces. These weekly questions helped all of us memorize essentials that are amazingly easy to forget when deadlines demand narrow-focused practice.

Since I offer a 30-minute lab with a 30-minute lesson, there is time for students to dedicate part of their lab time to learning the answer to the weekly question. Lately, I have asked students to read brief articles about the piano pedals, strings, it’s inventor, etc. The articles have been taken from Piano Explorer magazines. This is a wonderful resource for students around age 9 and older. The magazine has a website that features correlating videos of the composers, compositions or performers featured in each monthly issue.

Recently, students watched a clever and informative video providing details about the inventor of the piano. All students proudly earned a dip in the candy dish after correctly saying the name–Bartolemeo Cristofori –the designer of the pianoforte. In addition, the weekly question is included in the students’ lesson notes along with links to videos or websites providing information.

Ideas keep coming for future questions:

1. Feature a composer with a birthday during the week and include a listening assignment from  iTunes or youtube of a famous composition
2. Identify the time signature and clap and count aloud a given rhythm
3. Name the Music style period of 1675-1750, or the music style period of…
4. Name 4 composers of the Romantic Period (for Valentines day)
5. View the resident pianos of past presidents (for Presidents day)
6. …

My goal is to continually provide tidbits of learning that would

• not normally be part of the lesson plan
• reinforce what has been learned during a lesson
• transfer information in a way that helps students retain the information for a lifetime.

Even if you don’t have a lab with your lesson, most students have free time waiting for a lesson, or for a ride home–why not make that time a teachable moment? Would love to hear your ideas!

What are the instruments and what do they sound like? Are there different types of classical music? What does a conductor do? What on earth is one supposed to listen for in a concert?

These are complex questions whose answers are not often to be found in the annals of popular culture. As teachers, we can touch on these subjects, but in a weekly lesson, it can be extremely difficult to allocate enough time to teach the depth of knowledge required to enjoy classical music to the fullest.

Fortunately, there’s a new way that students can learn about this vibrant tradition. From February 23- to March 15, 2011, the New York Times Knowledge Network will be presenting How to Listen to Classical Music, an online course geared towards music students and casual listeners. Teaching the course will be respected journalist Daniel J. Wakin. From the information I’ve seen, it looks like the online class will be neither a music theory nor a history course, but a musical listening journey designed to unlock a lifetime of pleasure exploring classical music.

If you or your students are interested, you can register online. The course costs USD$135 and will be delivered using the Epsilen Learning Management System, known for its multimedia and collaborative learning tools. This is not a large price to pay, considering that similar courses regularly offered through schools can run to two or three times the price of what the NYT Knowledge Network is asking.

What is the greatest benefit of a genuine understanding of classical music? The basic knowledge needed to develop a collecting and concert-going habit that  allows you to dig into a musical world that you could not possibly exhaust, even through a lifetime of listening and performing. Students who understand this can be the most rewarding of all to teach.

Photo: Alessandra Cimatti

In this week’s post on Christmas music, I am focusing on 20th and 21st century additions to the repertoire. Many modern composers have been inspired by the heritage I touched upon last week– European sacred choral music from the medieval period onwards.

Kenneth Leighton, an English composer and pianist (1929–1988) was influenced in particular by Vaughan Williams, who was in turn influenced by his field research into traditional British folk melody. Leighton’s setting of the Coventry Carol has become his most famous work. Written in 1948, it is a setting of a text whose earliest known version dates from 1534. Using a modally influenced melody and luscious close harmonies, it is an instantly appealing work. A soaring soprano solo aptly evokes the vulnerability of the child Jesus, and contrasts dramatically with the full-choir verse describing Herod’s rage at the news of his birth. This outstanding version is by Polyphony, conducted by Stephen Layton.

Lully, Lulla, Thou Little Tiny Child

Lully_Lulla

My second choice, by coincidence, is also a tale of King Herod hearing the same news. In this strange and symbolic text, a roasted rooster comes to life in its dish:

1. There was a star in David’s land,
In David’s land appeared;
And in King Herod’s chamber
So bright it did shine there.

2. The Wise Men they soon spied it,
And told the King a-nigh
That a Princely Babe was born that night,
No King shall e’er destroy.

3. If this be the truth, King Herod said,
That thou hast told to me,
The roasted cock that lies in the disk
Shall crow full senses three.

4. O the cock soon thrusted and feathered well,
By the work of God’s own hand,
And he did crow full senses three
In the disk where he did stand.

In this contemporary setting of a folk text by Gareth Valentine, a treble solo also dominates. The part-writing, for upper voices only, is extremely demanding, and beautifully executed by the London Oratory School Schola, directed by Michael McCarthy with John McGreal, organ. Valentine, currently much in demand as a musical director in London’s West End and composer of a popular setting of the Requiem, knows how to write a well-crafted and striking melody. He also devotes one stanza to the cock crowing, which is a humorous touch. In the midst of humor however, there are some spine-chilling moments.

King Herod and the Cock

King_Herod_And_The_Cock

Probably the best-known of these three carols is “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree”. The text is by an 18th-century unknown New Englander, and was set by Elizabeth Poston, an English composer and pianist (1905–1987). She chooses a strophic setting and a simple folk-like melody, which wonderfully matches the simplicity of the text. The piece has become justly popular. Unlike the other texts, there are no dark undertones here, and the warmth of the close harmonies envelops one like the branches of an apple tree on a sunny afternoon.

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

Jesus_Christ_The_Apple_Tree

“The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.”

What contemporary Christmas carols do you like? I’d love some more recommendations.