Dip, dip, and . . . sing!

I love singing "Canoe Song" from our current Bongos collection. I love the ostinato of "Dip, dip, and swing." The song's melody, especially when sung in a round, sounds very beautiful to me. But, several parents have mentioned that this is a song they have a hard time learning. Perhaps because it's so high - does that make it more difficult to sing?
Well, we probably perceive it that way. In reality, the song isn't pitched any higher than the other songs in the collection. The highest note in the song (the second syllable of the word "silver") is a D, and a great many of the Music Together songs go that high. However, what makes this one seem higher is that it takes a pretty good sized leap to get to that D - the note right before it so much lower. The large interval makes it seem like more of a strain to reach the note. But don't be fooled! Other songs in the collection that go equally high are "Palo, Palo", "L'il Liza Jane," and "Train Is a-Comin," just to name a few.
So be confident when you sing that D. And don't worry if you don't get it exactly right. Remember the most important thing - that you're setting an example for your child by creating musical moments. And those moments don't have to perfect - they just have to happen.

Welcome

Welcome to the Barthelmes Beat, a blog for our Music Together families. We hope that this will be a place to get information about our program, and learn things you didn't already know about music education for your children. If you ever have any comments or questions, please feel free to add them here. And if there's anything you'd ever like to see addressed in the blog, please let me know.We're happy to have such great families in our program, and we hope that this is useful for you. Happy reading!