Songs for Children / Songs for Everyone
Found in: Accompaniment
Cheri S., Utah
Some students recently pointed out that the Songs for Children (SFC) book online is different than my older, printed book. The new version only writes the chord when it changes–so if you’re meant to play C several times in a row, it only appears written once.
This means I teach measures much sooner than I used to. Before, SFC was a chance for students to be very successful using chords without having to worry about watching bar lines. It worked really well for single-thought-process learning. We would finish all the SFC basic accompaniments in level 1. Then I’d introduce measures and bar lines when we started the Accompaniment book during level 2.
I prefer teaching that way, but am okay with adjusting for the new SFC. But yesterday I was caught off-guard when it was time to teach BINGO. BINGO was no problem when every 1:2 chord was written in.
For most SFC songs now, I explain about cycles of 4, and how each measure needs 4 events (usually 2 together-rights). But the easiest way to play BINGO uses 8 events per measure, 4 together-rights. I suppose I can just say that, without over-explaining?
Listening to the audio “simple” version of BINGO, it sounds like they’re changing it up quite a bit, with left-rights at the beginning, then some fast together-rights on the 8th notes, and on B-I-N-G-O a mix of slow and fast together-rights. That’s a lot of variety for beginning students. It seems like something I’d add later, almost like a variation. I do that for “Miss Polly”, with playing staccato on the rhyming words and matching the “rat-a-tat-tat” rhythm.
So, with the new book, how do you teach BINGO for the first time with beginners?
Rochelle G., California
What I would do is just write in the chords for the measures that don’t have them pre-written in. That’s the simplest easy way to help beginners without having to over-explain. A simple explanation of why you’re doing it suffices, write it in and there you go. I do this for Auld Lang Syne in the Accompaniment program for young students also. If they can get it without me writing it in, then great.
Leeanne I., Australia
I do the same as Rochelle. Just write in the extra chords in pencil for young students. With older students, I explain that you just keep playing the same chord until you see a printed new chord.
Elizabeth Gaikwad, Australia
I’m glad you and your students are enjoying the Songs for Children program!
When we prepared the books for the online version, we made a number of “upgrades” to the books. Specifically for Songs for Children:
1) We combined Volume 1 & 2, so now there are 18 songs available (instead of 2 books of 9).
2) The font sizes have been adjusted for the split chords so it would be easier to read.
3) We changed the key of some songs, so that younger children could have experience in keys other than C major…namely D, E, Eb and Db, so they directly run alongside the Accompaniment 1 program.
4) We added an extra book of 7 songs all in the key of C.
5) We tried to standardize the writing of the chords to be like any other sheet music so that, as Leeanne said, you stay on the chord until it changes. I realize that it is a change up, but we felt it is a good conversation to have to prepare them for other music they would come across.
Having said that, I totally agree with Rochelle that if the student is finding it particularly difficult, then write it in!
As far as BINGO goes, I agree with you that it is easier to play it with 8 beats, but it is possible at the slower pace (2 x together-right per bar). The chord changes make it a little trickier for students to negotiate the first two bars.
As with all the books, they are intended as a teacher resource and can be adjusted to suit each individual student, to make them more complex or more simple. Enjoy!
Corinne S., Georgia
Elizabeth, at what point in the Foundation program would you recommend introducing Songs for Children?
Elizabeth Gaikwad, Australia
The whole idea of these books came from me wanting to show student how powerful the chords I, IV, V are! So nowadays when I start a student in Foundation 1, I ask them to buy either Songs for Children or Songs for Everyone when they first start.
Then after they have learned Honey Dew and/or Amazing Grace, immediately start them on the simple section of the “Songs for…” book. This way they can see once they have chords C, F, & G they can play so many songs! The books then can be used alongside the Accompaniment 1 programs, especially for the transposition pages, where the student transposes using the symbols I IV V.
I have found that playing songs using different orders of the chords helps them to be more adaptable to change. Another benefit is that they develop a visual relationship with a page of music, and develop the skill of looking at the page and glancing down at their hands.
Cheri S., Utah
For teens, Songs for Everyone serves the same purpose, since they might feel silly playing nursery songs. Adults are more game for either one, but it’s fun for them to get to know the less-familiar songs.