The Music Podcast for Kids!

Grammy-Award Winning Singer Sharon Cho

Jazz Appreciation Month continues on The Music Podcast for Kids as Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite interview Grammy-Award Winning singer and music educator Sharon Cho. Her music journey is exciting and inspiring! Be sure to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for listening!

Listen to and sing along with the uplifting song “You-Nique” that Sharon talked about during the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6cmXLzxfZE

Check out our YouTube channel: Remember to Share and Subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGhqK_DWpRIKS45ICqN3eQ

 

***Classroom and Homeschool Teachers*** 

Find our digital resource to help enhance your classroom HERE!

 

Like us on Facebook! 

 

Mr. Fite

Check out original fun and educational music from Mr. Fite at 

https://brucefite.com/music and subscribe to Mr. Fite’s YouTube Channel

 

Mr. Henry

Are you looking for affordable piano lessons for your 6-10-year-old? Start the music journey with Mr. Henry by taking a sneak peek into the Premier Membership with the free mini-piano course! https://www.mrhenrysmusicworld.com/piano 

 

Hey there Music Podcast for Kids listeners! This is Mr. Henry and we want to thank you so much for listening to the show. We absolutely love educating the world all about music and you know what's pretty cool? You can be a part of our mission as well. If you leave a review, more people can listen to the show. So, you can help us with the journey of educating the world all about music. So if you could take a moment to leave a review of the show we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much!

 Let the music begin in 3, 2, 1... Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite, exploring along with you. Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite love hanging out with you. The Music Podcast for Kids!

Hello and welcome to The Music Podcast for Kids we're your hosts Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite - Music educators extraordinaire! The Music Podcast for Kids is a fun and educational podcast where we learn and explore the best subject ever -  music!  

And now, the music joke of the day. We love jokes. So if you have a joke, please visit our website themusicpodcastforkids.com to submit your joke. And guess what? It doesn't even have to be a music joke; it can be any joke. We will read and enjoy your joke on the podcast and also let everyone know who it came from and where you are in this great big wonderful music world. 

Our joke of the day is

This Joe comes from David, a listener of the show. Why does the cow stay up so late? To see the moooooooon! 

Make sure to send in your jokes by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com a link to the website can be found in the show notes. 

Thank you so much for listening. We hope you are enjoying the show so far. Please subscribe to the podcast to receive the latest episodes and leave a review through iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Also, get updates on what we are up to through Facebook and Instagram by finding us at Music Podcast for Kids. Links will be found in the show notes. On to the show!

Just Chattin’:

Sharon Cho is an instructional coach, clinician, and social-emotional learning trainer lead at Quaver Ed. Sharon works with educators of all subjects around the nation. Her personal experiences and background has inspired her many goals towards and for equitable schools. Sharon also comes from a diverse performance background, receiving a Grammy for her background vocalist role in Taj Mo, a collaborative album by Taj Mahal and Keb Mo. She's also recorded lead vocals for two featured films and sang background vocals during the Nashville leg of the 2017 Hans Zimmer live tour. Hello Sharon and welcome to the show! Thank you for having me. I'm so elated to be here with both of you. Awesome. Well, thanks. It’s great to have you here and thank you so much for being with us today. So first I just wanted to know what part of the world do you live in? I am in the midwest. I am in Chicago, Illinois currently. We always like to start out by asking our guests about their background with music education as a child. And so what experience did you have as a child, like in maybe in the school setting and possibly outside of the school setting? Yeah, that's a great question. I owe a lot to music. I grew up an EL student. and I wasn’t able to speak English let alone understand academic Standard English fluently until I was about maybe 4 through fifth grade. And for that reason, I struggled in school. I pretended to understand things to avoid embarrassment. There were policies and procedures in the classroom that were hard for me culturally and the cultural assimilation from such an early age really worked against me. And it really you know I struggled academically as well as emotionally and music was the one place in school I felt seen and that I could participate in without feeling ostracized. And like I had to wear a mask to fit in. so I also had the same advantages as my peers in the music classroom which was huge. We learned the skills together and there was a true multiculturalism in the curricula where we celebrated different cultures. There was an understanding that all cultures were appreciated on the same level. That music saw color and that music didn't treat me like I was in a Melting Pot where it was expected of me to blend or to melt into the same thing as everyone else and instead everyone and every song and every language was appreciated for its differences. Like a big salad bowl and that was huge for me. Yeah, that's amazing and you know, just talking to you and you would never ever think that English was your second language. Pretty amazing so yeah. And I'm sure that takes a lot of work. A lot of practice. What was your first language? Korean.  So you had a lot of great experiences in the public school system with music. Did you do anything outside like private lessons or anything like that? Well, I grew up with piano in the house and was mostly self-taught and though I do a lot of that learning to my cousin Julie who is a fantastic pianist. She taught me to read lead sheets and the fundamentals of just reading chords. I also group in the church and was a member of the band and played for service every Sunday. And that's where I really learned the joy of practice, improvisation, and performance. And so while I didn't really have formal private teachers for lessons, I was definitely surrounded by mentors who taught me a lot of lessons. So was piano your primary instrument as a child or just going to do a balance of both voice and piano or other instruments? I actually say that my primary instrument was voice. While I played piano and flute as a child, voice definitely came first and that's where I learned pitch, artistic expression, and, most importantly, just appreciation for myself? What type of music education did you have in high school where were you in choirs and all that in high school or band? Yeah, I was definitely a choir gal. I sang in our school choir. I performed in all of our variety shows and talent shows. I have competed in solo ensemble. I joined the show choir as a singer and dancer. And I actually was one of the founding members of the vocal Jazz program at our high school. Yeah, it was really fun. And we also had a music theory sort of pathway. We didn't have a true music theory class. It was more of a music appreciation. I was just a little freshman along with a bunch of seniors in my class and that was really a great starting path to just appreciation in general of music that was really, really great. So you continued your studies in music in college. And so at what point did you know, I want to pursue music? This is my dream, my goal, my life, and then what degree did you pursue specifically in college then? Actually, I didn't know that I wanted to pursue music right away. I had this fantasy about traveling as a writer and performing as a hobby on the side. So I actually applied to a few colleges under English and a few under music education. And I just I remember one day I had all the acceptance letters in front of me and I was like I had to make a decision and so I ended up choosing Music Ed. I went to the University of Illinois. And only in that pathway, there was really 3 directions: you either became a general music teacher, a band director or you were a part of the orchestral pathway. And I just didn't see myself in those options initially. And so while at the U of I studying music I added Jazz studies and sort of built this new pathway of vocal Jazz performance and education which hadn't been done I don't think before me. And so you could say that the years of cultural assimilation and wanting to break free from molds in school sort of built this resilience and fight for myself. So in a lot of ways yes school always told me that I didn't fit the mold and college was no exception. Except you know this time I was a little bit more grown and so I just sort of said cool let me just create a new one then. So we were reading that you can continue to study different subjects that tied in with diversity, equity, inclusion and you even continue that research on culturally relevant pedagogy and double consciousness. So could you give us an idea, can you give us an idea of what that is and maybe even too because you were doing this whole music thing and then you know you wanted to pursue that like how that transition occurred even? Well, that's heavy. Double consciousness is a term coined by W. E. B. DuBois and his 1903 edition of Souls of Black Folk. And it represented the inter-two-ness in referring to being African-American in a white diamond and its society and how you can belong to multi-cultures and feel ostracized in this way. And for me, while I can't relate to the black and African-American experiences I can relate to a layer of double consciousness. Specifically belonging to two cultures but not being able to identify myself in either. I’m Korean-American and this way I couldn't really fit in with my Korean peers because I was born in America; at the same time I didn't fit in with my American peers because I look, behave, and am accustomed to different traditions. And that's really the reason why I became an educator to support students like me to acknowledge and give permission for students who are different to be different and to find strengths within themselves that might not look like others. And studying double consciousness and its impact on students became really this foundation for me of culturally relevant pedagogy, diversity, equity, and inclusion. And well, in short,  culturally relevant pedagogy is just knowing your students, your unwavering belief that your students will achieve because of you, and how you acknowledge culture and design opportunities for culture learning and modeling to students the question of just asking why and how to ask why. And Gloria Ladson-Billings is sort of my Beyonce of education. And she's the one who coined that term. But she brilliantly summarizes CRT into academic achievement, cultural confidence, and critical consciousness. So I really take that into mind when I lead sessions. You know even at Quaver and with educators across the nation. And it's really the gas to my purpose and impact the way we view diversity. And I always like to say the goal actually isn't diversity. Diversity just looks at who is already in the room and inclusion is embracing those within that given space. And the goal really is equity and justice you know? Who is trying to get into the room but can't and are there practices and policies that we have that aren't equitably fair. And so you know there's no really easy path toward all of that. It's sort of my life’s mission in education and music performance and you know how I want to serve my life to others around me. Yeah, it's awesome. So speaking of Quaver, you have a background music making these new studies you just talked about. So what about now? What's your career now? How do you put all that together in your new endeavor? Yeah, I currently work at Quaver Ed as their social-emotional learning training lead. I am also their instructional coach and clinician. And so I present sessions at conferences across the nation on the models of culturally relevant pedagogy, diversity, equity, and inclusion, double consciousness, and a lot more. I also work with admin, educators, school districts, and state stakeholders on the impact of music on social, mental, and emotional health with self-discovery and student growth through presentations, trainings, and webinars. And it's really a joy to be able to combine my two studies. You know and how everything in my life sort of came to be here. It sort of led me there. Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah and so Bruce and I, we both use Quaver and we've talked about Quaver on the show. The resource that you know he uses music teachers. It’s just an awesome resource and it just continues to get better and better and have people like you come into the community there. It's great to see that. How long have you been with Quaver Music? I think it's about two years a little over two years. So you are a Grammy-award-winner Which is amazing. And it was specifically for a blues album. So tell us a little bit about that journey? Yeah, I lived in Nashville before moving back home to Chicago for about, I want to say 5 years. And in Nashville I performed regularly singing background vocals for different artists,  recording studios,  performing live with bands, and you know sometimes even with my own Jazz combo. And Mike Hicks is I think one of the greatest musicians and performers of our time but he's an R&B musician and Nashville producer and just an all-around great person. And he asked if I was free to come into the studio to record background vocals. I was not given any details of who it was for only that it was you know only that he was contracting singers for you know this project. And that at the time I was teaching full-time and so the studio time actually contradicted with my teaching schedule so I actually turned it down. And then randomly Nashville got hit with this snowstorm and Nashville doesn't really get snow and so school ended up getting canceled It's a crazy story. aAd I immediately called Mike and I met him at the studio and this sort of like fate. And I got to the studio and it was none other than the great blues artists and musician Keb Mo who was recording his collaboration album with another icon in the field, Taj Mahal. Yeah, they contracted four singers to sing background vocals throughout that album and I was just lucky enough to be one of them. Wow. So you also sang backup vocals for two feature films. So which films were they? Tell us a little bit about that as well. Yeah, One was a foreign film called I think it's pronounced Johnefe, 17 and the other was for a horror film called The Nanny. And I was also blessed to sing background vocals for Hans Zimmer during his live tour. And I got to sing on Lion King and Superman and Spider-Man. Sometimes I scroll through Netflix and I’m like Inception, Wonder Woman, Gladiator, all the great works of his. And I was really lucky to be there. Amazing yeah. What was that like? Well, so he performed when he came through Nashville he was at the amphitheater Ascend Amphitheater. And it was a crew,  like a huge orchestra playing all of his music live. And that stadium is enormous. It’s one of the biggest ones in Nashville I think. And I was one of I believe it was 9 or 12 singers. And so we were behind the orchestra and we sort of you know powerhoused through all of his songs. And his music is not easy so it's definitely a really fun experience just learning how to read the music, practice the music, perform the music. And yeah it was really really fun. Yeah, that's amazing. Cool. So you have a great song to share with us that everyone can access on YouTube. Am I right about that? Okay cool. Tell us about the sign and some things kids can do at home and even how teachers we have you know we do have teachers that listen to music teachers and a homeschool teachers as well. How they could use that in the classroom. Yeah, one of the greatest parts of working for Quaver is seeing the impact of music to students and teachers across the country. And one of my favorites that we've released as a song called You-Nique spelled you-unique and it's actually sung by a great friend of mine Amani Wilkins from Nashville and produced by Otto Gross who is another great great musician and producer. And I picked this song because when I think about the start of the school year I really think it's about building community, getting to know your students, planning for opportunities for students to get to know each other, feel safe in your classroom. And while we are sort of all over the place remotely hybrid and some are you know teaching live. I think that's no different. And so,  one of my favorite quotes is students don't learn from teachers they don't like. And you know that relationship building is so crucial at the start of the year. And so this is a great song to not only build self-confidence for students but I think for teachers too it's a moment just to step back and sort of reevaluate some of the strengths that we have. When we feel so you know when we're just overcome by obstacles we have to face. And so this song I think one of the great things that you can do with your students is to have them create their own I am affirmations. The song takes you through you know I'm smart. and brave and unique. And so having students create their own or even you as a teacher starting to think about your own strengths and what are your affirmations that you want to tell yourself and remind yourself. And you know I'm a big sticky note person and so you can write those down and just place them all over the wall to sort of remind yourself. And yeah so I think in a moment of so much adversity and a lot of difficult and hard emotions all at once I think you know lessons and songs about building self-confidence is going to be huge. And to do it through music too I think you know obviously that the thing that we love the most. So cool. So thank you so much Sharon. It's been a pleasure to speak with you and learn about your journey with music and what you’re doing now and I cannot thank you enough for being here with us and sharing your knowledge. And I will definitely put a YouTube link of the song so that kids can access that and hopefully they can listen and have some fun with that. So thank you so much. I really appreciate you being here. Thank you so much for having me. This was a blast!

Time to wrap it up, folks! Thank you so much for tuning in to the Music Podcast for Kids. We hope you enjoyed the show, and most importantly, learned something cool today about music. Remember to send in your jokes or even a topic in music you would like us to discuss by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com. If you are interested in awesome educational and fun songs for your kids to listen and sing along with, please visit brucefite.com. Music is available to download with iTunes, CD Baby, and Facebook and most streaming platforms like Spotify and Amazon Radio. Links will be found in the show notes. If you are interested in learning how to play the piano with a fun and engaging curriculum geared toward kids, please subscribe to Mr. Henry's YouTube channel called Mr. Henry's Music World. Links would be found in the show notes. Please visit iTunes to leave a review of the podcast and also share the podcast with friends, relatives, aliens, whoever! Again we thank you so much for tuning in! 

A Jazzy Adventure! (Jazz Music Encore)

Today’s episode kicks off our April Jazz theme on The Music Podcast for Kids! We hope you enjoy this encore presentation of Jazz Music. Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite travel through time to learn all about the history of jazz. Learn about the different styles of jazz that evolved throughout time. Even learn about Mr. Henry’s and Mr. Fite’s experience of playing jazz music! Be sure to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for listening!

Listening Challenge Answers:

Which style of jazz do you hear? 

1. Dixieland Jazz
2. Free Jazz
3. Jazz Fusion
4. Bebop Jazz

Check out our YouTube channel: Remember to Share and Subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGhqK_DWpRIKS45ICqN3eQ

 

***Classroom and Homeschool Teachers*** 

Find our digital resource to help enhance your classroom HERE!

 

Like us on Facebook! 

 

Mr. Fite

Check out original fun and educational music from Mr. Fite at 

https://brucefite.com/music and subscribe to Mr. Fite’s YouTube Channel

 

Mr. Henry

Are you looking for affordable piano lessons for your 6-10-year-old? Start the music journey with Mr. Henry by taking a sneak peek into the Premier Membership with the free mini-piano course! https://www.mrhenrysmusicworld.com/piano

 

 Let the music begin in 3, 2, 1... Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite, exploring along with you. Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite love hanging out with you. The Music Podcast for Kids!

Hello and welcome to The Music Podcast for Kids we're your hosts Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite - Music educators extraordinaire! The Music Podcast for Kids is a fun and educational podcast where we learn and explore the best subject ever -  music!  

In today’s episode, we are learning about Jazz Music.

And now, the music joke of the day. We love jokes, so if you have a joke, please visit our website themusicpodcastforkids.com to submit your joke. And guess what? It doesn't even have to be a music joke; it can be any joke. We will read and enjoy your joke on the podcast and also let everyone know who it came from and where you are in this great big wonderful music world. 

Our joke of the day is

What do you get when you cross a sweet potato and a jazz musician?   

A Yam Session!

Make sure to send in your jokes by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com a link to the website can be found in the show notes. 

 

And now, the music word of the day.

Bruce: Before we get to our main focus of the day, Jazz, let's take a look at the music word of the day: Improvisation!

 

Bill: Improvisation is a fancy smancy word for making something up on the spot.

 

Bruce: The word improvisation can be used for a variety of art forms. We can see improvisation in drama and comedy, dance and of course…. Music.

 

Bill: You can improvise when playing jazz, blues, and many other genres.

 

Bruce: In the 1500s through the 1700s there were many performers entertaining people in the streets of Italy. Performers would come up with a basic storyline, but mainly make up the parts during the performance

 

Bill: That’s right they would improvise!  A mime is a popular type of street actor and will typically improvise while interacting with the crowd.

 

Bruce:  Dancers will also improvise quite a bit. Break dancing is usually completely improvised during a performance. A dancer may have some ideas….. but the order in which they perform the dance moves are improvised.

 

Bill:  The tango also relies on improvisation and is encouraged. Many of the moves ARE practiced but, high-level of dancers also use improvisation.

 

Bruce: Ok, onto Music. Music can be improvised in a variety of styles. Let's take a look at jazz. Listen to this sample of a saxophone performing with drums, piano, and bass. The saxophone in this section does not have any music notes to read…he is just making them up! That is improvisation! 

 

Bill: Next is the blues: take a listen to the piano player improvising with the 12 bar blues……. Nothing is written down. He is just performing anything he wants!

 

Bruce: In rock music, we often hear the electric guitar taking a solo. Let's take a listen…..  At that point, the guitar player is given the opportunity to play whatever he wants. He had to practice a lot to become this good.

 

 Bill: Awesome! And that’s the:

 

Together: “Music Word of the Day!”

 

Thank you so much for listening. We hope you are enjoying the show so far. Please subscribe to the podcast to receive the latest episodes and leave a review through iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Also, get updates on what we are up to through Facebook and Instagram by finding us at Music Podcast for Kids. Links will be found in the show notes. On to the show!

 

And now, the main subject of the day.

 

Bill: Jazz came about a long time ago in New Orleans from African American communities during the 19th and 20th centuries. That’s over 100 years ago!

 

Bruce: Jazz music typically has a swinging beat…..like this (drums play). That is what gave jazz its unique sound and style.

 

Bill: There are many different styles of jazz, so let’s take a journey from the beginning to now. To the music time machine!!!

 

Br: Wait, you have a music time machine?

 

Bill: Yessir, Mr. Fite. Check it out, it’s the Time Travelling Honda Civic 3000.

 

Br: No way, the Time Travelling Honda Civic 3000.

 

Bill: You bet ya, 4 cylinders or pure time travel. It can go 0-60 in about a hundred years….ago… wait that doesn’t sound quite righ…..

 

Bruce: (looking inside) Oh cool, it has cup holders and everything.

 

Bill: Oh yeah it does. Ok, let's get in. Start this bad boy up, punch in the time 1910. New Orleans.

 

1910:  New Orleans. Dixieland Jazz. Yes, this is where it all started. Typically you would hear instruments like the trumpet, trombone, clarinet with a rhythm section. The rhythm section would have at least two of the following instruments:  guitar or banjo, upright string bass, piano, and drums.

 

Bruce: Pretty cool stuff. Love that Dixieland sound. Do you think we could stop for some Gumbo…I’m kinda hungry.

 

Bill: Oh no, we have no time to waste!

 

Bruce: No time to waste? But we are in a time machine. We have all the time in the world!

 

Bill: No, no we must get to the next destination. The 1930’s. Swing Bands! (dials in) and gooooooooooo

  

Bill: In the 1930s big band swing was rockin. It was created for people to dance to! The band grew bigger with more trumpets, trombones, saxophones and definitely had a rhythm section. The rhythm section included the piano, bass, drums, and sometimes guitar.

 

Bruce: Good stuff. It definitely makes me want to dance.

 

Bill: Yeah me too! Ok, onto the next stop! The 1940’s! Wooooahahahhhhhahah

 

Bill: In the 1940s bebop arrived. Bebop has super fast tempos. Tempo is the speed of music and Bebop was the fastest out there.

 

Bruce: It was created by musicians who were looking to perform challenging music. Dizzy Gillespie was well known for getting the bebop style of jazz in place.  

 

Bill: They would have to practice and play a bunch to get that fast! Wow!

 

Bruce: That is the fastest playing I’ve ever heard.

 

Bill: I know right! Ok, the next stop is a little later in the 1940s…when the music chilled out a little.

 

Bruce: Oh chilled out…. Does that mean we can stop for ice cream?

 

Bill: Ice cream? No no no, ok let me punch in the numbers. Here we goooooo!

 

Bill: Later in the 1940s, Cool Jazz was born. Cool jazz is a calmer, slower, and smoother sound. They would hold notes out longer, and longer and longer and…. Hey, do you think you could end that note there? How is he holding that note for so long? (music stops). Oh, well thank you. Miles Davis was well known for his cool jazz trumpet solos.

 

Bruce: That is pretty….cool (drum set hit)

 

Bill: Yes, Mr. Bruce, thank you for that. Ok onto the 1950s! Goooooooooo

 

Bill: In the 1950s, free jazz was introduced.

 

Bruce: Free jazz? You mean no one paid for it anymore?

 

Bill: Oh no no. People paid for it all right. Free Jazz has an unusual sound for many reasons… but one reason is because of the different meters. So for example, if we listen to this swing beat and I count to four, it fits perfectly (1234)…but in free jazz, you may hear something like this….the meter could change from 3 to 4 to 5…all over the place. Let's listen. That would allow musicians to freely play anything they want, and experiment with different sounds, progressions, melodies, and so on. They were thinking outside the music box.

 

Bruce: You mean they used a music box in free jazz? (music box plays)

 

Bill: Oh boy…No no no… I mean…oh forget it. Let's move on. It’s time to get to the 1960s! Woooooahhhhhhh.

 

Bill: In the 1960s-70 jazz fusion or sometimes called “jazz-rock” fusion was born.

 

Scientist (In a scientist's voice) Ah yes, fusion. Is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. For example, binaural fusion (drops the background) is the cognitive process of combining the auditory information received by both ears. Nuclear fusion: multiple atomic nuclei joining to form a nucleus lighter than the combined input nuclei. Or Cold fusion, a hypothesized type of nuclear reaction that would occur at or near room temperature…

 

Bill: Hey who is this guy?

 

Bruce: Oh, that’s my scientist buddy babbling about fusion again.

 

Bill: Hey, um Mr. Scientist guy… um well, we are talking about Jazz Fusion…not Binaural fusion.

 

Scientist: Jazz Fusion? Hmmmmm? Interesting.

 

Bill: Ok, the word fusion deals with mixing two things together. So during this time, rock and jazz music were mixed together to create what we know as fusion. Fusion focused around improvisation and used rock and electronic instruments heavily. Ready for the next stop?

 

Bruce: You betcha!

 

Bill: What about your scientist friend?

 

Bruce: Oh he will be OK here…I think he is going to study more about jazz fusion.

 

Bill: Well Ok! To the ’80s. Here we gooooooooooooo.

 

Bill: In the 1980s, smooth jazz was introduced. Many times the saxophone played the melody with a sweet smooth sound.  

 

Bruce: Artists like Kenny G, the yellowjackets, and many more were popular during this time. Onto the 2000s! Woooooahhhhhh!

 

Bill: In the 2000s- Latin and Afro Cuban jazz were being performed and could be highly rhythmic using a variety of percussion instruments and sounds like the drum set with cowbell, woodblocks. 

 

Bruce: Woah those are some cool sounds!

 

Bill: Super cool! Welp, I guess it’s about time to travel on back. Back to the fu…

 

Bruce: Woah I think I just saw the younger version of myself! Wow, I looked so young….and

 

Bill: Come on Mr. Bruce. Back into the Time Travelling Honda Civic 3000. Gotta learn about what's cookin' in the jazz world now! Woooooahahhhahahahaha.

 

Bruce: Nowadays we find all types of jazz music. Kids and adults learn how to play the earlier jazz music and combine all different styles together. You may even have a jazz band in your elementary, middle, or high school!  Phew, we learned a lot about the history of jazz today.

 

Bill: We sure did.

 

Bruce: What’s your favorite style of jazz?

 

Bill: Oh tough to say, I do like them all. Bebop is fun to listen to, though…all those fast notes! What about you Mr. Bruce?

 

Bruce: Welp…I’d have to say cool jazz.

 

Bill: Oh yeah, well why is that?

 

Bruce: Because it keeps me thinking about ice cream…specifically mint chocolate chip ice cream .it’s the best…the cool minty taste with the combination of a sugar cone on a hot day just chillin’ to the cool jazz

 

Bill: Oh boy….

The Music Podcast for Kids is brought to you by brucefite.com. Our very own Mr. Bruce Fite has truly fun and educational songs to listen to and sing along to. Music can be purchased through Facebook, CDBaby, and other downloadable websites. Stream Bruce’s music through Spotify, Amazon Radio, or wherever you listen to music. Bruce also performs live events. Visit brucefite.com for more information about his music and booking live events.  

Time for the super-duper music challenge. It’s time to test your ears. Test your ears? I don't think you can really give your ears a test Mr. Henry. I mean how do your ears hold a pencil without bleeding? Oh no Mr. Fite, when I say test your ears I mean listening to something and trying to figure it out through hearing it. Oh right of course. Time to play the music podcast for kids super duper music listening challenge. A little bit long of a title? We’ll have to work it out. Okay onto the challenge.

 

For today's challenge, we are going to listen to some jazz music and you have to figure out which style of jazz it is. I will give you two options. Here is number 1. Is this Cool Jazz or Dixieland Jazz? Number 2 is this Free Jazz or Swing Jazz? Number 3. Is this Jazz Fusion or Afro Cuban Jazz? and number 4. Is this Dixieland Jazz or Bebop? To check your answers, go to the show notes. We hope you did an awesome job 

 

Just Chattin’:

So Bruce we talked about jazz and the different styles. Have you ever played in a jazz band? Yes, but I wouldn't call myself a jazz musician. When I was in college they had a jazz band and they welcomed me into the group. I played guitar and it was really kind of learning on the job. Like they didn’t expect much which was kind of nice. It lowered the pressure. But they taught me a lot. They challenged me with the scales in the playing the standards. That was something I appreciated that we played a lot of the jazz standards. Coltrane, things like that. Cool and soloing and you would do solos? Yeah, and they had me do some solos. It was just to kind of feel that pressure of you know you're on. And you know whatever. I had a professor that talked about making mistakes and he used to say when you improvise you really don't make mistakes yeah you just made a decision you didn't think you were going to make and you keep on moving. And it was kind of nice because I think it kind of took the pressure off oh I messed up a note or whatever. Music can be so precise. Improv is just like having a conversation. You mess up a word or whatever, but no big deal. yeah, you just keep going yeah yeah. How about you? We did have a jazz band towards the end of my high school career and I played the drum set in that band. That was fun you know just playing standards. It was a very small school so there weren't many of us. Then in college, I auditioned for piano and drums and was lucky enough to play both of those. So I would actually kind of like switch off in between songs. Wow yeah. And then towards the end of the college career, I was starting to play in so they had a big band and then they had an octet which was just eight players. And so I was able to play drums for that and then sometimes would play piano as well. But then we got a good friend of mine, he was a really good piano player and jazz piano player. And also he was always the guy doing the piano on that which is really cool. So which was nice for me because I like playing the drums too. So it was really cool playing with him. So in and then we would actually play,  the three of us there was him, which was Phil and myself and a kid named Ben who's a really good bass player. And we started to kind of play some stuff just the three of us. Like a trio. It was a lot of fun. And then even today the band I play with we play pop music but we did a lot of jazz stuff as well. Just standards and that was a trio. then we had a saxophone player right so yeah. Speaking of good players, my wife and I, we had an opportunity to go to Puerto Rico for a couple of days. It was a gift someone gave us. And a guy there has a restaurant called a piano bar and he toured with the Beach Boys for ten years and when he retired from that he opened up his own restaurant. We came in and played. Like we were sitting there like oh my goodness and he was phenomenal. All original music, original jazz. And he actually used a melodica keyboard. He had it set up on top doing the left-hand right. It was so it was really cool to see right there in front of you. Like this guy who traveled the world, he was just so relaxed. I love what you said about the improv part of jazz because that is like it's so much fun to do and you don't really think about it differently than you know making sure you get all the notes right. so yeah good stuff. Love it.

 

Time to wrap it up, folks! Thank you so much for tuning in to the Music Podcast for Kids. We hope you enjoyed the show, and most importantly, learned something cool today about music. Remember to send in your jokes or even a topic in music you would like us to discuss by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com. Please visit iTunes to leave a review of the podcast and also share the podcast with friends, relatives, aliens, whoever! Again we thank you so much for tuning in! 

Civilization IV Theme Song (Baba Yetu) Composer Christopher Tin

In today’s episode, Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite talk with two-time Grammy-Award winning composer Christopher Tin.  Learn how he got started in music and the story behind how he wrote the theme song for Civilization IV. Be sure to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for listening!

To learn more about Christopher Tin, visit his website christophertin.com

Subscribe to Christopher Tin’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLtA9_lHZUPRSJcFKmCxYUA

Check out our YouTube channel: Remember to Share and Subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGhqK_DWpRIKS45ICqN3eQ

***Classroom and Homeschool Teachers*** 

Find our digital resource to help enhance your classroom HERE!

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Mr. Fite

Check out original fun and educational music from Mr. Fite at 

https://brucefite.com/music and subscribe to Mr. Fite’s YouTube Channel

 

Mr. Henry

Are you looking for affordable piano lessons for your 6-10-year-old? Start the music journey with Mr. Henry by taking a sneak peek into the Premier Membership with the free mini-piano course! https://www.mrhenrysmusicworld.com/piano

 

Hey there Music Podcast for Kids listeners! This is Mr. Henry and we want to thank you so much for listening to the show. We absolutely love educating the world all about music and you know what's pretty cool? You can be a part of our mission as well. If you leave a review, more people can listen to the show. So, you can help us with the journey of educating the world all about music. So if you could take a moment to leave a review of the show we would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much!

 Let the music begin in 3, 2, 1... Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite, exploring along with you. Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite love hanging out with you. The Music Podcast for Kids!

Hello and welcome to The Music Podcast for Kids we're your hosts Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite - Music educators extraordinaire! The Music Podcast for Kids is a fun and educational podcast where we learn and explore the best subject ever -  music!  

And now, the music joke of the day. We love jokes, so if you have a joke, please visit our website themusicpodcastforkids.com to submit your joke. And guess what? It doesn't even have to be a music joke; it can be any joke. We will read and enjoy your joke on the podcast and also let everyone know who it came from and where you are in this great big wonderful music world. 

Our joke of the day is:

This joke comes from Ethan, a listener of the show. Why does a golfer wear two pairs of pants? In case he gets a hole in one. This joke comes from Zenni, a listener of the show. Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide. 

Make sure to send in your jokes by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com a link to the website can be found in the show notes. 

Thank you so much for listening. We hope you are enjoying the show so far. Please subscribe to the podcast to receive the latest episodes and leave a review through iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Also get updates on what we are up to through Facebook and Instagram by finding us at Music Podcast for Kids. Links will be found in the show notes. On to the show!

Just Chattin’:

Christopher Tin is a two-time Grammy-winning composer of concert and media music. His music has been performed and premiered in many of the world's most prestigious venues: Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Hollywood Bowl. Mr. Tin’s music can be found in video games such as Civilization and films such as Lilo and Stitch 2 and X-Men United to name a few. He also has incredible classical crossover albums which we learn more about in this interview! Be sure to visit christophertin.com for more information. 

We have a very special guest with us today on The Music Podcast for Kids! Christopher Tin, thanks for being on the show! Glad to be here. 

Since we are a music podcast for kids, we always like to ask our special guests how they got started with music. Can you tell us how old you were when you got started? Did you take private lessons? And where your musical journey took you through your growing up years? 

I started music when I was 5. My parents enrolled me in piano lessons, and you know that's kind of like what you did right? Put your kids into music school at that age. I really enjoyed it and I found that as I got older my curiosity with other instruments sort of expanded. So I started playing trumpet maybe in third grade or something like that.  I started playing guitar in high school and bass in high school, started singing in high school. And writing music. And all these other things in high school. And it just kind of blossomed form there. So from an early age I was exposed. So you've received many awards including two Grammy Awards which is amazing but I first would like to ask you about the Guinness Book of World Records award that you received. Could you tell us more about that? That was for winning the very first Grammy award for a piece of music written for a video game. That was my song Baba Yetu which was written for the game Civilization IV. It became kind of a hit. And when I re-released it at the opening track on my debut album it won a Grammy. And the album also won a Grammy so that's what my claim to fame is. Yeah cool. So speaking of that, an album you wrote called Calling All Dawns in 2011 that won the Grammy for the best classical crossover album. First of all can you educate us about what a crossover album is and then when you were creating the album were you specifically trying to have your music cross over to another genre? Well I was absolutely trying to make my music cross over to another genre. I mean that it is essentially what a crossover album is,  it's a piece of music that brings together two different genres of music. And in this case Calling All Dawns was an album that fused various World music traditions with sort of a classical sensibility. So it was just a crossover between you know non-western folk music and classical music, hence,  classical crossover. That's great. So alongside composing music, you’re a conductor, artistic director. I’d like to learn more about your conductor director role in two different scenarios. So first, responsibilities for like a live concert and what you would tackle within a recording session with studio musicians. Would you say those scenarios have a big difference as to like what a conductor would do or is it kind of the same thing? Yeah could you elaborate on that? Well the only real similarity they share is the mechanics of conducting. You know your baton technique, where the orchestra is placed around you. But beyond that they are very different tasks. When you're conducting a concert for one thing your rehearsal time is very limited. Everyone is watching you, you're giving feedback because you're, you know, you're the person in charge of the sound that is coming at you. And then you try to figure out the balance issues as best you can on the podium. But when you're in the recording studio it’s a completely different story because a lot of times everyone's wearing headphones you know they're trying to hear each other. Sometimes there's a click track sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes you have to record the orchestra separate from the choir and in fact usually you do. you record the orchestra separate from the soloist and the choir and other special ensembles. And frankly when you're in a recording studio with an orchestra around you can't really hear everything the same way the people in the control room can hear everything.  So a lot of times your main task in that recording session is just to get an inspired performance out of performers. But it's hard to really know if that was a good take or not because frankly I can't hear everything because the way everything is baffled off, like screened off right. That's when you rely on your producer who is sitting in the control room to help tell you whether that was a good take or not. That's cool. And does  that feel different too? I imagine when you're not responding to the having all of hearing all of the sounds do you have to kind of creative almost a pseudo inspiration to you know to to keep the emotions there throughout throughout the pieces when you're in the studio or do you have enough information to go for a measure as you're conducting to to keep it real and what was the feeling that you you want to get from it? I think your thoughts are on very different things. I mean when I'm in a recording studio I know there whatever is being performed is being captured for posterity and so my mind is actually less on trying to Inspire an emotional performance and more on listening to what's coming back at me as best I can. Right? And I'm trying to decide whether this is good or not.  Whereas in performance you know that whatever they play that's it you know what to do with it is done with your moving on. So you’re actually thinking ahead in the piece a little more in performance. You’re thinking about what  is coming up and I know that this is a tricky temple change and the harp really needs to stay with me. So I need to know to look at the harpist and and and you know get a good performance out of them. So in a way in live performance I'm a little less aware of what's actually going on. My mind is sort of thinking ahead and trying to steer the performance as best I can. So we’re always really interested in the process a composer takes when getting started and working through their own process.  We spoke with Eric Whitacre a while back, a choral composer and he was telling us that he draws sketches that eventually will be represented by the music he creates. So what kind of process do you have to get started as you're piecing your music together? I think I have the complete opposite process as Eric. I have never warmed to the draw a sketch of your piece and then sort of fill-in-the-blank later. I have more of a general sense we are going to end but start and then start writing from the beginning and move forward and try to end up there. I’m really more that person because that’s how we experience music. We experience music from the start to the end right? And so if I write the first 30 seconds of a piece of music I want to be able to sit back and reflect on how those 30 seconds make me feel before I tackle the next 30 seconds and calibrate those next 30 seconds accordingly. So I’m very much a start from the beginning and more forward sort of person. And when you’re doing that are you typically at the piano kind of coming up with an arrangement on the piano and then adding orchestration to it or just straight writing it down or how do you tackle that? In recent years I've started staying on the piano as long as I can and sketching things out and then tackling the orchestration. I think that comes from a bit of a position of self confidence and experience. Because I know that as I'm sketching things out on piano I already have a sense of what the orchestration is. I don’t really feel the need to go down and notate it. I'm not going to forget what the orchestration is going to be. I also like to stay unencumbered by minuscule decisions for as long as possible. Orchestration is one of these very bogged down with like how am I going to to bow this and like is this the right notation for this. I would much rather kind of sketch a  really sloppy piano sketch out from start to finish and then go in and refine it. And in the process of refining, actually ideas get revisited and revised and you know you throw out some ideas that maybe you sketched out on piano. relaxing idea that maybe you expand certain sections you know a way to have a second pass at your material having already had the benefit of sketching everything out. Going back and saying now that I know how I’m filling in the blanks, now that I know how the whole thing is going to be laid out, how can we adjust knowing that we’re going to do this later on. So that's sort of the way I like these days. So you’ve written many pieces of music for video games. First is writing for video games something that you were always interested in like as a kid growing up like I want to write for video games? I hear kids saying that all the time. Is that something that you were looking to do? No not at all. If you asked me as a kid what I wanted to do with my life it wasn’t that. I wouldn’t want to write music for video games, it’s totally to play video games. Truth be told the video game thing sort of stumbled across my desk randomly. I went to my college reunion and I bumped into my old roommate who was now a celebrated video game designer and then we connected and just  talked about his next video game. And that next video game turned out to be Civilization 4 which I wrote the song Baba Yetu for. That was the first piece of music I ever wrote for a video game actually. It was never a lifelong dream of mine.  I love it. I love writing for games and I love the industry. I think there’s really great talented, smart people in the business. But I like doing a lot of things musical. Like recording albums. I like you know scoring films. I like conducting my music. I like teaching. I like a lot of different things. It’s never been you know I want to be a video game designer. That’s just one component of the whole thing. The piece Baba Yetu recently celebrated its 15th year anniversary. And this piece also won a Grammy in 2011 which is incredible. And to give some context to the audience Baba Yetu was the theme song for a popular game released in 2005 called civilization 4.  You were just talking about that. Could you explain the characteristics of the piece and how it translated so well to that game civilization 4? The piece itself is a bit of a crossover piece like we talked about before. It's a fusion of African Gospel vocals, Orchestra, and big cinematic percussion. And these are actually three different areas of music that I have a lot of familiarity with. In college I directed an a cappella group that specialized in African and African-American music. And then I studied composition orchestration. You know the classical way right. And then I also played Japanese Taiko in college. The giant Japanese drums that you see. That was I played in an ensemble and I typically played the largest drum. It’s the o-daiko drum that you play sideways like this. So these are things I very much know about already. I was given the chance to sort of synthesize them all into one piece for this video game. Yeah that's kind of a sound of Baba Yetu this fusion. And why it works so well for Civilization, this particular video game. Civilization is a video game about founding a civilization from the earliest days to modernity, right. And sort of this world music but classical sweep of the piece just lends itself very well to this idea of fusing cultures across history. So you recently released an oratorio about the history of flight called To Shiver the Sky. And first can you educate the audience a little bit about an oratorio? So oratorio is a  large-scale work, uses of the orchestra and voices focusing on a particular theme but no costumes and production acting that kind of stuff. Can you tell us more about To Shiver the Sky? Well, yes like you mentioned oratorio. I call it an oratorio. Oratorios typically deal with sacred subjects. I like to bend definitions a little. So Handel's Messiah for example is the most well known oratorio. It is with soloists and choir and different vocal groups. And tells the story of Aviation from the earliest days from Leonardo da Vinci sketching in his notebooks about a flying machine all the way up through Jules Verne writing fantastical stories about exploring space. To Amelia Earhart and her solo flight across the Atlantic to Yuri Gagarin being the first man launched into outer space. And finally when John F. Kennedy in 1962 said we choose to go to the moon before the end of the decade. We’re going to put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth. And in my mind that is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. The fact that we were able to pull together and say you know what we're going to do this crazy thing. We're going to put a man on the moon within 8 years and by the way we have no idea how we’re going to do this. The technology, the science had not been invented yet. We don’t know anything about this. But we’re going to do it. This is just an amazing sort of example of leadership and vision right. Beside that and the entire nation pulled together behind this visionary president and we made it happen. And it was an amazing story. And I think it's an amazing story to reflect on, especially in this world we live in now where we still have lost a bit of our confidence as a people to do the big difficult amazing things. It’s a nice reminder that you know what? We’re still those people and really do the great things. The piece is just great. I've been listening to it and just such a cool idea. I love the idea and I love how people can be educated and learn about all these different you know all these different examples of the progression of flight to of course getting to the moon so just think it's just fabulous. Well, thank you I appreciate that. So many of our listeners are kids. What advice our bit of wisdom would you share with our listeners as they explore music around them? My advice to young musicians is to stay curious about music and to foster that curiosity. And you know explore the world of music around you because as we all know there are so many different types of music genres, of music instruments that you can play, pieces that you can write, formats that you can write in. You can be a recording artist. You can write musical theater. You could score films, you could score video games, you can do anything right? It's an amazing playground in a world to live in. And the way you stay happy living in that world is to always foster this lifelong excitement about discovering and doing new things in music.  So I would say soak it all up you know like practice being a hungry musician and devouring all the music around you. You know, cultivate this curiosity. I think and that'll keep you engaged and excited about music for the rest of your life. That's great Christopher Tin, we want to thank you again for your great music and for taking time out to chat with us on the music podcast for kids and wish you all the best as you continue inspiring, entertaining and educating the music world. Thanks so much. Thank you for having me. 

Easter Bunny Rap/Carl Orff and Special Guest Jessica Grant

In today’s episode, you get to move and groove with the Easter Bunny Rap, get to know the legendary composer and elementary music influencer, Carl Orff, and learn some fun ideas for the general music classroom from teacher and podcaster Jessica Grant. Be sure to leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for listening!

Watch an orchestra and chorus perform Carmina Burana HERE.

Watch and jam along to the Easter Bunny Rap HERE.

Listen to Afternoon Ti with Jessica Grant HERE.

Explore more online music resources:

Movement:

Go Noodle: https://www.gonoodle.com/

Body Percussion:  https://www.youtube.com/c/SantiSerratosaSSM/videos 

Individual Routine with chairs:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDQXhWeXcy8

Broadway: https://www.todaytix.com/insider/nyc/posts/12-broadway-dances-you-can-learn-at-home-right-now

https://hipshakefitness.com/dance/broadway-dance-tutorial-compilation/

You Can’t Stop the Beat from Hairspray

Hip Hop:  H.Y.P.E. the Breaks videos on YouTube created by Hip-Hop Public Health.  H.Y.P.E. = Helping Young People Energize - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFM-YWyieDk&list=RDXFM-YWyieDk&start_radio=1&t=3

Bounce - Jump and Kick - Flow

Conducting:  Read-Along Read Alouds with Robert Franz: https://www.robertfranz.com/read-aloud-childrens-books

He is the conductor of the Windsor Symphony, Boise Baroque Orchestra, and Houston Symphony - Idaho Orchestra Institute

Wrote the book Stella’s Magical Musical Balloon Ride - Five parts

Listen to the story and then conduct a piece at the end with Robert

Make Music Count - Math and music

Singing:

Facebook - The Singing Space which was begun by Meg Tietz… great way for individuals or families to sing or play their favorite songs to share with others or to learn new songs

YouTube - Victoria Boler’s channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy8bVUHYQ2OuQ1f-nACWqoA

lots of things for teachers and some great examples of folk songs students can learn through listening

A few favorites:  Sol Sol Sol, Oh How lovely is the Evening, Little Bitty Man

YouTube - Rob Amchin - https://www.youtube.com/c/RobertAmchin/playlists

- Love the playlists as they’re broken down by topics such as speech pieces, bubbles, tennis balls, early childhood, and orff games

- Lots of ideas: 2-4-6-8, Alligator pie, 

Waldorf School Songs Website - great resource for teachers - https://www.waldorfschoolsongs.com/

Being comfortable singing your favorite songs with your kids at home - singing songs that were sung to you, favorite songs that you love

Check out our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGhqK_DWpRIKS45ICqN3eQ

***Classroom and Homeschool Teachers*** 

Find our digital resource to help enhance your classroom HERE!

Like us on Facebook! 

Mr. Fite

Check out original fun and educational music from Mr. Fite at 

https://brucefite.com/music and subscribe to Mr. Fite’s YouTube Channel

Mr. Henry

Are you looking for affordable piano lessons for your 6-10-year-old? Start the music journey with Mr. Henry by taking a sneak peek into the Premier Membership with the free mini-piano course! https://www.mrhenrysmusicworld.com/piano

 

 

Hey there Music Podcast for Kids listeners!  This is Mr. Henry, and we just wanted to sincerely thank you so much for tuning into the show,  listening to the show. And if you could do us a huge, huge favor, if you could leave a review, that would just be absolutely fantastic. With reviews we can get more people to listen to the show and spread the love of music. So, if you could just take a little bit of time to leave a review, that would be absolutely fantastic! So thank you so much again and we hope you have a great week!

  Let the music begin in 3, 2, 1... Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite, exploring along with you. Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite love hanging out with you. The Music Podcast for Kids!

Hello and welcome to The Music Podcast for Kids we're your hosts Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite - Music educators extraordinaire! The Music Podcast for Kids is a fun and educational podcast where we learn and explore the best subject ever -  music!  

And now, the music joke of the day. We love jokes, so if you have a joke, please visit our website themusicpodcastforkids.com to submit your joke. And guess what? It doesn't even have to be a music joke; it can be any joke. We will read and enjoy your joke on the podcast and also let everyone know who it came from and where you are in this great big wonderful music world. 

Our joke of the day is

This joke comes from a listener of the show. And I hope I pronounce your name correctly - Kavi. Here is the joke. Knock, knock...who’s there? Little old lady. Little old lady who? I didn’t know you could yodel!

Make sure to send in your jokes by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com a link to the website can be found in the show notes. 

Thank you so much for listening. We hope you are enjoying the show so far. Please subscribe to the podcast to receive the latest episodes and leave a review through iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Also get updates on what we are up to Facebook and Instagram by finding us at Music Podcast for Kids. Links will be found in the show notes. On to the show!

And now, the Music Spotlight!

Carl Orff was born in 1895 and passed away in 1982. He was a composer from Germany and a very important figure in elementary music education. Carl Orff showed a great deal of talent in music at an early age and his mother decided to have him start playing the piano at the age of 5. He was even writing his own music in his early years! He then started to take lessons on the cello, which is an instrument that is part of the string family.  Young Carl then added the organ as another instrument to learn. The organ is typically found in a church and has a bunch of pipes, large and small that are all connected to a large keyboard, and when you press a key down on the organ, it sends air through the pipes to make a large sound. Well, as the years went Carl continued to learn and began publishing music that he wrote at the age of 16 while continuing his studies into his 20’s and then began teaching. In 1924, he founded a school called the Günther School for gymnastics, music, and dance in Munich and was the head of the school until 1944 when it shut down. There he developed new methods of teaching kids music and called it “Schulwerk” which combines music, movement, drama, and speech. Many teachers use Carl Orff’s methods found in his published work even today! It allows kids to be in a natural state of play; making the best environment for learning music. So if you really enjoy music class, Mr. Carl Orff definitely played a role in making a music class fun. And not just for kids...for us teachers too. His most famous piece of music is Carmina Burana. Its epic sound is used in many events, commercials, and performances. Make sure to visit the show notes to find an incredible video and performance of Carl Orff’s opening to the awesome piece “Carmina Burana”.  

Speaking of fun, well,  Easter is coming, and what better way to celebrate than with the Easter Bunny Rap. You know how Mr. Carl Orff combined movement and music. Well, in this song, you will get to move along with some body percussion. In the song, you will echo a pattern that is performed, which means the body percussion part will be heard and you have to perform it back. So get your ears ready. And if you want to check out the video that goes along with the Easter Bunny Rap, make sure to check the show notes to watch the video! And now we present; The Easter Bunny Rap!     

 

Just Chattin’: Jessica Graham is from Michigan and currently lives in Texas where she teaches middle school music. Prior to her teaching Middle School, she taught elementary General music for 14 years. Jessica is also the host and creator of the podcast Afternoon Ti; a podcast giving music educators ideas and experiences in teaching music. Today we discuss movement activities that can be done at home or in school and can be reached virtually for free. There are many more resources she offered that we did not discuss that can be found in the show notes. We hope you enjoy this interview. Hi Jessica and welcome to the show. Hi Bill thank you for having me. Absolutely and it’s great to have you on the show here. And what I always like to start with is for you to tell us a little bit about your journey with music as a kid. You know you could tell us what you did in school and maybe if you took private lessons or take private lessons,  so what kind of things did you experience as a kid? So, my mom was a music teacher so I grew up with music in the house and she accompanied local choirs especially the high school choir. And one of my first musical experiences I would say was learning the songs to Fame the musical because that was the music she was playing on the piano. So at the age of like three or four I would walk around the house singing you know all of the fame songs and yeah I just love that. And so I would go to all of her rehearsals and I would sit and listen to the choirs and watch her play. And I took piano lessons for years and for the most part enjoyed that. It was always hard to practice. I like performing the songs but the practicing got easier as I got older. And then I really loved dance so I took dance for years. Loved Hip Hop and Jazz and ballet and all the things. And in high school and middle school and all through college I enjoyed singing in choir. So I really enjoyed doing a lot with movement and choral singing and playing piano. Yeah that’s awesome, yeah, so, my mom was actually a music teacher as well. Both my parents were music majors and my mom was my teacher for many years. Yeah yeah yeah so I hear you on all the music just always be in there in the house yeah that's super cool. 

So currently you are a music teacher. So where do you teach and what grades do you teach now? I teach grades 5 through 8 at a school called Good Shepherd Episcopal School in Dallas Texas. And this will be my sixth year teaching there and before that I taught for 14 years in the public school system K through 5. So are you originally from Texas? No, I grew up in Michigan and then went to school in Tennessee and came back to Michigan and I met my husband long distance and it was easier for me to move then for his career to move. So made the way down here and now I’m texan at heart for sure. Yeah that's awesome so you also have a podcast and it's called Afternoon Ti and it's a podcast for music teachers like myself. And so could you tell us a little bit about the show? Sure. So as a music teacher I feel like every music teacher has something to share and something different or a different slant to help other music teachers. And I felt like I was at a point where I had some ideas that I thought might be helpful for other teachers and so I decided to start using the things I had around my house, a microphone and my computer and oftentimes we would go in our master bedroom closet and just recording a very simplistic way. But to give other teachers ideas of what to do with movement or singing or even teacher self-care, how to take care of your teacher-health your voice and different things that you can do not only for your students in the community but as a teacher personally. So I enjoy interviewing people like you do and just learning. I feel like I've learned so much by talking to other music teachers and just sharing what I can in whatever way I can just to hope that it helped somebody else. I love that and yeah I listen to your show and it really does you really do get a lot of ideas you know just from listening and you also get an idea of like oh yeah yeah what I'm doing is working well. Yeah so I thought it's really a great resource and any music teachers listening or even if you are a parent is doing homeschooling checking out the podcast is going to help with some things. So and we're going to talk even more about some cool activities here. but before I get to that I do want to let everyone know that it's afternoon ti TI right? Which is do re me fa so la ti right that note. I love that play on words,  it's great. So let’s get to some of these cool movement activities. You know one of the things that were experiencing right now are kids at home and one of the things that I love to do in my music classes to get kids moving right we want kids to move doing it eurhythmics which is basically kids getting up in and moving around to the music, feeling the beat, bouncing balls and doing all of these fun things that kids love to do but are also helping them develop musically. So we thought it’d be neat to discuss some movement activities that we could offer our audience so that kids could do these activities at home. They're all online-based so let’s hear some, you've got some great online resources. What I tried to think of was finding resources that were not only available online but if teachers were using them in the classroom since we're having to keep that 6 foot distance. But we want our kids to still participate in movement and moving their bodies to music so the first one I thought of was GoNoodle. I know a lot of people may know about that one but it's a great one to mention because it can cover such a wide age span. And I feel like it's simple for any teacher really to put it on and the kids know instinctively what to do and copy. So that’s one I want to mention. And then the second one has been a favorite of mine for several years and it's body percussion and it's by a  man named Santi Seratosa. And his are more intricate though I have found ways to simplify. You can simply find a pattern you like that he shares and imitate it and do it longer over a period of time rather than going super fast through it. But he does things with chairs or in boxes or layering different ostinato patterns so that then you can allow students to maybe choose one and copy it or you can even use the tutorials that he gives. And I love there's some pop songs he does like Try by Colbie Caillat or something just like this by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay and he'll walk you through all the body percussion. A lot of it sitting in chairs which is also ideal for where we're at right now it's movement but the kids are isolated. But he also has some that have to do with Shostakovich’s Waltz  and Vivaldi's Four Seasons. And you can go right through the tutorials and as a teacher I've gone through it and then I made kind of notes about what he's doing and then I find where I need to simplify. But as far as parents being at home they may be cool ones to watch and then create your own if it's too difficult. Or take parts of it so those are two things I would mention that way you have an idea for younger students but you can also push some of your older students or even adults might enjoy it. I like how that website really focuses on not just the classical music right but they want to include pop music as well. So yeah that's a lot of fun, great. Well thank you so much and there's actually a bunch of other parts that you gave me here which is which is awesome. And we're going to include those in the show notes and we’ll also put Afternoon Ti in the show notes. So yeah I thank you so much Jessica for being on the show and sharing your knowledge. I know you have a lot there so it's really just it's great. I love talking to other music teachers and getting ideas and then sharing that so that we can kid’s experiencing music even better so well thank you so much I'll see you. We would like to thank Jessica Grant again for being a part of the show. Jessica gave a bunch of great resources on top of what was discussed in the show which are found in the show notes. So if you're a teacher or parent looking for great resources for movement and singing activities that can be done virtually make sure to check out the show notes. Also make sure to check out Jessica's podcast Afternoon Ti. 

Time to wrap it up folks! Thank you so much for tuning in to the Music Podcast for Kids. We hope you enjoyed the show, and most importantly, learned something cool today about music. Remember to send in your jokes or even a topic in music you would like us to discuss by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com. If you are interested in awesome educational and fun songs for your kids to listen and sing along with, please visit brucefite.com. Music is available to download with iTunes, CD Baby, and Facebook streaming platforms like Spotify and Amazon Radio. Links will be found in the show notes. If you are interested in learning how to play the piano with a fun and engaging curriculum geared toward kids, please subscribe to Mr. Henry's YouTube channel called Mr. Henry's Music World. Links would be found in the show notes. Please visit iTunes to leave a review of the podcast and also share the podcast with friends, relatives, aliens, whoever! Again we thank you so much for tuning in! 

 

Music of Latin America (Encore)

Music of Latin America

Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite have an amazing adventure to another dimension in today’s episode. They explore all kids of cool instruments used in Latin American music. Conga, maracas, cajon, oh my! They also compete in a cool game show hosted by Jerry Slapdash (who thinks he’s really handsome). We hope you enjoy today’s adventure learning about the music of Latin America!

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(Transcript)

Let the music begin in 3, 2, 1... Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite, exploring along with you. Learning music, having fun. That’s what we’re gonna do. Mr. Henry, Mr. Fite love hanging out with you. The Music Podcast for Kids!

Hello and welcome to The Music Podcast for Kids we're your hosts Mr. Henry and Mr. Fite - Music educators extraordinaire! The Music Podcast for Kids is a fun and educational podcast where we learn and explore the best subject ever -  music!  

 

And now, the music joke of the day. We love jokes, so if you have a joke, please visit our website themusicpodcastforkids.com to submit your joke. And guess what? It doesn't even have to be a music joke; it can be any joke. We will read and enjoy your joke on the podcast and also let everyone know who it came from and where you are in this great big wonderful music world. 

 

Our joke of the day is:

Bill: Welp, I think it’s official. 

Bruce: Official? 

Bill: Yup, officially lost. 

Bruce: No way….. I know exactly where we are going. It’s up there, straight ahead. The fastest piano player in the west 

Bill: Well, alright, I sure hope you're right it’s getting hot out here and my back is kinda hurtin’. Gonna hop off this horse and take a break for a minute. (Hops off and walks but there is a shaking sound)

Bruce: Umm, what is that sound? 

Bill: (scared ... ) you mean that rattle sound…

Bruce: Yes, that rattle sound…. It gotta be a rattler!! 

Bill: (shaking and shivering scared) Ohhhh no, where is it? Can you see it?

Bruce: Just relax, I can’t quite see it yet,

Bill: Relax? How can I relax? There's a rattler near me.. oh it’s getting louder! 

Bruce: I don’t really see that rattler but yeah just relax and don’t move…

Bill: don’t move?  I can’t stop shaking…. I’m just too scared of rattlers! 

Bruce: wait a gosh darn tootin second here…. what you got in that bag?

Bill: What does it matter what’s in my bag… there’s a rattler near me! I don’t wanna get bit! I wanna see the fastest piano player in the west!

Bruce: (gets off horse) now get on over here and let me see that bag.

Bill: No stay on your horse! Save yourself, save the horse! 

Bruce: Give me that bag!.... (takes bag) Yup, just what I thought…. a bag of maracas… there’s your rattler for ya. 

Bill: aw well shucks I... I knew that… forgot  about that bag of maracas...

Bruce: Well that’s enough drama for one day, let’s get a move on.

Bill: Sounds good, just take a swig of this here water can and get back on my horse and……(rattle sound)

Together: Rattlers!!! 

Make sure to send in your jokes by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com a link to the website can be found in the show notes. 

 And now, the music word of the day.

Bill: Before we get to our main subject of the day, Music from Latin America, let’s check out the music word of the day: Conga! 

Bruce: Congas are drums that are tall and narrow. You can play them by sitting down, but many times you will see them paired together and mounted on a rack.   

Bill: It’s important to not get the congas mixed up with the bongos. 

Bruce: That's right, bongos are like a mini version of the conga drums. Congas are big and bongos are small. 

Bill: Conga drums are used in all types of music but originated in Afro Cuban Music. 

Bruce: The conga drum became more well known after the popular Conga Line tune and dance came about. 

Bill: Oh yeah I love the conga line. That's the one where everyone gets in a big line to form a circle to follow some fun three step shuffle. 

Bruce: That's right, and that's the word of the day

Together: Conga! 

The music podcast for kids is brought to you by Mr. Henry's Music World YouTube channel. If you are interested in learning how to play the piano with a fun and engaging curriculum geared towards kids please subscribe to Mr. Henry's YouTube channel called mr. Henry's Music World. Links will be found in the show notes. Again, we thank you so much for tuning in. 

Thank you so much for listening. We hope you are enjoying the show so far. Please subscribe to the podcast to receive the latest episodes and leave a review through iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Also get updates on what we are up to Facebook and Instagram by finding us at Music Podcast for Kids. Links will be found in the show notes. On to the show!

And now, the main subject of the day.

Bill: (as if behind a door, while trying to open up a door)  I don’t know Mr. Fite, I don't think there are any instruments up here anymore, they may have been sold at a garage sale…(door opens up)

Together: Woooooaaaaahhhhhh 

Bruce:   Gee, it’s a little dusty up here in the attic. 

Bill: Sure is! Wow, there is a bunch of stuff up here. 

Bruce:  Ok, there has got to be some instruments from Latin America in here somewhere. 

Bill: I don’t know Mr. Fite, but we can certainly look. 

Bruce:  Whats this small box thing here?  

Bill: Oh man, that's my pre-tendo.  

Bruce:  Pre-tendo? 

Bill: Yeah, it's where I get to pretend to play video games, oh man I remember my most favorite game of all…. shmelda.   

Bruce:  Shmelda? Are you sure you don’t mean...

Bill: Ahh yes, shmelda, where you try and guess the smell of the... 

Bruce: Oh wow, look over here! I think I found something. 

Bill: Oh cool. What is that? 

Bruce:  Its the...it’s the…. maraca! 

Bill: Nice! So maybe the instruments were not sold. Sweet! You found one, is there another? 

Bruce: Lets see here….. Umm…. eeshhh…… yup here it is! 

Bill: Awesome! Let's hear the sweet sound of the maracas! 

Bruce: Yup, these will do just perfectly for our presentation on music from Latin America. 

Bill: Sure will. What's the story about with these instruments? 

Bruce: Well first off, the maracas is made from a tree fruit in Puerto Rico called the higuera. 

Bill: From a fruit? Oh I’ve heard about this before ...and I’m pretty sure that doesn't work...I tried to make a maracas with apples the other day and it just turned into a bunch of mushy apple… sauce…. 

Bruce: Oh no no… this type of fruit has a hard shell, and once the pulp is taken out of the fruit, the hard shell sits until completely dried out, then seeds or pebbles are put inside and it is closed on up with a handle and boom, you have a maraca. 

Bill: Sweet! 

Bruce: Yeah, there are all different types of maracas that are used in particular parts of latin America. This one is made with cuero, which is a type of animal skin which are often found in the Carribbean. 

Bill: Cool! Let's find some other instruments from latin America. I’m going to check back here. 

Bruce: Sounds good, I will keep looking through this box…..dum da dum…..aghrghgh… oh what could this be? Hey Mr. Henry I think I found something... 

Bill:.Ummmm Mr. Fite? Uhhhh I think I found something as well….. I don't think you are going to believe me though. 

Bruce: oh well, what is it?

Bill: No seriously, I think you need to come see this… 

Bruce: Oh come on, just tell me! 

Bill: Well ok, it looks like a portal to another dimension! 

Bruce:What? A portal to another dimension! Come on Mr. Henry, stop playing around..

Bill: I’m not playing around! You gotta see this….

Bruce:  (walking towards) Mr. Henry, I’m pretty sure its not a portal to another dimension that's impossible, plus check out this instrument I just found its the gui…… (blast sound) 

Together:  (epic music playing..) Wooooooooooaaaaaaahhhhhhhh 

Bill:  See, I told ya Mr. Fite. I opened up this door that said “portal to another dimension” 

Bruce: Why would you open a door that ever says that!? 

Bill: You’re joking right?  Why wouldn't you open a door that says that! Come on we gotta check this out! 

Bruce: Oh no...no way...I’ve seen this in movies before, it doesn't seem to ever work out quite right. There is usually something that will end up chasing after you, and you have to run a bunch and I already did my morning run, so I am set to…. 

Bill: Oh come on, nothing bad will happen. We may even be able to find more instruments from Latin America for our presentation! 

Bruce: Oh boy...well...that's true I guess… 

Bill:. Ok, cool..let's get going ... (portal music plays and crashes in)

(music from a game show is playing)

Bruce: Woah, that was crazy…. 

Bill: Yeah it was…. 

Bruce: What is going on….

Slapdash: (in background) Hahahaha! Welcome!  Oh boy I am looking handsome today…. Welcome, welcome! 

Bruce: Mr. Slapdash? 

Bill: Yeah Mr. Slapdash? What is he doing here? 

Bruce: Oh boy...already regretting going through that portal. 

Bill: Oh no...it’ll be fine...I’m sure Mr. Slapdash has become a better game show host since the last time we saw him….

Bruce: Yeah lets hope

Slapdash: Step right up Mr. Fite and Mr. henry! Great to see you both! You two seem very confident and totally in tune with what's going on 

Bruce: Ummm no Mr. Slapdash, we have no idea what's going on...I mean we just stepped through some wierd portal and now, bam, here we are talking with you...

Bill: Wait did he say we are “totally in tune”...haha… I get it

Slapdash: Right! Well, welcome to the instrument identification game, where you will listen to these instruments from Latin America and figure out which instrument it is. 

Bruce: Wait, did you say instrument from Latin America? This is perfect! We were just talking about instruments from Latin America 

Bill: yeah, this is perfect. See I told ya so Mr. Fite. 

Slapdash: Ahh right! Let’s get on with the game today! And it appears we are out of time! 

Bruce: What? Out of time? We just started 

Bill: Yeah Mr. Slapdash, we didn't even get to start the game yet.. 

Slapdash: Ahhh right LOL, JK…(clears throat).... Ahhh ok. You will listen to two different instruments. One is from Latin America and the other is not. You must tell me which one is from Latin America, and write a 32 page essay about that instrument. You have 10 seconds...here...we …. 

Bruce: Wait, did you say write a 32 page essay with only 10 seconds of time? 

Bill: Yeah mr. Slapdash that's impossible.  

Slapdash: Ahh right..uhhh.. Did I say that? Oh whatever...just figuring out the instrument will do just fine. Ok...here ...we ...go! Number 1 instrument: (plays) Number 2 instrument… which one is from Latin America? 

Bruce: Umm, I think i’ m going with the second one. Sound just like the conga drum!  

Bill: Yeah totally does. Good thinking Mr. Fite. We are going with - the conga drum!  

Slapdash: No sorry, that is not my favorite instrument, actually my favorite instrument is the nose harp...it just twangs along so nicely..

Bruce: Mr. Slapdash! 

Bill: Yeah Mr. Slapdash… we are not supposed to be picking your favorite instrument; the nose harp… 

Bruce: Wait..did you just say picking the nose...har…

Slapdash: Hahaha just JKing you both there ...You are correct! The conga drum! From Latin America! (music plays, audience claps)

Bruce: Oh great!

Bill: Sweet! 

Slapdash: Ok, onto the next question. Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? 

Bruce: What? 

Bill: Oh boy…. 

Slapdash: Haha.. Ok, here is the next listening challenge. Which is from latin America. Is it number 1 (plays) or number  2 (plays) 

Bill: I’m going with number 1. Sounds like the steel drum! 

Bruce: Yeah, I think you're totally right Mr. Henry. The steel drum can also be called the steel pan. 

Slapdash: Why would you want to steal a drum or a pan. That doesn’t seem like a good idea you know, you could get in big trouble...

Bruce: No no, Mr Slapdash, the steel drum or steel pan is spelled S T E E L.. like the metal material “steel”. 

Bill: Right! The steel drum can actually be made from a 55 gallon industrial drum. They carefully craft each part of the steel to have different pitches to create that cool sound. 

Slapdash: Ah well right...let me see here...I am going to look over here to pretend like there is someone to check that answer and it looks like, yes Bob, is that correct…. Ummm (continues in background…) 

Bruce: Who is he looking at? I don’t see anyone… 

Bill: Yeah..there is no Bob.. In this room… oh boy

Slapdash: Ahah!, Well yes, that is the answer! The Steel Drum! (music plays audience claps)  And you are today's winners! 

Bruce: Wooohoo! Awesome. 

Bill: Yeah for sure, what do we win? 

Slapdash:  Well, what do you have for them Johnny? Ummm johnny? 

Bruce: I don't think there is a johnny… 

Slapdash:  Ahh right of course… well...guess what, you get a fantastic trip to the Caribbean to learn more about the instruments from latin America! 

Bill: Oh sweet! 

Slapdash: Yes! And right over here is the teleportation zaporoonie 3000 s model 

Bruce: Oh no, remember Mr. Henry, we already tried this thing… I’m still trying to get all of my hair back… 

Bill: Oh, I think they have updated the system since then. I’m sure there is nothing wrong with the teleportation zaporoonie 3000 s model now. Right Mr. Slapdash? 

Slapdash: Oh yes, of course, nothing will happen..yes, they have ...umm...upgraded the system, the only thing I have seen is some folks come back in mini form...

Bruce: Mini form??

Bill: Oh I’m sure he means we feel so small in this great big music world..right Mr. Slapdash? 

Slapdash: uhh well, are you familiar with the size of a spoon?  

Bruce: Well of course Mr. Slapdash. 

Slapdash: Well yes, uhhhh you would be able to walk on the spoon

Bill: Yikes, so that kinda mini form. 

Bruce: Nope no way am I getting into that machine

Bill: Oh come on there is no way we will shrink, the chances are probably like 1 in a shma-zillion.  

Slapdash: One out of four. 

Bill: And plus we won this...for free! Lets celebrate by checking out more music from Latin America! 

Bruce: Wait did he just say 1 out of 4 get shrunk down to a sp…

Bill: Put in the coordinates, buckle up the seats belt and fire this bad boy up... (ride music)

Bruce: Oh no...look that spoon is huge...it happened we shrunk down...oh no…

Bill: (Reading) Here lies the biggest spoon in the world. 200 feet long. Oh no Mr. Fite, we are still normal size,...it just so happens they have the biggest spoon ever here. Oh what's that noise? 

Bruce: Oh, sounds like those conga drums we heard earlier. 

Bill: Awesome, so what's the deal with the congas? 

Bruce:  Well, the conga drum originally came from Cuba. 

Bill: Cool! 

Bruce: Yeah, and it can be played in a bunch of different ways. We call each way a different “tone”. There is the open tone, bass tone, muffled tone slap tone and rim shot tone.  

Bill: Wow, so you can create five different sounds on one drum? I just figured you just hit and with your hand and that's it. 

 Bruce: Actually, you can play variations of just one of those tones. So, you could play the open tone in three different ways! 

Bill: Wow, that seems tough. 

Bruce: Sure is, so you could have 15 different types of sounds on the conga drum. 

Bill: Wowzers, that would take some serious practice. 

Bruce: Now, in an elementary school you may only learn two types of tones on the conga drum. The “low tone” which sounds like this…… and the “high tone” which sounds like this. 

Bill: Cool. It looks like the low tone is played in the middle of the drum with a cupped hand. 

Bruce: You got it, and the high tone is played on the side of the drum with a flat hand; using the fingers and high part of the hand. 

Bill: Sounds fun! Boy, I’m getting kinda tired. I am going to sit down on this box chair here for a second.

Bruce: Oh wow! Cool, check it out, you're sitting on the cajon! 

Bill: Cajon? Ummm… it's just a box.. How is this an instrument? 

Bruce: Well, that's no ordinary box, although it does look like a box made of wood. It's actually a really cool instrument. The cajon is a box drum. 

Bill: Hmm , so how do you play this box drum thingy…. 

Bruce: It’s kinda played like the conga drum but you sit on it while performing. It does have a bunch of tones, but if we focus on the low and high tone, you would play near the middle of the cajon to get a deep, low sound...it almost sounds like a bass drum. 

Bill: Wow, thats awesome! 

Bruce: Then, if you play towards the top it sounds like a snare drum. 

Bill: Neat! How does it have that rattle sound to it? 

Bruce: Well, there are these wires called snare wires which are of course found on a snare drum. They use those same wires and put them in between the wood.  

Bill: Wow, it's like a drum set in a….box! 

Bruce: Yessir! 

Bill: So many cool instruments from Latin America. 

Bruce: For sure, well it's getting kinda late and I’m getting kinda hungry..

Bill: Yeah samezees. Ok, lets get back to the teleportation zaporoonie 3000 s model. 

Bruce: oh great…. 

Bill: Ok, put in the coordinates.. “Mr. Henry's Dusty Attic”, cool, emergency break off, buckle up…. (ride music) 

Bruce: Did we make it back? Wow... I don't remember you having such a large dusty couch in your attic…

Bill: Hmmm. ….yeah that's a pretty large cup of water there… i mean I’m thirsty, but that's a ton of wa…..

Bruce: Mr. Henry! You shrunk the music teachers! 

Bill: Oh I’m sure we can reverse this...let me get the manual let's see….just turn this knob here and do the cha cha slide while clucking like a chicken, then three turns.

Bruce: (crying) I don't want to be tiny! I don't want to be tiny I don't want to be tiny (fades away with dreamy sequence)

Bruce: (as if sleeping with a bad dream- drooling mouth open saying): I don't want to be tiny I don't want to be tiny. 

Bill: Hey Mr. Fite, wake up wake up… you're having a bad…

Bruce: Ahhh ghhghagah Oh… boy. I was having a crazy dream about Mr. Slapdash, and learning about all the cool instruments from Latin America, but then getting shrunk into a little... 

Slapdash: Hahaha..did you say my name? Don't I just look so smart today and good looking...

Bill: Come on Mr. Fite, we are about to go onto the Music Listening Challenge game! The winner gets a trip to the Caribbean! 

Time to wrap it up folks! Thank you so much for tuning in to the Music Podcast for Kids. We hope you enjoyed the show, and most importantly, learned something cool today about music. Remember to send in your jokes or even a topic in music you would like us to discuss by visiting our website themusicpodcastforkids.com. If you are interested in awesome educational and fun songs for your kids to listen and sing along with, please visit brucefite.com. Music is available to download with iTunes, CD Baby, and Facebook streaming platforms like Spotify and Amazon Radio. Links will be found in the show notes. If you are interested in learning how to play the piano with a fun and engaging curriculum geared toward kids, please subscribe to Mr. Henry's YouTube channel called Mr. Henry's Music World. Links would be found in the show notes. Please visit iTunes to leave a review of the podcast and also share the podcast with friends, relatives, aliens, whoever! Again we thank you so much for tuning in!