#8 Church Music(Updated as of 7/18/15)
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ADULT CHOIRS
10/12 SMALL CHOIR:1) Check the parish hymnal (choir edition) because some songs already have two part harmonies written
2) Check the music library (if they have one) for two part pieces Depending on the abilities of your group (besides the "blending" issue), you may want to find songs that have a strong unison with a descant or a male solo with singers lending an "oooo" as harmony. ---- Joni Kotche
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06/06 I have compiled four Mozart hymntunes, with lyrics that fit, and are appropriate for students to sing during a Worship service on Jan. 27, 2006--the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. They are posted on the Finale Showcase website http://www.finalemusic.com/showcase/fs_home.asp, under Gospel/Sacred/Inspirational category; and Mozart composer. For MIDI files of these hymntunes (ARIEL, ELLESDIE, MOZART, and NOTTINGHAM), go to the CyberHymnal website http://www.cyberhymnal.org/ I thought maybe others would find these helpful. -- Regina Morris
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11/01 (1) Don't beg. Invite, invite, and invite again - - always with a smile and an asbestos skin. Don't let them discourage you.
(2) Don't pick music that is beyond the group. Keep it simple, upbeat, and enjoyable.
(3) Don't put your ego on the line with your first Christmas program. Do something simple, if any of the voices are anywhere near solo quality, go with those as much as possible. (We always do a "cantata" that has some kind of little acting opportunity, so spouses and other members of the congregation can be involved - - we've had father-and-son Wise Men, et cetera. Worked great.
(4) Keep inviting people, and do so with the positive approach - - leave the impression that people ARE joining (don't actually LIE. That's not what I mean. Just allude to how great it is when new people join and how much you enjoy them. )
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a little snack food goes a long way.... especially if you are meeting right after church and everyone is hungry. also offer up your young women or men too do a nursery. that is a biggy where i go to church. a lot of times both parents want to sing but one has to watch the kids. have a plan when you do sing that some one will watch the kids during the performance so both can perform then too.
I provide coffee (in thermoses, decaf and regular, juice for teens) as well as a snack food such as coffee cake on Sunday mornings before we sing (once a month)
MUSICALS, CANTATAS:
HOLY WEEK: "THE CROSS WAS HIS OWN" by L. Dengler. SIMPLE and BEAUTIFUL Maundy (Holy Thursday) "In Remembrance" from Celebrate Life by Buryl Red-- Bill Ahlman
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Passion week cantata "ONCE UPON A TREE" by Choplin. It's simple with narration.
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On Lent Sundays, however, we included:
WE HAVE SEEN AND WE HAVE HEARD
SIGNED BY ASHES
STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY
SONG OF EXILE (instrumental)
WITH THE LORD, THE LORD IS MY SONG
O SACRED HEAD SURROUNDED
LORD, WHOSE DYING FEEDS US
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*******************************************************************BANNERS
Here's some banner help: CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE 1-800-325-3040Request their FREE catalogue! They have the following banner books available:
Banners on Favorite Bible Verses, Sally Beck.
Banners for Worship, Carol Jean Harms. There is also a companion kit available, called "Banner Patterns for Worship" by the same author. Quick and Easy Banner Designs, Carol Jean Harms.
His Banner Over Me is Love, Dale Bargmann.
Raise a Banner to the Lord, Dale A. Bargmann.
Banners with a Conscience, Dale A. Bargmann. Luminescent Banner Designs, Marie Koelinger.
COKESBURY BOOKSTORES 1-800-672-1789 Request their FREE catalogue!
ABINGON'S BANNER PATTERN SERIES:
Banners for the Parables of Jesus
Banners for Celebrating Jesus
Banners for Worship
Banners for African-American Churches
The New Banner Book, Betty Wolfe.; How to Design and Make Banners, Gisela Banbury and Angela Dewar.
You should also contact AugsburgFortress at 1800-328-4648 and request their catalogue, also.
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*******************************************************************BIBLE SONGS
09/03 To the tune of “O Christmas Tree”“Lest I forget Just who I am I say a prayer Before I scram
I ask the Lord To comfort me And send his
Guardian angels To watch as I Cross ev’ry street To guide my way
And weary feet, Lord, Jesus Christ, My Savior, Friend be with me till
The very end!” (Posted with permission: c. 2002, Christopher L. Saraga)
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Wee Sing Bible Songs has two songs - one for the Old Testament and another for the New Testament that are fun to sing. I find myself mentally humming them when an occasional unfamiliar book is called for in church (Habbakuk for example).
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We learned the books of the New Testament by putting it to the music of the hymn, "Praise To The Man."
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Theme Songs: Noah: "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head";
Adam and Eve: "Strangers in Paradise"; Lazarus: "The Second Time Around";
Esther: "I Feel Pretty";
Job: "I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues"; Moses: "The Wanderer";
Jezebel: "The Lady is a Tramp"; Samson: "Hair";
Salome: "I Could Have Danced All Night"; Daniel: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Joshua: "Good Vibrations";; Peter: "I'm Sorry"; Esau: "Born To Be Wild";
Jeremiah: "Take This Job and Shove It";
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: "Great Balls of Fire!";
The Three Kings: "When You Wish Upon a Star"; Jonah: "Got a Whale of a Tale";
Elijah: "Up, Up, and Away"' Methuselah: "Stayin' Alive";
Nebuchadnezzar: "Crazy";
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There is a children's collection - The Ultimate Praise Songbook for Kids (published by Lillenas) -- which has actually two songs about the books of the Bible. The song about the Old Testament uses a familiar tune. (I think it is "The More We Get Together.") The one for the New Testament is very different and unique.It is written so that you can have everyone sing it all the way through and/or divide them into four groups and have each group sing a section of the song. Then have all four groups sing together (at the very same time) giving you a very interesting 4-part harmony.
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I took neon colored poster paper (8 l/2 x 11) and printed each of the names of the New Testament books on a separate sheet (card). Some cards had two listed on it, such as 1st and 2nd Corinthians, etc. I took six notebooks and lined up the books in order so that the children flipped the names as they sang them. I placed four cards in each of the six notebooks. It was a terrific way for the children to memorize the names of the books in the order in which they appear in the New Testament. (I really wondered how many of the congregation could say them in order.) Another way we performed it was by surrounding the congregation. It was wonderful hearing each section sing alone and then all of them together in harmony. Everyone really enjoyed it. It was great having good singers in the small choir of 3rd through 6th graders. The songbook (with accompaniments) is $7.99. There is a split-channel CD (double disc) which is $24.99. The split-channel cassette is $12.99. For the people who were asking about a song that teaches the Books of the Bible...I just rediscovered "The Holy Books" by James Ward in "The Group Songbook copyright 1991 by Group Publishing, Inc. I purchased the book at a Cokesbury bookstore. The song has a "hip" accompaniment with a chant (or rap) in the part about the books. It would be great for the older kids (or teens) who wouldn't enjoy the Wee Sing version (which I like as well).
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*******************************************************************7/01 BIBLE SCHOOL
I've been teaching Sunday School at our church during the school year to children ages 3-6. It has been a blast and a wonderful way to introduce these young souls to the power of music in relationship to God. My ideas are as follows. I hope something may even light a spark in you or give you some direction to go off on. Day 1: Song activity for the concept of Jesus Loves Me/I Love Jesus. "Jesus loves his precious children. All his children round the world. Red, brown, yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight. Jesus loves his precious children just like ________(name)." As children are sitting in the circle you can sing this song adding on names as you go around the circle. For example, when you get to like ____ you would sing Caleb and Heather and Simon and Carly. You sing this all the way around the circle. this is also a great way to begin each class and is wonderful to help the leader and the other children learn the names of the children in the group. How the children love to hear their name sung by others and to be reminded that they are loved by God! Art project: Do you know what Swedish hearts look like? I love how they have two intertwined parts. My idea would be for someone to make these ahead of time for each child in the class. They usually are in the colors of red and white and have a handle attached to each side of the heart so that they can be hung on a doorknob, etc. The children could be reminded of God's love for them in that we sin (red) but God washes us whiter than snow (white). The children could tell an older person an idea of how God loves them or of how they love God. The older person could write this on a slip of paper that the child could place inside the heart opening as a remembrance.----------------------
I just finished an incredible vacation bible school experience. It was called "Camp Castaway." Our theme was Cast all Your Cares on Christ for He Cares for You.Our decorations had an island theme with tropical colors, palm trees, water, sand, and sun. I helped lead the singing every day. We saw the campers at 9:00 a.m. for 20 minutes. Then they went in their groups to individual tents for the morning. At 1:00, we saw them again for 20 minutes and went over the songs they learned each morning. The song leaders and the band members all wore hawaiian shirts with shorts or capris. The favorite songs for the three days were "Jesus is the Rock and He Rolls My Cares Away," "Jesus Is," a limbo rock piece where we led all the campers in doing the limbo, and "I Love My Jesus," where we all did the macarena. All songs were arranged by our incredible music director, Chris Hansen, who like Paul Jennings, has a gift of making things swing!
A chant that we did between the different groups was "I Love Jesus, yes, I do. I love Jesus, how 'bout you!" pointing at the next group, who then chanted it and pointed at the next group, and so on and so forth.
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Here are some more for days 2 and 3.
Day 2: Song/game called "Where's My Sheep?"
Song verses:
1.Where's my sheep? Where's my sheep? I am looking everywhere to find my sheep.
2.Found my sheep! Found my sheep! Even though there's only one I love my sheep!
Pitches:
so so so so fa fa mi mi re re do----. do----. do do----.so so so
Rhythm:
ta ta hold-. ta ta hold-. titititititititi ta ta hold-.
Action plan: The children sit in a circle. The teacher gives a small stuffed animal lamb to a child to hide in the room. The only rule is that part of the lamb must be visible. The teacher first chooses one child to go out of the room so that the other child can hide the lamb. After the lamb is hidden, the seeker child is lead back into the room and the children sing verse 1. They sing this song all the time that the seeker child is looking, getting louder as the child comes closer to the lamb and getting softer as the child moves farther away from the lamb. When the lamb is found, all sing verse 2.
This can go on and on as everyone would like a chance to play. We sang this song/game for our congregation this spring to tie in with the message that our pastor was giving on The Lost Sheep.
Most children can relate to what it feels like to be lost and the joy and comfort they feel in being found. How comforting it is to know that when we lose our way, God will come looking for us and scoop us up in His arms because of His love for us.
Day 3 idea: Theme: Creation
Creation: The teacher could tell about the gifts God gave us each day as
she presents a visual card of each - light (relate how this is not like a
light you turn on and off in a room, but is all light), water (not water
that comes from a glass or in the bathtub or that comes from the sky, but
all water), growing things, great lights (sun, moon, stars), fish and birds,
animals and people, gift of rest. These cards could be very simple and
after the story the children could make their own cards or even just one of
the cards. Another idea is to make some templates from an Elison machine of
these concepts for the children to just paste on a piece of construction
paper. Oh, I forgot, after each day be sure to say:"And God said, "It
is very good."
Song suggestion: "Who Made Ocean, Earth, and Sky?" (words, Richard Compton,
music, traditional Finnish melody) This is excellent as even the little
children could do the echo part after each question is asked! You could
even pull out some triangles to play at the end of each phrase they sing, on
the THER of fa=ther.
Asside:(In our Reformed tradition, we have a time of worship for the
children during the adult church called Children and Worship. They have a
wonderful book available for the stories and props used called Children and
Worship by Sonju Stewart and Jerome W. Berryman. If you ever could look at
this, you would be amazed at what they do and how stories from the Bible are
presented for little ones.)
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I'm running a Catholic bible camp this
summer at the end of July. I am, in fact, writing and organizing the entire
camp with two adults and we plan on sending this plan off to be used all
over the country next year. We are working directly with the Catholic kids
club called Catholic Kids Net. This group is wonderful and it sends out CK
packets every month to their young subscribers. Included in the packet is a
pamphlet is a theme and they go on an "adventure" to discover things like
why Jesus loves him/her, or how doing works of mercy are a good thing, etc.
Also included in the packet are crafts, saint cards, and activities to do
throughout the month. We use these monthly packets as a guideline for our
Vacation Bible School each year. You can also subscribe as an adult team
leader for the CK clubs, and receive Team Talk packets, that help you run
the monthly meeting according to the theme of the month.
Our bible camp is five days long, from nine till noon. We simply take five of the monthly packets and center each day around one of them. We also have an overall theme, and it is something that we work towards all week. Last year, the overall theme was "Open Wide the Doors to Christ". Throughout the week we taught the kids how to open their hearts and let Jesus in so that they could open the doors to heaven and be let in. This was also directly related to last year's theme in the Catholic Church, about opening the doors, because it was the Jubilee Year of graces. This year's theme is "Set the World Ablaze." It's going to be a fun theme. We have special "virtues" that we will teach each day, (that form a theme) that lead up to the end. The virtues, in order, are: Be ready, be bold, be observant, be faithful, be ablaze. Each day has a different theme to teach that theme, all having to do with fire.
We decided that everything had to be related to fire because the overall theme is Set the World Ablaze. Every morning there is a skit that shows what the day's theme is going to be, and how the virtue will help you set the world ablaze. For example, the third day, the theme is Western (and the virtue is be observant and has to do with corporal works of mercy). The skit is about some cowboy wandering around not noticing that the people around him need help. He just walks right through them and goes to light he campfire (labeled "The World"). He can't get it started and doesn't know why. With the help of Super Spark (one of the CK net characters) he realizes that he wasn't being observant and didn't notice that all those people needed help. So he goes to help them, and then Spark hands him a torch to light the fire with. The jist of the play is that you have to pay attention in order to see that others are in need, and Christ teaches that helping your neighbor (the story of the Good Samaritan is used later) is what he wants. You have to be responsible, and when you stop to care for someone, you spread Christ's light, and set the world Ablaze. That is the basics of how one day works, which also includes a related snack, craft, game, etc.
Every year that we do this, we work the days of the week so that they all lead up to the last day, and the overall theme. This year the first four days will be leading up to the last which will have an Olympic (called HOLYmpic) theme. The basic idea is that the Olympic torch will be passed on the first four days (in the skits, because the torch is used to start the fires) and then will be used the last day to light the big fire...this will represent the world being set on fire. This idea also includes Team work, because it takes several people to pass on the torch, which is also the idea behind setting the world ablaze, because you start with one person and it spreads. On this last day, the kids will play Olympic type games, (physical and mental) reviewing all that they've learned over the week. These day is mainly for review, fun, and a parent presentation.
Throughout all these days, we will sing songs, and learn bible verses to different tunes and play games. It will be a blast!! I have so much fun planning it, I just wish I could be one of those 200 kids who will be watching!
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*******************************************************************CAMP
I have led "music camp" for my denomination for over 12 years (although I've been on hiatus for a few years!) The camps were for grades 4-6, and were resident camps (i.e., the kids were there for the week). Through the years, we had various themes, and tried many different formats. There are so many fun things you can do with this age group!---------------------------------
If you are doing a multi-cultural theme, it would be a good idea to have some kind of unifying "theme song" if you will.....one that ties it all up in a nice package. Some suggestions: "Tapestry" by Harriet Ziegenhais, Choristers Guild #CGA-533; He's Got the Whole World In His Hands (English and Spanish)--Emily Crocker, Hal Leonard Publ. #47123062, "Children of the Lord" by Natalie Sleeth from "Sunday Songbook, or, two that are not so well known would be "Part of the Family" by Jim Manley or "Wherever Love Is" by Bryan Sirchio. I can give you ordering information if you're interested in those pieces.
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You could either have each day be a different "cultural" day (which would save you lots of time in set-up and take down), or you could have various centers for each culture each day. We included centers each day for music, art, drama, and dance, and had Biblical passages (our "theme for the day") interspersed in those activites. There was also a structured center for reading and writing activities, and of course, game time!!! (Tie in those varying learning styles!). We had activities run in 45 minute and 1 1/2 hour blocks.....but you can adapt the time to your kids and your needs! Kerryn Oliver Immanuel Memorial UCC Alden, Iowa
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You can order Bryan Sirchio's music from :Crosswind Music, P. O. Box 45236, Madison, WI 53744-5236, by phone at 1-800-735-0850, or on the net at www.sirchio.com.
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Jim Manley's music may be harder to order. The copy I have is from Seed Songs of Earth and Spirit, Copyright 1983 by Jim Manley, printed by World Around Songs, Inc., Burnsville, North Carolina 28714
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CHILDREN'S REPERTOIRE
12/15 CHRISTMAS: Peace, Peace by Fred Bock. 2 part - lovely. I do it every year as our closer, and the audience joins in CHRISTMAS: Silent Night" bells:(G) Silent (G) night (G) Holy (G) night,
(D7) All is (D7) calm,
(G) All is (G) bright.
(C) 'Round yon (C) Virgin,
(G) Mother and (G) Child.
(C) Holy (G) Infant so
(G) Tender and (G) mild.
(D7) Sleep in (D7) heavenly
(G) Peace.
(G) Sleep in (D7) heavenly (G) peace.
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06/15 There was a song back in the 80's called THE PERFECT TEN. It was part of a musical we did in church and it is perfect! My daughter, who is 33, still sings it! Google it and you will get a youtube video with the words and kids singing it! It's a really catchy tune and the kids love it!----Caryn Mears
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12/12 YOUNG CHILDREN: I am using a little carol from Wee Sing Christmas. It says it was written by Susan Nipp, one of the Wee Sing authors. It's called "Born This Night."
Born this Night in Bethlehem/Baby Jesus, Tiny Child/Alleluia, Praise the King/Baby Jesus Born Today. The other verses only change the first line. Beautiful and simple!!
Can put a super simple ostinato on bar instruments and we are adding finger cymbals. The little book cost me $10 on amazon and it has tons of Christmas music in it. It's a little Fake Book almost! Chords and melody and words. A great investment!! ---- Mindy Krejci
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O9/06 KID'S MUSIC CLUB Go to www.brentwood-benson.com and search "children's choir" "collections - other" and you'll find a listing of 18 collections. My favorites are Move to the Beat and Crazy Praise. There are great general collections I have too - It's a Great Day to Praise the Lord and Best of Kids Sing Praise. All the CDs are well-done. A comprehensive Christian book and music store would probably carry some of these. You can also click on each book and see table of contents and listening samples.
If you play keyboard I would recommend:
It's a Great Day to Praise the Lord (to get started.)
I used a lot of those with my Christian school kids. (40 kids at same time K-4th - a real challenge). Songs are:
Deep and Wide, God Is So Good , Ha, La, La, La, I Want to Be a Light Bulb, I Want to be A Lighthouse for the Lord, I'll Surely Shine If I Were a Butterfly, If You're Happy and You Know, It It's a Happy Day, Jesus in the Morning, Jesus Loves Me, King of the Jungle, PEACE LIKE A RIVER, RISE AND SHINE, Soldier in the Light Brigade, This Is the Day and Walking in the Light -- Ardith Roddy
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06/06 CHILDREN, GO WHERE I SEND THEE:
Little Bitty Baby....rock arms like holding a baby
2 for Paul and Silas....hold up on index finger on each hand on each name
3 for the Hebrew Children....Pat 3 heads from biggest to smallest on steady beat
4 for the 4 who stood at the door...knock
5 for the gospel preachers....pretend to hold an open book
6 for the 6 that never got fixed.....shake finger
7 for the 7 that never went to heaven...shake finger on other hand
8 for the 8 that stood at the gate...cross arms, tap foot
9 for the 9 that dressed so fine.....hand behind head, hand on hip
10 for the 10 cmmandments....hold up both hands and wave back and forth to steady beat. -- Jane Rivera
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06/06 FREE Music http://www.lnwhymns.com/
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06/06 ADVENT
Advent Greeting: Hey, ho, Jesus is coming. Ring the bells and sing a merry tune.
Spread the news and greet the blessed Savior.
(cont. repeat as needed, ending with "Hey, ho, Jesus is coming" and a big ritard.) Accompaniment is a D-A or E-B or F-C or G-D drone, depending on the voices of your singers. I was working with middle school students, so E-B worked for them. They were strumming mountain dulcimers while they sang, but barred instruments, Boomwhackers, or a minor chord on guitar would work. -- Connie Herbon
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06/06 My colleague and i just started a volunteer small group chorus last semester because some kids in 5th and 6th grade who requested it. we did "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel" , a traditional spiritual arranged by Roger Emerson..Hal Leonard publishes it. We did it in 2 parts, but it's also available for 3-part mixed. the group loved it and learned it in about 3 rehearsals! it was the hit of our concert.
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06/04 “SONG OF PEACE” For those of you that have access to the Mk8 (Plank Road Publishing)
Monica Autry has offered these alternate words for the chorus:
God sent__His only Son. God sent a song of peace.
God sent___ a miracle. For all of us, The Prince of Peace.
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09/03 The song "BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED" by Carey Landry is very upbeat, written in 6/8, and kids love it. An excerpt of the lyrics: "Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted/You will find your way/Bloom, bloom, bloom where you're planted/You will have your day."It is available through OCP publications,
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09/03 WEBSITE: They have a collection of different publishers and you can listen to most of them on-line. I have used lots of music with background CD's for K-6 and some for youth. I generally order the preview packs so I can listen to the accompaniment.
http://www.jjonline.com/catalog/index.php
Try youth and collections. I have done TO DIE FOR with senior high youth and they loved it. I purchase a tape and book for each singer and they can learn the music with book and tape or tape alone. We put the whole thing (minus the songs we didn't care for) together in 6 weeks with one hour long practice per week - Contributed by Kristin Lukow
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12/09 MEAL BLESSING: (sung in canon)
G A Bb A G- D- (low) For thy gracious bless-ing
G A Bb C D - - - For thy wondrous word ---
D Eb D C Bb A G- For thy loving ki-ind ness
(low) D G G F G- - - We give thanks, O Lord -- - - Martha Stanley
12/09 YOUTH: I teach junior high students as well as elementary students. I just purchased the music to “Never Too Young.” THere are so many songs appropriate for all age groups. The songs in this book my students have enjoyed. I have one student so far who is playing the guitar with his classmates. They all love it!.
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PRIMARY: AGES 3 through 1st GRADE
WHO BUILT THE ARK?Lutz/uni-2 part/opt. perc./lively/1 c./ Matthew 24: 38-39 A(A1)
LIGHT ONE CANDLE Sleeth/unison-2 part /12 c./Advent/in "Sunday Songbook"
CAROL OF THE CHILDREN* arr. Mitchell/unison/bells(difficult)/1 c./Christmas
CAROL OF THE DONKEY* Wagner/unison/bells/.1 c./Christmas OCTAVO
CHRIST WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM** McRae/unison + SATB/ bells/flute/Christmas OCTAVO
THE CHRISTMAS STAR* Carley/unison/bells/Christmas/1 c. OCTAVO
HUNGARIAN CHRISTMAS CAROL arr. lovelace/unison/simple/8 note range/Cmas.
IF I'D BEEN THERE** Leaf/unison/high sustained notes D'/"king"/Cmas/1 c. OCT
IN A TINY MANGER arr. Stocker/SA/opt. flute, bells/1 c./Cmas OCTAVO
LITTLE JESUS Grier/unison/piano & flute/legato/Christmas OCTAVO
JESUS WE WONDERMahnke/2 part/opt. C instr./ flute/1 c./Christmas OCTAVO
A BOY IS BORN arr.Jordan/Shaker hymn/unison/2 flutes/organ/Cmas OCTAVO
HOLY MANGER arr. Horman/flute/French carol trad./Christmas OCTAV
SHEPHERD BOY**Algozin/unison/opt. recorder & percussion/Christmas OCTAVO
STAR SHINE BRIGHT Jeff Miller/unison/opt. flute/legato/1 c. OCTAVO
FOLLOW THE STAR* Kemp/unison/percussion/Epiphany/1 c. OCTAVO;CGA 484
THREE KINGS Bedford/unison/bells + piano/minor/Epiphany (OCTAVO)
HOSANNA TO THE SON OF DAVID Bedford/unison/bells/Palm Sunday
ALLELUIA, JESUS IS ALIVE* Page/unison/in "Make His Praise Glorious"/Easter
GOD MADE ME - Michael Jothen; BP 1016 Beckenhorst Press
FOR THINGS THAT I DO WRONG LORD* Bedford/unison/bells/1 c./in "Songs & Seasons" (Michael Bedford has at least 2 or 3 collections - a 2d is "Seven Song" that are very simple, great and easily adapted to Orff - Choristers Guild I think)
DID YOU HEAR THE BABY CRY? Leaf/unison/piano/in Now Everybody Sing
FOLLOW THE STAR* Kemp/unison/percussion/1 c.
LITTLE DAVID PLAY ON YOUR HARP- trad./in Wee Sing/add verses
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COLLECTIONS with several songs: (CGA is Choristers Guild Publication) ages 3-6
*Songs and Seasons - Michael Bedford; CGA 540 (has opt. Orff/bell accomp.)group of songs for church year
*Seven Songs for the Church Year Michael Bedford;CGA 693(has opt. Orff/bell accomp.) (Michael Bedford has a third collection this year; dependable, good melody, easy)
**GLAD SONGS WE BRING - (Four Songs) CGA 719(different composers: Sleeth, Page, etc.) (has opt. Orff/bell accomp.)
NOW EVERYBODY SING - Robert Leaf 11-9300 Ausburg Press
Sing Praises - (large collection; I found several songs in here that I like; most are based on biblical verse) It might be out of print - Editor: Margaret Self; division of G/L Publications, Ventura, California
**SUNDAY SONGBOOK A great collection of Natalie Sleeth's with numbers for all seasons. (I've been doing children's choirs for 13 years and I still use this collection. -- Contributed by Sandy Toms
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GRADES 2 - 6
MY MORNING SONGUnison, 2 pt. - arr. Harris/Early American/2 pt./unison/beautiful
THE WORLD IS A TAPESTRY H. Ziegenhals/unison/1 c.(might be a nice ensemble number)
***SONG OF HOPE R. Hobby/unison-2pt./perc./keyboard/Spanish, English text (appears in some hymnals now)
ALEPUN J. Martinson/Spanish carol/unison, organ/changing meters/ poss. bells?/1 c.
Ave Verum Corpus: Mozart
***LET US TALENTS AND TONGUES EMPLOY A. Lovelace/2 part mixed/bongos, guitar/8 c./Jamaican/ communion/lively
CHINESE LANTERN CAROL arr. McNair/in "Make His Praise Glorious-3 vs./bells/12c/Christmas (wrote xylo parts for this)
HOLY NIGHT, BLESSED NIGHT arr. McRae/unison/bells/in 4 Asian Hymns/ 1 c./Christmas (The collection: Four Asian Hymns has Orff parts, pub. by Choristers Guild)
***GOD IS ALWAYS NEAR - H. Kemp/2 pt./bells/1 c. (Vietnamese melody)I wrote out xylo parts, if you get it let me know (Sandy Toms)
HURON INDIAN CAROL (in most hymnals in Christmas music)
***NOW THE GREEN BLADE RISES BY Shirley McRae of Noel Nouvelet (translation)famous French carol/Bells or Orff + opt. flute/part is in round/post Easter/CG
****WE THE CHILDREN N. Goemanne/unison/ powerful/minor/peace not war/difficult piano/2 pt. or unison/demand for the world to change
****PIE JESU R. McIver/2 pt/flute/oboe or clarinet/opt. strings/beautiful with easy oboe part
ALLELU SING PRAISES - Jothen/3 = parts/opt. percussion
LET US TALENTS AND TONGUES EMPLOY A. Lovelace/2 part mx/bong, gtr/Jamaican flavor
SONG OF HOPE R. Hobby/unison-2pt./perc./keyboard/Spanish, English text/great text/
A SHAKER CELEBRATION - Stroopte-2-3 pt. opt. hand bells, Matt. 4:19
****FEED MY LAMBS - Natalie Sleeth opt. 2 flutes + organ or piano Is 40:11
***GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD - J. Horman - Chorister's Guild-opt. 2 pt. + flute, Christmas
***MUSTARD SEED - Beebe-2 pt. - Mark 4:30-32, Luke 17:5-10
COME LET US SING - J. Lindh - Psalm 95, 96, lively, teaches ABACA form
***GO NOW TO LOVE AND SERVE THE LORD - D. Hruby - hand signs, opt./flute/Pentecost
*******I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES - Michael Jothen stunning melody 3 part(I did it with adults + children)
***ONE STAR - Rogers - 2 pt. - opt. flute - Christmas
LIFT YOUR EYES - Lindh - opt. percussion, synthesizer, bass, Easter
HAVE YOU SEEN MY LORD? arr. Wilder- unison- opt. Orff arrangement-post (in collection: 15 Songs - Choristers Guild) Easter
PRAISE TO THE TRINITY - Glover unison catchy
*****PRAYER FOR TODAY - Margaret Tucker/text is poignant/beautiful!! /up to high F
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01/01 There is a great jazz song called "Some kinda Happenin's
happenin' in Jerusalem". I suggested it last year to Lee and she
said it went over very well. I got it through one of those church
catalogues that sells music.
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Climbin' up the Mountain Spevacek/easy 2 part, good solo opp
Christ the Lord is Born (Risent) Spevacek /hand bells part
The Angels' Song Donnelly/popular with kids
It's a Wonderful Thing to Be Me Besig/Affirmation Song (secular)
Rock That Cradle Larry W. White
Laudamus Te N. Sleeth/3-4/legatofor spirituals, see anything by Patsy Ford Simms--a little more difficult Thanksgiving Rosemary Jacques/solo opp. Silver Burdett - 2d grade book
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BOOK: JUMP FOR JOY [This] is a new (1999) book out from Hal Leonard by John Jacobsen, and there is both a CD and a video available. There are songs such as 'Jump for Joy' or 'Swim Faster Jonah' a version of the story is included, along with lots of movement notes. It is really fun. I teach in a Catholic school, so we are able to warm up with these.
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BOOK: RISE UP AND SING I use [this book] the most when selecting music for our masses comes from a young people's music resource from Oregon Catholic Press --hopefully you could also use this resource--they are great songs.
The songs are kid's songs, but work equally well with teens and adults. These songs are great, and numerous, there are over 200 in the book. The youth edition is less than $4 a copy. (I think it is only $2.50) the number
for OCP is 1-800-Liturgy.
TRIPLE PARTNER SONG: My choir loves to do a "triple partner song" of This Train, Oh When The Saints and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. You can teach it all by rote, add movement on each part and have a ball. It's a "kid-friendly" way to start the year.
COLLECTION: As a suggestion for music for the initial performance in the fall, you might want to look at the collection "Partners in Spirit" by Jill Gallina ($3.95). The spirituals Who Did Swallow Jonah, O, Them Golden Slippers, Ezekiel Saw De Wheel, Joshua Fit the Battle, He's Got the Whole World, I Got Shoes, Standin' in the Need of Prayer, and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot are included. Jill writes an original song that is "partnered" with each tune and has a lively accompaniment. The songs are easy to learn and give the children great confidence in 2 part singing. The collection is published by Shawnee Press, Inc. and an accompaniment/performance cassette is available. The two part collection publishers # is GE-105 and the cassette is NC-45. I ordered mine from Pepper Music Company www.jwpepper.com
1-800-345-6296
I'M GONNA SING, SING, SING works well with this too. [Also] DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE [which is] very popular at church camps and with both my children's choir AND youth choir!
THY WORD I started [this song] with my youth choir with last season was a two-part arrangement of Michael W. Smith's. The arrangement incorporates a brief bit of "How Firm A Foundation" and proved so popular we used the piece throughout the season. I believe the publisher is Shawnee and I got my copies from Pepper Music.
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LOVE ENOUGH TO GIVE - John Horman (suitable for General or Mothers Day) - CGA808 - Unison and SATB choirs w/congregation (This was he number 2 best seller for 1999)
PEACE BE WITH YOU - Bingham/Sue Ellen Page - CGA703 - Unison & SATB (optional instrumental parts available from the CG office)
SONG OF PROMISE - Robert Powell (for Baptism) - CGA479 - Unison w/optional adult choir.
ALL GOOD GIFTS - Honore - CGA593 - Unison and/or SATB
CREATOR GOD WHO HAS COMPOSED - Horman - CGA853 - Unison and SATB choirs
HALLELUJAH ROUND OF PRAISE - Mozart/Lovelace - CGA423 - SAB or Unison w/2 Pt mixed
I'M GOING TO SING - arr. Anderson - CGA217 - Unison and SAT
LIKE AS A FATHER - Cherubini/Austin Lovelace - CGA156 - SAB or Unison
Barbara Merry [email protected]
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Judy Herrington & Sara Glick series from Pavane Publishing.
DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH - England (Pavane #P1102)
SLEEP MY LITTLE DOVE - France (Pavane #P1101)
Thornwood Carol - Germany (Pavane #P1100)
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COLLECTIONS (Choristers Guild Publications)
LIFT UP YOUR VOICES
HALLE, HALLE: WE SING THE WORLD ROUND
FOUR AFRICAN HYMNS
PSALMS TOGETHER
PSALMS TOGTHER II
SUNDAY SONGBOOK
BILINGUAL SPANISH/ENGLISH ANTHEMS
SING THANKFUL SONGS (Cantad cancion de gratitud)
IT IS GOOD TO SING PRIASE (Es gozoso alabar)
O LORD YOU KNOW ME COMPLETELY (O Dios, tu me conoces)
THE LAMB (Pequeno Cordero)
OVER ALL (Sobre todos)
In addition to these, the catalogue also lists other anthems from other cultures that can be sung by choirs, worship teams and/or congregation. You can get a FREE Choristers Guild catalogue by calling Lorenz Publishers at: 1-800-444-1144. You do NOT have to be a Guild member to order any music, posters or materials.
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There is a new recruitment poster that can be used in churches: "Let All the People Praise"--this was done by an 11 year old girl named Elizabeth Largent. It features a choir of folks in blue robes (love them vestments, y'all...), and all the choristers are a different color. There's another poster that reflects this theme, entitled "Let All the World in Every Corner Sing", taken from the first line of that hymn. You may also want to use last this year's poster MAKE YOUR LIFE A SONG TO GOD
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Here are some hymnals/songbooks I highly recommend:
ASIAN
Sound the Bamboo--CCA Hymnal 1990
Hymns from the Four Winds
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
Songs of Zion
Yes, Lord!
Lift Every Voice (Leah King)
Rise up Singing (collection)
*A Gift From Your Children by Nancy Bourassa and Carey Landry
*Children of God by Christopher Walker (Works so well even with your youngest kids)
"Children of God, in one family, loved by God, in one family, and no matter what we do, God loves me and God loves you." I teach at a school called "Holy Family" so, we just changed one word, and now sing "Children of God at Holy Family" So sweet.
*Blessed Are You Lord by Marianne Mistich
*Bread of Friendship by Owen Alstott (Probably too Catholic for many uses)
**All Things Bright and Beautiful by Laura Wasson(Awesome, not the traditional melody, so pretty with children)
For The Fruits of This Creation (Thanksgiving, with elementary band of course)
Welcome to the Kingdom
This Day Was Made By the Lord
Michael Burkhardt, whose music is published by MorningStar, is one of my favorites.
BACK to Topics
*******************************************************************CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP
06/06 SONG with video: “I Can Only Imagine” http://www.andiesisle.com/icanonlyimagine.html-------------------
06/05 I second Song Select through CCLI. I used it for years when I was worship coordinator at my church and love all the features. There are many songs though that Song Select does not have music for and for this I like books. They are adding songs all the time but having the books at your fingertips when you can not access a computer is very helpful. -- Kristin Lukow
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06/05 Karen of MusicEducationMadness was kind enough to start a church choir/music list a while back. This thread would be perfect for that forum. Please continue all further discussions on the church choir web site. To join or to get more information go to:
http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/discussion.shtml
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06/05 I have not tried this site, but my pastor recommended it. http://www.vision-mag.com/ is a great online and hardcopy magazine that speaks to contemporary worship planners. Good stuff. -- Cynthia in Alaska
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06/05 My church, a traditional Lutheran church does blended and contemporary about two services a month (out of a total of 8 services a month)and it is FINE--nobody has left---you can't tell the difference between the blended/contemporary congregation and the traditional one, as they tend to be the same people going back and forth-----One fella, a long time member of the church, oh maybe 70-75 years old VERY TRADITIONAL LIFE LONG LUTHERAN came to the blended service last week---his reason? : "I just woke up this morning and wanted some boogie in my worship!" and he LOVED IT!!! So---it is mostly dependent on what the people are like and whether they have their priorities in worship lined up correctly! (It is ALL worship and if it glorifies the Lord and satisfies the worshipers' need/desire to praise---all is fine!) Bill Ahlman (A real traditional, classical organist, old fashioned Lutheran liturgical musician who LOVES THE BLENDED/CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP when we do it!)
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06/05 Our church uses the WOW songbook quite a bit (there are several versions), and our praise team leader is very fond of a band called "Mercy Me." She has done a lot of their music with great success. They have developed a great format for their service (a Methodist church).-- Ruth Garcia
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06/05 Our church uses the WOW songbook quite a bit (there are several versions), and our praise team leader is very fond of a band called "Mercy Me." She has done a lot of their music with great success. They have developed a great format for their service (a Methodist church).-- Kristin Lukow
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06/05 MY ADVICE--We don't have ANY books---not even one that I know of-----Investigate THESE THINGS---CCLI licensing, SONG SELECT, and one other---I will have to ask my DoM on Wednesday---- Of course, the Integrity books, as someone mentioned are great----ME? I am a traditionalist/purist/classical organist---but, when I was asked to play synthesizer for our blended services, I simply started listening to the local Christian music radio station and I have found that, hearing that music, singing along to the radio and then searching SONG SELECT----I can use CCLI for almost EVERYTHING we do----there ARE exceptions, and in those cases, we work hard to obey the laws---if we can't do a particular song legally, we don't do it. Bill Ahlman
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06/05 1. We have our children's choir(s) join with the adults occasionally on anthems and intergenerational musicals. Currently we're doing "Rescue in the Night" by Alan Pote/Tom Long. This is the wonderful story of Daniel in the Lion's Den. We have also done 2 and 4 parts with combined choirs. We try to treat our young trebles like the British choirs. They practice separately, learn theory, note reading etc and their parts, then we come together with the adults (who've also learned their own parts). This saves a HUGE amount of time! (Our children practice 2 times a week.) One idea I'm doing for our Music Appreciation Sunday this year (June 12) is the Praetorius Jubilate Deo with children and adults interspersed in the 3 aisles of the church (which is quite large). We will sing it as a round and the children will also play tonechimes (another GREAT way to get children involved). Orff and Kodaly books have some truly wonderful pieces for the younger children. Be sure to include lots of movement too! ENJOY!! -- Lynda 10/04 We tried once and it failed.. SO WE STOPPED.. then the Pastor wrote a survey. Then, a couple years later, we tried it again, and it ALMOST worked, so we waited a few more months and tried it again... AND NOW IT IS GOING STRONG.
[We found that the people, even those who wanted contemporary music (some young, some old) wanted the LUTHERAN LITURGICAL FORMAT of the service. They said they wouldn't mind it being contemporary music, but they wanted a KYRIE, HYMN OF PRAISE, PREFACE, PROPER PREFACE, AGNUS DEI, POST COMMUNION CANTICLE, etc. SO.. when we do a contemporary service now, we are very careful to keep the liturgical format intact, although we use contemporary music for each rubric... ]
There were many other things we found out through our survey/meetings/Conversations on Worship that have, I AM CERTAIN created an environment in which our traditional liturgy and our blended/contemporary liturgy are both well attended and well received by young and old..
Traditional Lutheran liturgy and Contemporary alternating.. THE OLD and THE YOUNG.. people who like EACH KIND of worship... attend no matter which one it is that week.... IT WORKS IF the congregation is ready.... we did surveys, had meetings, had gatherings, experimented with various styles before we started...... - Bill Ahlmann
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10/04 After months of research and talking to a variety of members of our church we started a contemporary service from the ground up. We arranged the service after the Lutheran liturgy but didn't really include any of the "old" type liturgy. We open with 3 gathering songs, then have a more modern confession, and absolution, 2 Bible readings, a kid's sermon, another song, adult sermon, celebrate the Eucharist ( on 2nd and 4th Sundays) offering, prayers, one more song, benediction. Our Sunday School meets at 9:45 with the traditional liturgical service at 11:00. We added the contemporary service at 8:30 am Sunday morning. When we started this service we had piano, guitar and a trumpet. We had an average of 20 - 25 people attending and we held it in the education wing with an more "intimate" setting.
Over the years the service has grown in popularity to the point where we now have to meet in the sanctuary with an average attendance of 100 and about 12 instrumentalists in the "praise band". We have a new pastor within the last two years and he has encouraged switching services once a month so our children who normally attend the 8:30 time slot are exposed to the traditional liturgy. So, starting today we switched service formats - traditional at 8:30 and contemporary at 11:00. Next week we go back to "normal". There were some grumblings so I don't know yet how this "experiment" will work but I'll keep you informed. I would urge you to be prepared to start slow, don't mess with the traditional service or it's time slot as you will definitely ruffle some feathers of the "old-timers".
There are those that feel we have become 2 separate congregations but 4 times a year (Memorial Day week-end, Labor Day week-end, Thanksgiving week-end and the Sunday after Christmas) we just have one service and we alternated the type. This summer we went to just one service at 9:30 ( no Sunday School in the summer) and again alternated the services so we tried to keep as many happy as possible. I think since it had been years since we started the contemporary service many of our members are now more understanding of others needs so there was not any major rumblings about the way we did things this summer. I truly think they enjoyed seeing those from the "other" service and are more accepting of things since we "eased" into it. -- Joan
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I would seriously question the 9:15 a.m. time assuming that it conflicts with Sunday School. NOTHING should conflict with Sunday School except maybe choir practice. Why not try a week night? Wednesday evenings are typically slated for church events . . . why not try a potluck and then the service? Food for thought. How about incorporating a contemporary service once a month during the traditional worship time and forgoing the separate srvice? I think that having separate services can be devisive and doesn't give the whole family of God a chance to worship together. Bill may be right about giving the service a hiatus. If now is not the time, maybe it will work later. If there aren't enough volunteers to keep it running then the folks who "love it" had better step up to the plate or they'll lose it. I wish I had better advice for you. Good luck with making things work out for the greater good of your congregation. -- Judy in OR
BACK to Topics
*******************************************************************DRAMA
12/11 GETTING KIDS TO PROJECT THEIR SPEAKING VOICES: This may sound more than a bit strange, but my mantra for the kids always has been - "If it feels weird" (and then they answer) "you're doing it right!" In other words, it shouldn't necessarily be a comfort thing. We don't normally talk in this voice (and I demonstrate) but that's the only way you can be heard etc. etc. The other thing I have found is that the quicker you can get the kids on to the stage or to the actual performing space the better. THAT helps a lot. Give them a spot to talk to - for us it's the basketball hoop in the back of the Auditorium/Gym. Kids can't be expected to practice for weeks in a classroom for example and then magically be able to move to the stage and project accordingly with little practice. I have also, in desperation, videotaped them so they can see and hear (not!) what it all looks/sounds like. --- Sandi LairdMy favorite is to have the kids sit spread out around the perimeter of a large room - like the gym and say their parts - even for the very first reading. The get used to speaking loudly so they can hear each other. Tari in OH
I have found that telling them to "speak with all your energy" works better than simply saying be louder. I also work with speaking on the breath - pretty much the same as singing on the breath - which helps them to project. Do some physical warmups first, then do speaking exercises, sirens, owl hoots, puppy whimpers, and others that are similar to warming up for singing. I also tell them to send their sound through the wall to ... It always makes them giggle to think they are speaking to the people in the next room, but the mental image helps. ---- Monica Galinas
One, help them realize that loud FEELS different. Two, get them to experience the performing venue so that they have aural, vocal and physical references. Three, prove it to them with a video ---- Martha Stanley
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12/07 SOURCES: http://www.dramacode.com/
Free Drama scripts online: http://www.artreach.net/resources/drama_scripts_for_free.htm
http://www.anastasisproductions.org/library/pastor.htm
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http://www.dave-marsh.com/dramas/dafriends.shtml Many scripts here. Several categories inc. Purpose Driven, Christian Living, Prayer-Study
http://www.churchscripts.com/
http://www.inter-light.com/skitzo1.html 4 scripts here
http://www.actionforjesus.homestead.com/VOLUMEI.html
http://www.thewestcoast.net/bobsnook/ Free scripts
http://www.users.on.net/~pole/drama/drama.html#intro
http://home.mchsi.com/~wallestadn/
http://www.doubletreebc.com/drama.html#index
http://www.dramatix.org/Linkpages/sitemap.html
BACK to Topics
*******************************************************************DRUMMING
07/11 I've posted some new lessons on my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KalaniMusic?feature=mhum ---- Kalani-----------------------
10/08 D=Discipline, R=Respect, U=Unity, M=Music (not noise)
Break the rule ..... play too loud....you're history. All it takes is one kid to mess it up, and when they see you mean business......no more problem! --- Cynthia Sibitzky - North Pole, Alaska
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12/07 CONGAS: I had great results with the Remo tubanos. They come on little feet that keep them off the ground so the kids don't have to pick them up or tilt them. We got the tunable ones due to the high humidity here in the midwest. Great sound! -- Rita Oglesby
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CONGAS: We have had excellent results with our Peripole Sienta Series Congas.
http://www.peripolebergerault.com/
They are full-sound congas in three sizes and have the feet built in so there is not need for a special stand. They are designed to be played by adults as well as children while seated. The Quinto has a 9" head; the Conga has a 10" head; and the Tumba has an 11"head. All three of these congas are discounted. Give us a call or zap us an email and we'll give you all the details. -- Cak
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DRUM CIRCLE: I was thinking after showing them the PPT we'll go to the circle and just experiment with sounds. Then, we'll echo and play some bass, open and closed tones. I'll probably start with Rumbles and Dinosaur stomps and then go through several of the cue plates. I have a book and CD by Christine Stevens - I was thinking about letting the kids jam with the 4/4 groove and try out the different cues. -
Here’s the content of RaeAnna’s PPT:
Drum Circles!!!!
Purpose
A drum circle brings unity and togetherness
We respect each other and our instrument by
Listening to each other
Following the facilitator Playing correctly on the instrument
Groups of Instruments
Woods
Shakers
Metals
Drums Watch a Drum Circle!! Watch Kalani, a drum circle facilitator, lead the group. (Kalani Groove and Echo on YouTube)
Types of Sounds on the Drum
The drum can have a:
Bass Tone
Open Tone
Closed Tone
Watch this drummer play rhythms with different tones (101 Drum Circle Rhythms on YouTube)
Let’s Learn!!!!
Remember that this is a community
Every person matters
Walk quietly, with a thankful attitude, to a spot in the circle.
HERE’S WHAT WE DID:
We went over these icons: stop, play, continue, whole group, half group, small section, drums, woods, shakers, etc...... you can see all the icons at Kalani's website. We watched a clip of Kalani leading a drum circle (I got it off youtube) and talked about why he didn't use his voice. We went to the drums and experimented a bit, echoed some rhythm patterns of mine, and then did a question answer activity where I asked "what is your favorite food?" and they answered "I like ______" We did it as an entire group, and then each individual answered. Not everything was perfect, but I got to hear who did have really good rhythms! We tried copying the clip we watched - the kids did really good! The Kindergarten and 1st graders actually did better than the older kids!!!! I think they are more used to mimicking - maybe that's why they did better? Then we experimented with all sorts of different playing while I let a drum circle track play on the CD. I think this helped keep the steady beat and it also kept from awkward silence while we played. During the practice of copying the clip we watched, the group that was supposed to keep grooving would stop and echo with the other group. Having the CD play kept the kids playing along. We also did some rumbling and orbit rumble. For the little kids, I got out my big bouncy ball and we rumbled with the ball.
All this stuff can be found in Kalani's books and DVD!!! I've seen several workshops and found the clips on youtube, but I still plan on buying all of his stuff with my school money this year!!! I also invited teachers to pick the kids up early and play with them for the last 5 minutes! The teachers that came really enjoyed it! Also, I really want to instill in the kids what a drum circle is all about - unity, working together, encouragement, etc. So before we go to an instrument I talk about how we don't try to beat someone to a seat, we walk quietly, we're polite, etc. We also take 3 slow, deep breaths with our eyes closed before we silently stand up to go to the instrument. It worked with even the older kids!!!-- RaeAnna Goss
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DRUM CIRCLE: You will find that you may have to explain the drum cues to the kids. Then everything kind of falls into place. Two games from The Amazing Jamnasium by Kalani that my kids love are Rumble Ball and Pieces of Eight. After we do Pieces of Eight, I show them the section of Stomp Out Loud where they are banging vertical pipes in the basement filled with green water and explain that they are counting silently too and playing on their chosen number. They love making up stories about the instruments, too. - Patricia Albritton
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06/07 DRUM RHYTHMS: http://www.baymoon.com/~drumcircle/rhythm_frame.htm - - Martha Stanley
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06/07 Now you can download a complete copy of the latest Drum Circle Music
Iconography. “DCMI” was created over four years ago to help anyone who facilitates group drumming (or music). It's simple, effective, and easy for anyone to use. The current PDF shows you how.
Applications include: Training Settings, Music Classrooms, Music and Arts and Journaling
Here are your links:
http://www.drumcirclemusic.com/downloads.html
http://www.drumcirclemusic.com/images/DCMI.pdf
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http://www.lprhythmix.com/activities/dev-drumming.html (ideas)
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06/07 SOUND SHAPES I was demonstrating how the tiny one makes a high sound and the biggest one makes the lowest sound and then I thought of a simple game that my kids loved! I picked 6 kids to stand in front of the class to play the drums. I picked one person to be "it" They had to face away and not look while I silently picked one person to play a rhythm from my rhythm cards. And to make it a little more difficult, after the one secret person played their rhythm, I made the drummers scramble out of order so the person guessing couldn't just figure it out by listening to which side the sound came from. I would give them two guesses. If they got it right, then they took their drum and the drummer had to sit down, if they didn't get it right, they picked someone else to be it! The kids LOVED this! -- Ms. Paula Scott
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06/06 You certainly could work with Scripture passages for drum resources. My first book, Praise Ye the Lord (Choristers Guild), now out of print for many years, used entirely Scripture passages. Also Betty Ann Ramseth had one collection of speech exercises from Scriptures. What about taking a simple phrase to use as an ostinato, then find a passage (Psalms, maybe?) which is very rhythmic, and have the kids divide it up, phrase by phrase. First speaking, then learning with body instruments (clapping, patsching), then transferring to drums. I might think of some more, and if I do I'll let you know. -- Louise Eddington
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06/06 A couple of years ago, a few of us including one high school student took an African drumming course that was offered at a local church. (They got a grant.) It was great fun and out of that came more use of drums. We didn't buy a big set. Three of us have djembe's and I recently purchased a jun jun and we have a cowbell and a shakere.
How we use them in church:
We learned two African songs which I had the choir sing and we drummed with. I started incorporating drums into the adult choir numbers where I could. l can make a list if you would like.
We practice about twice a month doing exercises, improvisation and practice more complicated rhythm patterns. Occasionally, as a call to worship, we improvise by:
I play a brief introduction (rubato style) on the recorder. Then one of the djembes begins a steady beat pattern. I come back with the recorder and improvise a tune. Then the other djembe begins on a different pattern and both drums branch out into whatever they want to play keeping the steady beat while I expand the melody. We end after I stretch out my note values (a clue to closing) and use a head nod to finish. It's not complicated and sounds pretty neat. A nice way to begin. I hope to continue with more next year but am careful not to do too much in this genre as with our limited ability, it could become tiresome. -- Sandy Toms
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06/06 Reno makes stackable drums and they are great for saving space.
BACK to Topics
*******************************************************************EASTER
Easter is a FIFTY-DAY HOLIDAY, and this period represents the fifty days between Passover and Shavuot in ancient Israel, when the final wheat harvest was brought in, along with the first fruits. However, Christians have also seen the 50-day period as symbolic of eternity, and a foretaste of the joys of heaven. For that reason, Christians living in Asia minor and throughout the Mediterranean did not permit any kneeling or penitiential actions during the entire seven weeks! Everyone stood during worship services, in honor of the Resurrection.These customs were common during ancient and medieval times, and consequently spread to Europe and Africa. What we now call the "Easter Season" was originally called "Pentecost", a reference to the "GREAT FIFTY DAYS" between Easter and Pentecost Sunday. In modern usage, Christians see the Festival of Pentecost as both the climax and consummation of the Easter season, which began at sundown on Holy Saturday.
The liturgical colors for Easter are white and gold. Churches that follow the Christian Year will have white paraments and furnishings, and some may have a huge white candle lit--this paschal candle is symbolic of the resurrection. This Paschal Candle will be lit throughout the Great Fifty Days, all the way to Pentecost Sunday.
The color white represents the color of the baptismal robe, worn at Eastertide when the candidates had been immersed at the Easter vigil service. It symbolizes being renewed in righteousness, and being a pure babe in Christ. The color gold is symbolic of light, the rays of the sun. These two colors together were thought to represent the dazzling white light seen at the tomb by the soldiers, when Jesus Christ arose from the dead.
The traditional greetings Christians have used for centuries during
Easter Day and the Great Fifty Days are:
"Christ is risen!" Reply: "Indeed, He is risen!"
LATIN--"Surrexit Dominus vere!" (The Lord is risen indeed)
Reply--"Deo gratias!" (Thanks be to God)
GREEK--"Christos anesti!" (Christ is risen)
Reply--"Alethos, anesti!" (Truly, risen)
Other languages use similar messages during the Easter season.
The Festival of Pentecost is coming Sunday, May 19, 2002! Do you need help to prepare for "The Birthday of the Church?" Do you know WHY you are celebrating? The Festival of Pentecost has a long and colorful history, and is rooted in ancient Hebrew history. "Pentecost" is known by the following names:
Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)
Feast of Firstfruits (Hag haBikkurim)
Feast of Harvest (Hag haKatzir)Greek-speaking Jews in the diaspora named the feast "pentecoste", meaning the "fiftieth" day after the start of Pesach (Passover).
Whitsuntide/Whitsun--this is the name commonly used in Great Britain and many places in Europe. This refers to "White Sunday"--the English designation denoted the white garments that clergy and baptismal candidates wore. Baptisms were (and are) commonly held on Pentecost, since the weather was warm enough to permit outdoor immersion. Baptism on Pentecost also recalls the 3000 who were added to the church as recounted in Acts 2.
The liturgical color for Pentecost is red, although the Eastern Orthodox churches commonly use green. Red symbolizes the flames of fire that settled over the disciples' heads; green represents new life and growth. Most churches in the West use red for decoration, and people commonly wear some combination of white and red. White was the original liturgical color of Pentecost, since it was connectied to baptizing converts on that day, who would then wear white baptismal robes. For this reason, you will often see a combination of read and white worn by clergy, choirs and worshippers on Pentecost Sunday. Many churches have now returned to the custom of baptism on the Festival of Pentecost.
It is increasingly common for churches to sponsor ecumenical Pentecost services and celebrations, emphasizing our common heritage and origin in the Jerusalem outpour of the Holy Ghost in AD 30.
Check out these representative websites for more information on Shavuot/Pentecost/Whitsuntide:
http://protestantism.about.com/religion/protestantism/cs/pentecost
http://psv.ascinet.com/psrc.pentecost.html
http://members.ols.net/~stannes/Pentecost.html
http://users.javanet.com/~/anat/Pentecost.htm
http://worship.lcms.org/insert/pentecost/0499/pente.html
http://members.stratos.net/shatch/pentecost.html
http://turtle.looksharp.net/~muir/whitsuntide4.htm
http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/pentecost.htm
http://www.childrensermons.com/sermons/pentecost.htm
http://www.wesleyan.org/lce/pentecost/pentecostmenu.htm
http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/myfriend/games/coloringpages/pentecost/pentecost.html
http://www.school.com/kids/match/ProdSon/pentecost.htm
http://www.cresourcei.org/cypentecost.html
http://www.kencollins.com/holy-07.htm
http://www.annieshomepage.com/pentecost.html
http://www.textweek.com/pentecost.htm
http://www.byzantines.net/feasts/pentecost.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/instleonard/pentecost.html
http://www.culham.ac.uk/Pentecost
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/slavic/pentecost.html
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri./Orthodox-Faith/Worship/Pentecost.html
http://www.emmanuellutheran.org/pentecost.html
http://www.arlev.clara.net/pentecost.htm
http://members.truepath.com/DrDavidsPlace/1000index.html
PENTECOST STUDY SITES
http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/pentecost.htm
http://www.cdn-friends-icej.ca/judeochr/pentecost/pentecost.html
http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/publications/dispatch/biblicalfeasts/Article-11.html
http://www.iFive.com/article.cfm/homiletics/40146
http://www.ifive.com/article.cfm/homiletics/40146 http://www.cts.edu/Library/crc/pentecost_resources.htm
http://www.rca.org/resource/seasonal/pentlit.html
http://www.wcie.net/bible.studies.htm/sg13.htm
http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/bk4/pentecost.html
MORE PENTECOST WORSHIP SITES
http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/pentecost.htm
http://www.pastornet.net.au/rtc.pentecost.htm
http://www.kofc.org/liturgical/june/pentecost.htm
http://www.swd.lcms.org/events/pentecost.htm
http://www.immaculateongunhill.com/Liturgical%20Life/Pentecost/
http://www.diomass.org/EpisTimes/Pentecost.htm
http://www.acns.com/~mm9n/festivalw/pentecost.html
http://www.stgeorgeschurch.org/cal_pentecost.html
http://worship.lcms.org/insert/pentecost/0499pente.html
PENTECOST FOLKLORE/CUSTOMS
http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/pfingst.htm
http://www.inv.se/svefa/tradition/engtrad/whitsun.html
http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/customs/pentecost.html
PENTECOST MUSIC SITE
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/pentecost.html
PENTECOST FOOD SITES
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/20000501/FRIDGE/red_food.htm
http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcg/category.cgi?category=SHAVUOT
http://aish.com/holidays/Shavuot/
JEWISH AND MESSIANIC JEWISH SHAVUOT SITES
http://www.holidays.net.Shavuot
http://www.joi.org/celebrate/shavuot
http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/shavuos/shavuot.htm
http://www.amfi.org/shavuot.htm
http://www.messianic.net/art_faq/from_rabbi_elders/shavuot.html
http://www.templeinstitute.org/services/Shavuot-Firstfruits.htm
http://www.everythingjewish.com/Shavuot/origins.htm
http://www.jajz.cd.org.il/festivls/shavuot/l.htm
http://www.ou.org/chagim/shavuot/default.htm
http://www.derech.org/shavuot.html
http://www.terraflux.co.il/kibbutz/id/pentecost/pentecost.htm
http://www.concordnh.com/messianicfellowship/shavuot.html
http://www.wzo.org.il/encountr/shavuot.htm
http://aish.com/holidays
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*******************************************************************E-MAIL LISTS
EMAIL LIST (as of 8/17/04) NEW EMAIL DISCUSSION open to anyone for Church ChoirsJust send an e-mail to [email protected] (subject and body both say "subscribe") and follow directions when you receive a response This is managed by Karen Stafford http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/ When responding to a note someone else posts to the list, either adddress your response to [email protected] OR hit "reply all"
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I would recommend you join Choristers Guild (40.00 per year)http://www.choristersguild.org because you receive 10 newsletters per year with ideas (specifically for children's choirs) and 3 octavos with each issue, most of which are for school age choirs. There are articles with games, warmups, etc., periodically. It's a great organization and there are many local chapters (maybe one in your area) that sponsor childrens' festivals and workshops. (We have one in Detroit MI)
-------------- Worship List sponsored by WorshipMusic http://www.worshipmusic.com/ - ------------------------- Worship List: http://www.praise.net/worship/list ------------------------- NOTE: the following are all (I think) geared toward adult choral music (correct me if I'm wrong)
CHORAL LIST, CHORAL TALK, CHORALACADEME (3 separate lists) Send a one line message (no Subject heading) to [email protected] with message subscribe choralist Your Name or subscribe choraltalk Your Name or subscribe choralacademe Your Name
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TCMR church-music mailing list to subscribe: (regular version) Send an e-mail message to:
[email protected]
Do not type anything in the message or subject area.
NOTE: The address i @s1 (one) and not @sl (L) to subscribe: (digest version)
Send an e-mail message to: [email protected]
Do not type anything in the message or subject area. NOTE: The address is @s1 (one) and not @sl (L)
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Church Music: Send a one line message (no Subject heading) to [email protected] with message
subscribe church-music [email protected] Your Name
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http://www.creatormagazine.com/pubs/ This is an excellent list of church music publishers, complete with addresses, phone, etc.
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Message board for church musicians:
http://www.tcmr.com/boards/Main/index.html
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*******************************************************************FUNERAL/MEMORIAL MUSIC
06/15 I highly recommend "Homeward Bound" by Marta Keen, arr. Jay Althouse. (Not the Simon/Garfunkel song) It's an Irish sounding melody - lyrics very nice. You can get a single copy (I got the duet version and used it as a solo with piano) from JWPepper. It's downloadable. I used it at my mother's memorial service. ----- Sandy Toms-----------------------
Guitar/Ukelele Groups BRAND: My favorite is not the cheapest, but are very dependable. It is the Kala soprano S-15 that sells for around $50. They sound great and stay in tune with the Aquila nylagut strings. There may be some that are also dependable and cheater that I am not familiar with; but I know the Kalas are very good.---- Mary Bourne
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RESOURCE: Kalani has a ukulele CD
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I jumped in a few years back, never having even played the ukulele myself,and ordered the Ukulele in the Classroom method Book 1. AWESOME!!! It was an excellent method book, and there was enough in them to challenge the quicker learners, and more than enough to keep everyone busy. The link to the website is posted below - hope this helps.
http://www.ukuleleintheclassroom.com/ ----- Wilma from Calgary
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06/09 “Come to Jesus” (Chris Rice) Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW5S8Xm-GkA
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06/09 I would definitely use "We Might Heal", MK8 vol.10,#4. www.musick8.com
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Barber's "Adagio for Strings", Puccini's "O Mio Bambino Caro" and Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" organ at full blast!
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12/07 All of these can be heard at http://www.JWPepper.com:
Amazing Grace - arr. Jay Althouse
Going Over Home - arr. Sonja Poorman
Homeward Bound - Jay Althouse -- Jennifer Schroeder
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06/06 This site has music suggestions for funerals and memorial services and midis to listen to.
http://littlecoop.100megsfree5.com/
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06/06 "For Good" from Wicked is really beautiful. You'd have to cut the part about asking for forgiveness- maybe just do an instrumental interlude there. The words are so appropriate- talking about the reason people come into our lives, how so much of what we are is because of what we've learned from others, being changed for the better because of knowing a person, etc.
"May the Road Rise to Meet You" is pretty, too. -- Mary Grebe
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06/06 "An Old Irish Blessing" Music K-8, Vol. 5, No. 4) http://www.musick8.com/ -- Dan Fee (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)
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06/06 "A Candle for Remembrance" from MK8 11:2 http://www.musick8.com/ -- Cheryl Elder
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*******************************************************************GOSPEL MUSIC
SOURCE: [email protected]www.igccb.com
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*******************************************************************GUITAR GROUPS
There is a book (spiral bound, large) with 97 of the most popular hymns (& chords) in the 1982 Episcopal hymnal. 25.00 http://www.churchpublishing.org/ Phone: 1-800-242-1918 The representative told me that they offer a .pdf form of hymns with the guitar chords but he was unsure if it's the same product as well.------------------------------
This site a book called "Come Celebrate". It contains 128 songs for guitar and other instruments. It comes in pew editions, guitar and solo editions and Full Accompaniment. If you would like more information about the resources that Celebration carries, our website is www.communityofcelebration.com. There are sound bytes available for some of the songs at the site.
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*******************************************************************GRANDPARENTS PROGRAM
09/02 (Christian program written by Lynn Frens) Here is the Grandparent's Day program from last year that I promised to eventually send.Preschool songs ( 3 songs led by the preschool teacher)
Kindergarten songs (3 songs led by the kindergarten teachers)
Welcome:
Student 1 : Welcome to our school today, We are glad that you are here. We'll sing a lot of songs for you And share God's love and cheer.
Student 2: Let our praises fill the air Singing high and low.
.................. Now join us as we speak a Psalm David wrote so long ago.Choral response: Praise the Lord!
(This is a spoken response written by Betty Ann Ramseth, 1970)[We had one child play the steady beat on a hand drum. The children in grades 1-6 spoke the initial words with the grandparents echoing. Very effective!]
Student 3: We've learned a song you might have sung When you were once our age
..................The words are changed a little bit From that original page.Song: Praise Him, Praise Him
[I used this familiar tune but changed the words. On each verse the children sang to their grandparents:]
"Praise Him, praise Him, grandpas and grandmas; God is love, God is love."
Grandparents replied: "Praise Him, praise Him, all you boys and girls, God is love, God is love."
[We did it in this responsorial style for the 4 given verses. The following sections are based on these verses: praise, love, thank, serve.]
Student 4: We praise the Lord with many 'a voice And in many 'a way We pray for grace to follow Him Each and every day.
Song: "Shout to the Lord"
Student 5: We love the Lord with all our heart With all our soul and mind.We love our neighbor as ourselves. We treat him just and kind.
Song: "One God"
Student 6: We thank you Lord through things we say And by the things we do.
.................. Our lips and hearts will shout for joy When we sing praise to You.
Song: "Lord, I Lift your Name on High"
Student 7: We serve the Lord by offering ourselves as living proof that God transforms our sinful self;
.................. He is the way of Truth.
Song: "It is the Cry of My Heart"
Student 8: Grandparents are special I'm sure you know that's true They teach us from God's holy Word They show us what to do.
Student 9: And so when I am grown up I pray to God anew that I can be like grandfolks I want to be like you!
Readings: "When I grow up I want to be like my grandma/ grandpa because...."
[We chose one girl and one boy from each classroom to come to the mic and say something special about their grandparent. Some of the things were: he can fix ANYTHING!, makes me cozy quilts, tells me about God, helps others. This was a big hit with the grandparents!]
Student 10: We have just one more thing to say: All students: God loves you and we do too!
[P.S. some things that I liked about this program were:
1. Responsorial from students to grandparents and back;
...I do think the grandparents like to participate in some way as opposed to just sitting there.
2. Personal feelings that the kids expressed about their grandparent would also apply to others.
I am starting this year's program and will post that when our October program is finished.]
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*******************************************************************HANDBELLS-TONE CHIMES
12/07 At my school we had the cheapest Suzuki chimes and they were very awful--some notes just did not respond. At church we had the standard Suzuki tone chimes and we got along quite well. Of course, the standard handbell brands (Schulmerich, Malmark) make excellent ones as well. You are probably working with 2 or 3 octave sets I would guess, You want to look for handbell music catalogs, and go for Level 1. Even within that level, some music is easier than others. I worked with a tone chime choir (actually it grew to several) at my church for several years and thoroughly loved it!Things that seem so easy to us are not necessarily easy for the kids. One of the things that was extremely hard for my beginning group was doing eighth notes where the pair was split between 2 players (1 child plays on the beat and the next child plays on the "and".) We incorporated this technique into some of our warmups and some kids finally got the hang of it.
I did mark music generously. This is not to preclude their learning to read the notes, but think about it. At this age, those who play in band/orchestra are used to seeing a SINGLE line of notes in their music. Handbell music, even easy arrangements, has big stacks of notes on top of each other, very thickly voiced chords. Even piano students do not see music of such density unless they are extremely advanced. I circled (or had them circle, later on) their notes, and we also wrote in the count for each measure. -- Louise Eddington, Muncie, Indiana
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04/05 Our beloved handbell listserve, [email protected]
To join the Handbell-L mailing list, just send mail to: [email protected]
Use a message body (no subject needed) of: subscribe Handbell-L Firstname Lastname Where Firstname is your first name, and Lastname is your last name. -- Jean
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02/05 Here are some recommended pieces for handbell:
Ah, Holy Jesus (arr. Tucker - with flute )
Aria for Handbells (arr. Liander )
Lamb of God w/There is a Redeemer (arr. Bettcher )
Near the Cross (arr. Lamb )
Nocturne in C Minor (arr. Helma )
Pavane (arr. Hopson )
Pie Jesu (arr. Sanders w/flute or violin)
Thy Holy Wings (arr. Thompson)
Were You There ( haven't chosen the arrangement/arrangements yet)
What Wondrous Love is This (arr. Dobrinski )
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (arr. Kauffmann )
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*******************************************************************LITURGICAL DANCE
Websites:
http://www.christiandance.com
http://connect.ab.ca/~kwalden/dance.htm
http://www.us.net/sdg
http://www.cal.shaw.wave.ca/~delhard/sacdance.html
http://www.vhdance.org
http://www.wcpageantry.com
http://home.earthlink.net/~jwalther/spiritwind/
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/3622
http://www.sympatico.ca/musta...seed/Anna_Douthwright/Anna.htm
http://www.joyshoppe.com
http://www.hcvn.org/info/allsaints/litdance.htm
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*******************************************************************MULTICULTURAL
http://www.melanet.com/kwanzaa/http://www.tike.com/celeb-kw.htm
http://www.itskwanzaatime.com/
http://www.globalindex.com/kwanzaa/welcome.htm
http://festivals.com/12-december/kwanzaa/
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Choristers Guild publication, "Halle, Halle" is a book of multicultural songs with performance suggestions. You may inquire about it at [email protected]
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I know we've had many, many discussions about multi-cultural music, how to program, etc. and I know there are strong feelings on all sides. If you are at all in interested in multi-cultural music, I URGE you to get your hands on a copy of the March 2001 "Choral Journal" published by the ACDA. It is chock-full of information....for example, there is a section listing a specific country followed by a publishing company from that company with the address. You need Swedish music? It's in there. You need something from Ghana? They've got the resource. It goes on and on.
Also, there are some really thought-provoking articles. There is a great article by Marvin V. Curtis on the history of African-American Spirituals and Gospel Music. Another article (Joshua R. Jacobson) deals with why do we only program Jewish music at Hanukkah? And an excellent article (Nick Page) deals with our cultural connections and learning to HONOR the differences in our cultures and religions when we program music. GET YOUR HANDS ON A COPY AND FILE THIS INFO!!!
I would suggest starting with the following info. that I picked up from the inside front cover to see how you might be able to attain a copy if you are not an ACDA member:
Amer. Choral Directors Assoc. www.acdaonline.org 502 SW Thirty-eighth St., Lawton OK 73505 (580) 355-8161
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World Music Press has been a pioneer in the field of authentic multicultural book/audio sets and choral music since 1985. I was a little surprised to see so little mention of our publications, especially when the individual culture areas were noted with choral selections. I know the author stated it was not a comprehensive listing, but you should just be aware that some small companies' offerings, including ours, were barely touched on. So once again, if anyone would like to know what we DO offer, I'd be happy to send a current catalog! Judith Cook Tucker, Publisher World Music Press Intercultural Understanding through Music www.worldmusicpress.com [email protected]
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I'm including a text I include in a program when one of my schools does a program on 'holidays' for your info:
HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD
Dwali is celebrated in northwestern India where Hinduism is the common religion. There are several gods that are worshipped. The Dwali festival takes place on the night of November's new moon. People clean their homes and leave a window or door open for the goddess Lakshmi (goddess of wealth and prosperity) enter and inspect their homes. Thousands of small oil lamps are lit and set afloat to honor Lakshmi. It is believed that if your wick stays lit until out of sight, wishes for the new year will come true. (for music, I use E. Indian drum dance music and create a rhythmic dance the kids can handle)
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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muhammadan year (lunar calendar) observed as sacred with a long, very solemn, usually quiet month of fasting (dawn until sunrise)and reflection, devotion to God and practice in self control. This year Ramadan began on November 25th and will end December 25th. (Times vary slightly over the globe.) A typical Arabic greeting at the end of Ramadan might be: Kullu am wa antum bi-khair" (May you be well throughout the year)
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Hanukkah: the celebration of the miracle of the oil (enough for only one day) stayed lit for eight days (important to the Jews of the time for the temple re-dedication) which allowed the people time enough to make more oil. The Greeks had taken over the Jewish temple in Palestine and ordered the people to worship in the manner of the Greek tradition. The Macabees(Judah +) were a small army of Jews that fought the Greek army for 3 years and did manage to win back the temple. The game of dreydl was played at that time by the students (studying the Torah) whenever Greek soldiers were in the vicinity to mask their purpose in gathering. Hanukkah is now an eight night celebration.
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Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ who Christians believe to be the son of God. The Christmas season begins with the onset of advent (waiting, watching, welcoming), the time before Christmas. There are four weeks of advent. One additional candle is lit each week on Sunday and one on Christmas day. (Five candles). Epiphany is the time after Christmas during which it is believed that the three 'wise men' traveled to seek out the newborn baby and did not return as instructed by King Herod to report as to Jesus' whereabouts.
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Christmas in South America (Los Posadas) celebrates/recreates the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem prior to Christ's birth. They go from house to house seeking shelter and getting turned away. When they come to a house with luminarias out in front, they're welcomed. In some cases, the whole town comes out for the festivities. A local family portrays the Holy Family and there is plenty of dancing, singing, and FOOD! Some tell of celebrations ending in an all-night-long Mass.
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Kwaanza begins the day after Christmas and celebrates the 7 principles (7 days) of life in a social community which are Unity, Self determination, Collective work & responsibility, Cooperative economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith in the nation of people. The days include crafts, costume, songs (including spirituals), stories (African fables, etc.,) and evening dinners with others. "Habari Gani" is a greeting which means 'What's Happening?'
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Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year begins with the new moon of the lunar calendar. Days before are spent in preparation and include cleaning, planting, settling old accounts and cooking for the feast. On New Year's day, children paint pictures of favorite gods and parade them in the streets. Fire crackers are lit in front of houses to chase away evil spirits. People go to the temples to pray for their ancestors and to ask for good fortune. For 305 days there are Lion Dances to bring good luck. The lantern festival is celebrated on the 13-15th days. MK8 has a great Chinese New year song but you'd have to order that issue (probably around $11.00 with shipping)
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Kwaanza begins the day after Christmas and celebrates the 7 principles (7 days) of life in a social community which are Unity, Self determination, Collective work & responsibility, Cooperative economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith in the nation of people. The days include crafts, costume, songs (including spirituals), stories (African fables, etc.,) and evening dinners with others. "Habari Gani" is a greeting which means 'What's Happening?' Songs: This Little Light, Habari Gani (Greta Peterson) There is a great Kwanzaa song from the musical "December in Our Town" by Roger Emerson. Published by Hal Leonard. The song is called "Kwanzaa Celebration" Kalanta for the New Year and is part of Henry Leck's music series published by Plymouth Music (HL-209). Books: "The Gifts of Kwanzaa" Synthia Saint James tells the story of a celebration, good explanations, illustrations are impressionistic, line drawings, colorful "The Story of Kwanzaa" - Donna Washington has a good 2 page description of history of Black Americans (ancestors) - elementary age "It's Kwanzaa Time" has seven fables (adapted from Aesop fables) in keeping with the 7 principles (one for each night) as storytelling is part of the celebration; these could be adapted for Orff instrumentation; as 3 songs, recipes, directions for costume "Celebrating Kwanzaa" - good photographs of family celebrating and pictures of symbols Symbols: mkeka - mat, kinara - candle holder, kufi - hat, mazao - fruits of harvest, muhindi (Corn husks):one on harvest table for each child Days: 1. Unity (Umoja), 2. Self-Determination (Kujichagulia - freedom to make own decisions, 3. Collective work & responsibility (Ujima), 4. Cooperative Economics (Ujama - I buy from you and vice versa), 5. Purpose (Nia - Goals), 6. Creativity (Kuumba), 7. Faith (Imani - in ourselves and race) Candles: one black (race), 3 red (blood ergo life), 3 green (earth) Calendar: 7 nights beginning December 26 thru New Years Day Founder: Maulana Karenga - AfroAmerican leader who created the tradition of Kwanzaa
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As I reread the correspondence these last couple of weeks since Sandy set us up, I wonder if all of you know about Choristers Guild. It was a valuable resource for me as a beginning choir director...with adults and children...and continues to be such after over 25 years in church music. There is a wonderful new publication about children as vital participants in worship: A Child Shall Lead, ed. John Witvliet. Another new publication would serve those who are looking for short, enjoyable choruses for children, youth and adults: Halle,Halle is a book of multicultural songs edited by Michael Hawn. Membership in the Guild is $48 a year. For that you receive 10 copies of the journal, The Chorister, which includes helpful information regarding worship, children's voice, youth voices, vocal production, how to begin a choir and keep it going, liturgical movement. In each issue of The Chorister are at least 3 octavos of recent publications and occasionally a musical is included. There are local chapters of Choristers Guild in many areas of the US and Canada with which you can affiliate as a member. If you desire information, contact Karin at [email protected] Karin is the membership secretary. She will be glad to help you. May we walk as children of light in this season of Epiphany. Leah King [email protected]
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Halle, Halle: We Sing the World Round(Choristers Guild)
Four African Hymns
BILINGUAL SPANISH/ENGLISH ANTHEMS
Sing Thankful Songs (Cantad cancion de gratitud)
It is Good to Sing Praise (Es gozoso alabar)
O Lord, You Know Me Completely (O Dios, tu me conoces)
The Lamb (Pequeno Cordero)
Over All (Sobre todos)
Song of Hope (Choristers Guild)
ASIAN
Sound the Bamboo--CCA Hymnal 1990
Hymns from the Four Winds
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
Songs of Zion
Yes, Lord!
Lift Every Voice (Leah King)
HELELUYAN arr. J. Ulrich/SATBB/Creek Indian "Alleluia"/15 c.(Wow!)
Huron Indian Carol (in most hymnals in Christmas music)
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*****************************************************************************MUSICALS
"CALLING ALL ANGELS" - superb! -- Kathleen Bragle, NBCT '02 - Another great children's musical for Christmas; It has been well received and you might want to look at it. It is catalog number CGC38, has a demonstration cassette (CGCT27) and director's kit which includes a copy of the score and demo tape (CGK14).
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12/07 CHIMES IN THE NIGHT by T.Long and A. Pote: http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sub=44 I've used a lot of music by Alan Pote - very reliable and well written.
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12/07 CHRISTMAS SNAPSHOTS [is a service I’ve used with K-2]. The parents love it. The kids create live photographs in a big frame. There are many speaking parts in this service. I've used 2nd graders to do this. Most or all of the songs have movement. Two versions are available. I bought the 40 minute version and to make it a bit shorter, I cut a few songs. The composer has others which I have not used or looked over at all, so I cannot speak for the rest of them, but Christmas Snapshots, I like. One song uses kazoos.
It also has some humor for the parents. The narrator refers to a picture of the baby's room, which of course, refers to the manger with animals. One picture contains the shepherds roasting marshmallows over a campfire or keeping an eye on the sheep with flashlights. We had the narrator make a large gesture toward the picture when the next picture was presented.
I had our art teacher make the picture frame from cardboard. She painted it to look like a gold/brown baroque picture frame which we taped over a PVC pipe frame. Afterwards I pitch the cardboard and keep the frame. The PVC pipe frame is easy to move with 2 people.
Christmas Snapshots is available from cathysmusic.com. I noticed she has a new one with hats. possibility for December 2008. --- Kaethe Grabenhofer
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*DAVID AND THE GIANTS - Zabel/Jordan Choristers Guild CGCA-170c The story of David and Goliath
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"HOLY MOSES" (Children) (Word Music, Kathie Hill) that we did with our children's choir camp that had a really catchy tune for the 10 commandments called "The Perfect Ten." This was the song that most of my own kids learned it from...and -0 years later can still sing it...D. Brian Weese
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FAVORITES: Finding the Christmas Star and Back to the Manger. Funny and poignant--and the music is GREAT! ----- Julie Porter
12/12 MK8-The First Christmas-is easy.- Becky Melhaus
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.php?product_group=3258
First Christmas, The A Wonderful New Nativity Musical For Your Young Singers by Teresa Jennings and Karl Hitzemann
06/06 We did Joseph, A Stomp! Musical last year, also others that we liked but are not NEW---THE ROCK SLINGER AND HIS GREATEST HIT - Tom Long/Alan Pote, HOLY MOSES! Bill Ahlman
06/06 ANY of CELESTE CLYDESDALES's musicals! We're planning to do "KING OF THE JUNGLE." And, "MEET ME AT THE MANGER" is an AWESOME Christmas musical--that would be for next year. "SOLID ROCK CAFE" and "SON SEEKERS NATION VACATION" are great, too. I've done "Promise U" and "Go, Go, Jonah" as a Musicamp--put the whole thing together in one week of INTENSIVE morning-long work, kind of like a music VBS! -- Missy Davis Meridian, MS
09/03 My favorite ones have been so far, ONCE UPON A STARRY NIGHT by Ruth Elaine Schram and John Jacobson (Popplers catalog), and "THE WORLD SINGS NOEL", by Hal H. Hopson (Cokesbury). This year, I am doing WE LOVE YOU, BABY JESUS and it looks like it might be a very cute one. I found them through the Brentwood Kids Music Club, you pay $35.00 a year and they send you sacred musicals for all seasons with a listening cassette. Then they send you a coupon for $35.00 that you can use to buy more of their products, so it's basically free..they have a lot of good ones, The toll free # for Brentwood Kids Music Club is 1-800-846-7664, their website is www.BrentwwodBenson.com
06/06 Promise U Go, Go Jonah, Sermon on the Mound, Father Knows Best, Oh Me Oh My Oh Nehemiah , Truth Works -- Kristin Lukow
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09/03 FIRE DOWN BELOW by Capstan Chantey. Edited by Teena Chinn. Arranged by Darla Eshelman. Educational choral octavo (2-part). Level: moderately easy. Published by Warner Brothers. (SVM02087) 6-PACK includes six original copies of this piece. Yes, this is the arrangment I'm using. The kids LOVE it! -- Contributed by Becky Luce
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*THE FIRST CHRISTMAS, A Nativity Musical For Very Young Voices*, by Teresa Jennings and Karl Hitzemann for my First Grade Christmas Program this year. It was pretty easy. I had never used CD tracks before with students this young and they absolutely LOVED it! We added a few other songs with piano accompaniment, as well.
FOLLOW THAT STAR Gallina Wide World Music Inc. Great C-mas story about astonauts who go back in time (this can be almost all girls more easily, except for the role of Joseph) Nice duets.
fun; nice songs, SA, Astronauts travel back in time to first Christmas
(I've had girls play these roles when necessary but you can rewrite script as a parody and change the gender roles however it works. I've taken 5-6 songs I really like and make up a script (any story) around the songs, or have a youth group take the script writing on as a project.
12/07 fun; nice songs, SA, Astronauts travel back in time to first Christmas (I've had girls play these roles when necessary but you can rewrite script as a parody and change the gender roles however it works.
http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/043659/details.html -- Sandy Toms
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0606 "I WITNESS NEWS: ALIVE FROM JERICO" by Peter and Hanneke Jacobs.Published by Lillenas ISBN 083-417-2828 It's pretty neat and there is a "Live from BEthlehem musical also. My church has done both of them with success. Cheryl Elder
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12/07 JUMP FOR JOY by John Jacobson
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06/09 LET’S ROCK http://www.littlebigstuff.com/lr/index.html
Quote from site: While their leader Miss Stone "rallies the troops" to get to work on the cleanup, she reminds the kids that famous Christian rock star Max Rockanelli will also be in the park today to lend a hand. Though cleanup of the park and repairs to the rock retaining wall are the order of the day, three of our main characters are thinking about something else. Jazz (a singer), Charlie (a drummer), and Sam (a guitar player) have caught wind that not only will Max be helping in the park, he will be shooting his new music video here, and perhaps this could be the "big break at stardom" each of them has dreamed about. A fourth character, Worthington Billingham (the quirky but lovable kid who always seems to be sneezing) surprises everyone by announcing his interest in "auditioning" for the video as well.
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06/09 LIFE SCHOOL MUSICAL: http://www.littlebigstuff.com/music/music.html
Quote from site: “When Miss Knowsalot's class at Life School begins on this particular Friday, the students have no idea what a special day it is destined to be! Ben, the new kid, and all the other students get the surprise of their life when colorful characters from the Bible materialize on the scene to truly bring their lessons to life.”
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07/13 LIGHT OF THE WORLD-[This is] One of my absolutely favorite Christ-centered (Sacred) musicals (which I have used with my parochial schools) by Mark Patterson. It has solos, foreign languages, un-pitched percussion instruments, chimes and beautiful songs. I have used it with a pianist because I don't like the background music on the recording, but otherwise, beautiful!
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A ROCKIN' ROLLIN' CHRISTMAS [I did this] last year, and I plan to do a new one this coming year called, We Three Spies. They both come with pre-arranged choreography, tracks, and the music is modern, of varied styles, and yet incorporates some Christmas carols along with the original songs. Both have a Christ-centered message.
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10/08 SHEPHERDS, STARS AND A SAVIOR.? It is 15 minutes long.?I loved doing it as it has the Christmas story with Bethlehem, it has stars, angels and I love the music.? Some of it is traditional and some of it is new.? Here's the url to see it at JWPEPPER.
http://www.jwpepper.com/catalog/lsearch -- Caryn Mears, Kennewick, WA
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SING WITH US: If you're looking for a sacred program, Plank Road Publishing has one called "Sing With Us The Christmas Story." Here's the link:
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.tpl?productgroup=2065 It's still in production, but it will be available soon. We've already started taking several orders for it.
A CLASSICAL KIDS CHRISTMAS Many customers also like [this musical] Here's that link:
http://www.musick8.com/store/alphadetail.tpl?productgroup=743
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12/07 "MOSES AND THE FREEDOM FANATICS" (Hopson) is fun and easy to adapt to age groups. Pharoah is a comical character, Bugs, frogs, opportunities for percussion, some fairly sophisticated lines for older kids and some nice songs. I've done this with varied ages. - Sandy Toms
Nice songs and humor about Moses and Pharoah and all those bugs!
"The Tale of the Three Trees" is by Allen Pote with lyrics and narration by Tom Long. It is based on an American folk tale and spans the life of Jesus from birth to the cross. It is 18 minutes long (so an excellent chancel drama), but strong enough to stand alone. It can accomodate casts from 10 to 100. (I'll try to remember to check the score to see how many actual speaking parts there are in the musical and get back to the list next week.) It's for two part (treble or mixed) voices. Easy enough to be performed by children and profound enough to appeal to performers and listeners of all ages. Costuming can be elaborate or very simple. Helpful suggestions for staging are included in the score. In addition to the score, demo cassette and directors kit (score and demo cassette), there is a rehearsal/accompaniment cassette. The score for "Tale of the Three Trees" is in storytelling format with a single narrator and many actors. If you have many choir members who would like speaking parts, you might want to divide the narration among the participants. In addition to the narrator, you will need the following actors:
We have a very small church and very diverse congregation. We did a multi-generational production - the youngest was 6 and the oldest, over 60! I did the simplest possible staging - one flag, 3 ladders and I used the
recorded accompaniment, which is quite good, especially with decent sound equipment.
I had two adults and one kid for each tree, with the kid in the middle. Two adults and one kid did all the other parts, and I used an adult narrator. The blend of the kid's and adults voices was really nice and EVERYBODY loved it! It really gave the whole church a wonderful warm feeling. We repeated the chorus of "Dreams" for the response after the benediction, and the cast came down the aisles and "circled" the congregation while everyone sang. I highly recommend it...!
5/01 THREE TREES I made 3 green and 3 white flags, but put sleeves in them so they would slide on/off the dowels. I used 3 dowels and had children change them at quiet times when the attention was somewhere else. I thought the velcro would make too much noise as well.
Our 'Teen Choir' (7 girls mostly middle school age) is singing the entire musical; with the 'Youth Choir' joining them for Dreams (in sign language); chorus of "High on a Hill"; "The Chopping Song"; storm sequence and final chorus in "Dreem..Came True(1st - 5th graders; 15 children available out of 32--Spring is tough in the North...everyone is busy). The Teens will be the chorus (off to the side--no acting); the Youth will be the 'trees' acting out the story.
I opted to just use 3 flags instead of ladders, due to the young age of the group. My husband built simple, 'Charlie Brown Christmas Tree' stands out of 2 X 4's (simple: put two 2 ft. scraps on top of each other in a +; join center with 4 screws--we used dry wall; screw 4" 'blocks' under the two that don't touch the ground; DRILL out 1" hole (using spade bit) in the middle of the stand for a 10" long PVC tube--1" diameter-- to be inserted; pound PVC in hole; use 3/4" electrical conduit--metal pipe--for pole...we made ours 7 feet tall). The PVC makes it easy for the children to take out the flags when the tree falls; and easily put them back -with NO TIPPING OVER. (for each tree when we sing "...dream of the tree came true...'
I found a SHEER at KMart for the flags. I can't remember the name of the pattern, but it is a Martha Stewart sheer panel ($11.99 on sale) that is WHITE with GREEN LEAVES scattered sparcely. Cut it in fourths; stitch the hems to match the rod pockets; sew across the top of the rod pocket; sear the edges.
I'm having 3 boys (who didn't want to do the sign language in the first song) bring the 3 flags up the center aisle and put them in the stands (right at the beginning of 'High on a Hill.'
Costumes: I tie-dyed shirts for all members (for my first try, I found it surprisingly simple and not too messy). Youth have GREEN (light & dark green, and yellow); Teens have sprial rainbow shirts (representing colorful dreams & God's promises).
TRIM THE BRANCHES: without the ladders, we used props (just found them in the storage closets) for our manger and the bench. Our third tree prop was a 2 X 4 that we sent with 'Jesus' down the aisle. That way our flag was still there for the youth to put back in the stand when we sang. On Sunday mornings I teach an Orff/Recorder Class for 2nd through 6th graders. We have a 20-piece instrumentarium, and they all play recorder. Attendance for this group is more regular, but still it's frustrating. I can't expect these groups to get as good as my school groups mainly because I'm ALWAYS backing up and starting over to cover what was missed by those who weren't at the last class, or for the newcomer. It would be hard to ever get any skills built up without meeting at least once a week. I enjoy the church music as a nice change of pace from school. There is a difference in emphasis which is refreshing, and I like working with kids from other schools in the area. The emphasis is NOT on "performing" for a service, but when the children have worked something up to the point where they'd like to share it, I schedule them to sing or play for a service. Finding church material for the Orff instruments is tough, and I have been writing most of it myself. I joined the Choristers Guild and find some good ideas through them. Helen Kemp is one of their main clinicians and writers.Each year we do a 40-minute Children's Service on Christmas Eve with Choir, Orff, recorders, hand chimes, drama, and Powerpoints. We haven't done anything big for Easter because the Adult Choir does a big musical with orchestra. I am considering adding a two-week Orff Ensemble camp this summer. That would be a good way to build their skills for the next year. I already do a one-week choral camp with a performance at the end of the week, in addition to the one week Vacation Bible School. --- Contributed by Laurie Zentz
Amazing Grace
In "New Harp of Columbia," the pentatonic hymn tunes are:
Anticipation, 75
Sorry I misplaced my copy of "Church Hymnal," but I strongly recommend looking through a copy of it; that's one hymnal which has a whole gob of pentatonic hymns.
All of these sources have pentatonic religious folk songs:
Armstrong, M. F., "Hampton and its students"
For starters, get the John Horman collections and 15 songs.
HAVE YOU SEEN MY LORD?* arr. Bonnie Wilder/unison/in "15 Songs"/post Easter/copyable (This whole collection of songs is GREAT- GET it!! Also, there is a Palm Sunday collection that is also copyable- both are Choristers Guild pub.)
THE WHOLE BRIGHT WORLD REJOICES NOW Schalk/unison + 2 choirs on chorus/bells/mode/post Easter/1 c.
CHINESE LANTERN CAROL arr. McNair/in "Make His Praise Glorious-3 vs./bells/12c/Christmas (Easy to do xylos with)
GOD IS ALWAYS NEAR - H. Kemp/2 pt./bells/1 c. (Vietnamese melody)I wrote out xylo parts, if you get it let me know (Sandy Toms, [email protected])
Lift Up Your Eyes - Lindh - opt. percussion, synthesizer, bass, Easter
MAKE US TO BE (Children of the Light) Betty Ann Ramseth CGA-579 Nice poetry in Dorian mode Orff + flute
KNOCK! KNOCK! J. Roth/unison/Orff arr.-simple w/ R. instr./ OCTAVO
NOW THE GREEN BLADE RISES BY Shirley McRae of Noel Nouvelet (translation)famous French carol/Bells or Orff + opt. flute/part is in round/post Easter/CG
Lift Up Your Eyes - Lindh - opt. percussion, synthesizer, bass, Easter
All the Orff and choir pieces came from a great collection by Diane
Ladendecker Volumes 1+2 HOLIDAYS AND HOLY DAYS
Orff arrangements of sacred music (original songs): Brent M. Holl & Michael Nichols [email protected]
*Glad Songs We Bring - (Four Songs) CGA 719(different composers: Sleeth, Page, etc.) (has opt. Orff/bell accomp.)
SEVEN SONGS FOR THE CHURCH YEAR - Michael Bedford (songs are all adaptable to parts on bells or Orff instr.(might just have to change the key on a few for xylos) Simple but nice.
TEN CANONS AND RESPONSES for children's choirs by John D. Horman CGA-455 Choristers Guild(includes 4 Orff numbers)
TWELVE CANONS FOR CHILDREN'S CHOIRS John D. Horman CGA-329 Choristers Guild includes 8 Orff numbers
15 SONGS AND HYMNS with Orff Accompaniment CGBK-3 Great collection Parts are all reproducible
CHILDREN'S ORFF MUSIC for Church Vol. 2 (they have more music like this)
Here's the address to get a catalogue:
Beaten Path Publications 302 College St. Bridgewater, VA 22812
SINGING THE SEASONS - Michael Bedford new set of songs, easily adapted to Orff instr.
"The Gifts of Kwanzaa" Synthia Saint James tells the story of a celebration, good explanations, illustrations are impressionistic, line drawings, colorful "The Story of Kwanzaa" - Donna Washington has a good 2 page description of history of Black Americans (ancestors) - elementary age "It's Kwanzaa Time" has seven fables (adapted from Aesop fables) in keeping with the 7 principles (one for each night) as storytelling is part of the celebration; these could be adapted for Orff instrumentation; as 3 songs, recipes, directions for costume
"Celebrating Kwanzaa" - good photographs of family celebrating and pictures of symbols
I also used candy as a bribe, to get them there on time. I had a bucket of hard candy, usually Jolly Ranchers, and if you were there by the time choir started, you got a piece of candy. At the end of rehearsal, if they had worked really hard, they could get another piece of candy. When we performed, we combined with the younger children's choir, grades k-2. At Christmas, we essentially read the Scripture for the Christmas story, and inserted songs that carried out that part of the story. We also had the really little kids, preschoolers, dressed in costumes to act out the Christmas story. We always performed at Christmas, Palm Sunday (they came in waving palm branches) and Mother's Day (they each had a carnation to take to their moms after they sang). Don't feel like you have to spend a lot of time searching out music, because the sad reality is that these children don't know the old standbys of the church, including many of the sacred carols. I'm not big on "cute" for grades 3-5; I left that to the younger children's group to put in the hand motions, etc. We usually did one piece a capella each time we sang. Depending on the strength of the group, I would sometimes teach harmony parts and other times just aim for a beautiful unison. -- Julie Jones
Check out these representative websites for more information on
Shavuot/Pentecost/Whitsuntide:
http://www.execulink.com/~wblank/pentecost.htm
http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/pentecost.htm
http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/pfingst.htm
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/pentecost.html
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/20000501/FRIDGE/red_food.htm
http://www.holidays.net.Shavuot
The Holiday Zone Christmas Activities for English Language Learners
Perpetual preschool site had the lyrics too and said it was a fingerplay??!
http://www.asan.com/users/dweber/orgs.html Denise Weber does it again, with all kinds of publishers and music companies that you can buy folk instruments from, as well as the sheet music and collections of ethnic materials.
Finally, it's good to remember that beautiful singing, the heritage of ALL children and youth, is an ART FORM that is DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT LIFE and all of us can benefit thereby! We should not limit young singers only to "cute, fun songs" and "bright, peppy tunes" and/or what's newest on the latest Christian charts. Beautfiful voices can not and do not reach their potential by doing "what's easiest" or "what I can learn in a hot five minutes"--we need to expose the young (AND the rest of us!)to all the best in Christian music--hymns, anthems, chants, choral compositions, spirituals, chorales, cantatas, oratorios from every period and from every country--so that the habit of EXCELLENCE becomes deeply ingrained in worship, as well as all of life.
1. Having children come up to be blessed.
2. Having children receive grapes and/or matzah while everyone else gets the juice/wine and wafers/bread.
3. Having older children/youth help distribute the communion elements to the congregation.
4. Having the childrens/youth choirs sing during and for the communion service (young instrumentalists also taking part.) If, in the Reformed tradition, everything is "sola fide, sola gratie, sola scriptura", and the laity are considered in the New Covenant by virtue of their baptism, why is Communion forbidden for the baptized young? Did the baptism "really work"--and if it "did", why must the baptized wait until some other rite occurs? I faced this same issue when I was a choir director in an Assemblies of God church--we had communion only on Sunday evenings, and it was VERY infrequent (I prefer it AT LEAST once a month)--not even on a quarterly basis. One time the elders brought the communion down to us on a Sunday morning, and I took the opportunity to teach the choristers all about it, what it means, what Jesus did, etc. We also prayed a prayer of forgiveness for our sins, and I later instructed the children how to pray over the elements and distribute them to the other children's workers downstairs. By the time we had Communion again, some choristers were vying for the honor of serving the others (we always had our service right there in choir practice)and all knew the seriousness of Holy Communion, as well as its joyful aspects. They clearly understood what the bread and juice represented and they prayed beautiful, innocent prayers of consecration--as only a young person can pray! The other workers were very blessed by this as well as the choristers who served them. If we adults would take the time to instruct the young and EXPECT them to take worship seriously, they WILL. We need to let the young lead us in worship, as well as instruct them WHY and HOW to worship. I have no objections to the young taking Communion, from either a biblical or theological standpoint. When you consider that the context of Holy Communion was Passover, a meal at which the young HAD to be present, and in which the youngest child asked the traditional "four questions" (Mah nishtanah), many of our man-made traditions don't make too much sense! Jesus did not put 3000 canon laws on it, so why do we? It seems to me that Jesus had ample opportunity to make any restrictions He desired--but I don't see anything in the gospels that says "you must be baptized first", "you must be confirmed", "you must join the church first," "you must have a lengthy catechesis", "you must abide by our denominational discipline," "only the elders/deaconesses/preachers can serve it", "only the minister/priest/elder can consecrate the elements", etc. Anyway, I hope you can glean some ideas from the above--these are issues I wrestled with through the years and with believers across the theological spectrum. I believe we have everything to gain by having the young actively participate with us, and children/youth are certainly capable of responding to the Holy Spirit and absorbing the sacred "specialness" of Holy Communion or any other ritual we engage in.
I am the director of the Schola Cantorum, a children's choir with 18 children grades 2 through 7 at this point. Each year we take a trip somewhere within 2-5 hours of Elmira, New York. We spend 1 or 2 nights sleeping on the floor at a Lutheran church, visit sights in that area and worship with that congregation on Sunday morning. My choir vests and sings (leads) the psalm every Sunday, and we do an anthem about 3 times a month. Anyway, I am looking for another congregation who would be willing to let us join them for worship and maybe sing an anthem and perhaps ring a handbell piece somewhere in their service. We would bring our own food, clean up after ourselves, etc. etc. It is always very appreciated if there are showers available for Sat night. Sometimes churches have farmed us out to homes for a little while if showers are not available in the church. Sometimes we've been lucky enough to have showers in the church. Once a church made arrangements to go to the YMCA and once to a local high school. If you are interested in this idea, and are within 2-5 hours, please e-mail me privately-- [email protected].
We present our children's musicals in a large acoustically unsound fellowship hall (the stage is wonderful, however.) We use about 3 omni directional placed evenly (or as needed in the front of the stage). The children know that the sound is so bad in the room that they have to use the mikes, and they are taught in the "blocking" process, where they will be standing on stage. We use the pastor's lapel mike, and I borrow another mike from our school system so that the main characters have a little more freedom to move about. Even though the mikes are unsightly and are not "musically correct" I decided that no one would enjoy the program or understand the meaning of the story if the lines and the solos could not be heard. My first program in this new fellowship hall was not heard because the children did not use mikes. With several children, group songs do carry well, so I generally only have children miked for dialogue and solos. I think you have to judge for yourself acoustics vs. time to ask, pick up, and return microphones. In my case microphones are a necessity. It does take time to set them up, tape the chords down (always---try to use a tape that comes up easily), and test them, but I have great volunteers who help
with that. Cindy Jackson
Mommy made me mash my m and ms. (On 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1)
Peter Piper (from Linda Swears' book about elementary school choirs)
The lips the teeth, the tip of the tongue, the tip of the tip of the tip of the tongue. (On do all the way to here then on ti, resolving to do on the last "tip of the tongue) "Look What Love Has Done" I think its by Jaqui Valasquez Also check this collection out)br>http://www.ocp.org/en/products/music/11195.php This is one of my favorite songs to do with the kids I changed a couple of the pieces but it turned out really great and the kids learned a boatload about the bible. Even the pastor was impressed!-Contributed by Ron Jones
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06/04 NIC AT NIGHT by Kathie Hill.A change of pace for me...I recently choreographed only...not directed... [this musical.] It was terrific. My children's Christian school put it on. Some of my other favorites are: Promise U by Kathie Hill Go, Go Jonah by Kathie Hill Sermon on the Mound by the Clydesdales Father Knows Best by the Clydesdales O, Me, O, My, Oh Nehemiah by David Noel Truth Works by the Allens Splash Kingdom by Pam Andrews is one I would like to do. You might check out this site for ideas and listening clips. You can also order from here.
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100% CHANCE OF RAIN is in the style of an oratorio in that there is little script between each of the jazzy songs. A script was written later and published in the CG letters. If anyone needs the script, let me know. Sandy Toms [email protected]
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06/06 RACE TO WIN Dovetail Music has a new one, "Race to Win," which was released in December, 2005. It was written by Jimmy Travis Getzen and his wife, Gail Getzen. I saw this performed in January at a Lifeway workshop in Joplin, MO. It was really neat. I have also enjoyed "STOMP AND PRAISE" by Dovetail Music. It is a short musical with only 3 songs, one of which is a neat arrangement of an old hymn, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms." The "stomp" parts are included on the CD which is included in the Promo Pak. -- Glenda Morrow
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"THE ROCK SLINGER AND HIS GREATEST HIT" (David and Goliath) by Long and Pote "Rescue In The NIght" (Daniel and the lion's den) also by Long and Pote Once Upon A Parable (for very motivated, talented kids - it's pretty difficult, though WONDERFUL. I did it with K-6, but had an exceptional 6th grade class to pull off the acting parts). Forgot who wrote it, could look at school tomorrow if you can't find it. "Go Go Jonah" by Kathie Hill "We Are United" (a "survivor" flavored musical) by Pam Andrews (I think) Last year we did, "Joseph And The Dream Team Xtreme". It turned out great, but I kind of rewrote the dialogue to have more acting parts and to make it more interesting - the play part was kind of boring the way it was written. Music is great in it. -- Monica in WI
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09/03 SHEPHERDS, STARS AND A SAVIOR (for K-4)by Susan Naylor Callaway and Mark Cabaniss. -- Contributed by Christi Miller
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SHERMAN ON THE MOUNT: Fruchey/Grier/Everson Unity Music Presss 45/1021 - Lively music, lot's of fun to sing. (A musical about a dissatisfied monk who discovers he already has what he wants.) (We just did this recently and I rewrote the script updating it and changing it to fit a smaller number of kids. You are welcome to it such as it is.)
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06/06 THE SOLID ROCK CAFE - It's not new, by my kids loved [THIS MUSICAL.] MERCY MED CENTER is good, also. Kerry Weber
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A STAR IS BORN -- a huge success. The kids loved it and it had a good Christian message for Christmas. We've also done "Joy to You and Me" and "A Day in a Manger".
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STRANGER IN THE MANGER from JW Pepper. It's written by Sue C. Smith and Johnathan Crumpton. It has cute little rhyming speaking parts and kid-friendly songs. It was a real winner! - Contributed by Windy Claytor
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TALE OF THREE TREES: This past Sunday my children's choir performed "The Tale of the Three Trees". I cannot say enough about this cantata. The message is so powerful yet one that the children could easily understand. We used no costumes--the children wore black and the only props were the three ladders and the flags. As a director I've seen a lot of plays both in school and church , but never one so moving as this.Last year we did "Shobi Shares a Miracle" and that was very successful as well.
The ladders that I used had 3 steps (not counting the top). One person has to carry out the ladder when he dramatizes Jesus carrying the cross, so a smaller ladder is better.
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. (money for the purchase of the ladder was also a concern/smaller=cheaper). The children were taller than the ladder but it wasn't a 2 step, which I would think would be too small. They have to maneuver the ladder in different parts of the play, as I'm sure you know.
First tree - a group of actors; Second tree - a group of actors; Third tree - a group of actors; Wealthy lord and servant
King; Mary and Joseph' Jesus' Sailor; Fisher folk; Soldiers; Wood cutters, choppers, sawers; Chorus
Most roles can be played be either male or female performers. The same small goup of actors can play all the roles simply by changing costumes or positions. KathyAnn Moragne [email protected]
I used the step ladders and they worked great! I think the kids enjoyed using them, too. I did have someone take the folding shelf off of them, and painted them brown. Make sure you watch for "pinching fingers" when they are folded during the play. I got our green t shirts at a local shirt factory at a great discount. I went with blue jeans instead of the brown pants that the play suggested. I don't think the color of pants was an issue. I used 3 green flags and made 1 white flag instead of 3 white flags. I thought the flags were a little expensive to make---I used velcro, perhaps you can find a cheaper way to do it. I had ordered the acc. tape, but decided not to use it. I have a wonderful accompanist and she follows my tempos, so the kids could watch me and we would all be together. Good luck! This is a wonderful program! We had an adult narrator with a children's choir (grades 2 through 6) choir. Cindy Jackson First United Methodist Church Hillsville, VA
This has been the most meaningful program we have ever done in our church. Our children wore black--very stark since we did the program in lent. I made 6 flags, used 3 dowels and have the children discretely change them when the attention was not on them. The ladders falling were awesome--do it. The symbolism was tremendous. We had 18 in our choir last year, so I reassigned parts a bit. Ruellene Seymour
My preschool and kindergarten kids participated in "Three Trees" last year. In general I taught them any refrains or parts that repeated. I used sign language in the refrain of the opening number (which is repeated at the end). This helped them learn it. They loved making storm motions and singing "ooooooo, wind and rain."
We did the play in lent last year. My kids wore all black and it was very austere. It made the flags and ladders stand out more, I think. Plus it was cheaper! I'm not sure if I'm posting to the right place, but I wanted to frill this group in on our upcoming (May 20th) production of "The Tale of Three Trees at the First Congregational Chruch of New Milford, CT. This will be my first musical as a director. Our talented organist is playing for us.
I'll post any problems we ran into after our performance. Our only struggle so far is getting people to come to practice now that better weather is here! With 6 different children showing up to practice each week, it's hard to believe we'll ever get it all together. I've been in enough performances to know it's not worth worrying over. They just miraculously come together at the performance--thank you, Lord!
Kathy Tolbert [email protected] www.tolbert.org/choir The Youth & Teens Choir Web page that I started
SHERMAN ON THE MOUNT: Fruchey/Grier/Everson Unity Music Presss 45/1021 - Lively music, lot's of fun to sing. (A musical about a dissatisfied monk who discovers he already has what he wants.) (We just did this recently and I rewrote the script updating it and changing it to fit a smaller number of kids. You are welcome to it such as it is.)
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EARLY ELEMENTARY MUSICALS
I work with Preschooler every summer when we do Vacation Bible School at our church. I year ago I did the song "Who Built the Ark" with the children. I think you could work out a real nice musical with the young children doing the story of Noah and just using that one song. Also a few years ago in the Choristers Guild someone contributed a nice musical for younger children called "TRAVELS WITH JESUS." --- Julie Blihovde Sunday School Music Coordinator First Lutheran Church Janesville, Wisconsin
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At the Chorister's Guild Summer Seminar in July, 2000, Beth Wortley from Dallas showed us ways to use that age group in a musical. She emphasized giving them a special moment. For instance, one song or a part of a song that they can sing on their own or special movements or a dance that they do by themselves. I plan to spotlight this younger group in our musical this year (100% Chance of Rain) by letting them do the chant piece all by themselves.
You might be surprised how well they can be incorporated into "THREE TREES." And they'll love being part of the "big production."
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If you would like to preview this musical or any other published by CG, you can order up to 5 musicals from our distributor, the Lorenz Corporation, on a ten day's approval plan. (Tapes are not available on approval.) They have a toll free number at 1-800-444-1144 or you can order on-line at [email protected]. Be sure you have the catalog number when you order
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Pepper Music has an approval service on their music. You may order single copies and keep them for 3 weeks before they will be charged to you as a definite order. They also have a money back guarantee- if you listen to something and want to return it rather than purchase a "set". They may be reached at www.jwpepper.com or 1.800.345.6296 or email [email protected] I have ordered a book/cassette of Tale of the Three Trees to preview. On the Pepper Music web site, one feature is actual performance sound clips from some of their sheet music. Some music scores are available for preview on their web site.
BACK to Topics
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ORFF
06/10 Dawn C. Wooderson, Ph.D is working on a brand new publication entitled:
Sacred Schulwerk for All Ages. Her website: MusicByWoodSong.com
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One of my favorite MK* Christmas songs is "O Come Little Children" Vol 11/2.
My favorite is not traditional but is "The Angels Sang" by Teresa Jennings ---
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04/03 I direct children's music at my church in addition to my school job. Number one difference in teaching at church vs. school is ATTENDANCE! It's so unpredictable it can drive you crazy. I teach three "general music" type classes on Wednesday evenings, with an emphasis on vocal techniques, repertoire, and rhythm basics, movement, and basic theory stuff. You NEVER KNOW from week to week who will be there and it's impossible to be strict on this. I always have an open door for newcomers.
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03/03 I have written a book of original sacred songs arranged for Orff instruments and many of them are pentatonic. It's called Sing Out! Rejoice!. You can find it at my web site www.aliceolsen.com. I know that Shirly McRae also has some sacred material and I bet many of her songs are pentatonic too. It would be worth looking at her books at your local music store to see.
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03/03 Amazing Grace works beautifully Also Simple Gifts. The Taize Chant Jubilate Servite You can get as simple or elaborate as you like.
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03/03 Children's Orff Music for Church, Vol. 1 and Volume 2. by Michael R. Nichols. Volume 1 is canons and and songs of praise and worship for young singers. Several songs are included for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. All of the songs include a conductor's score with Orff Instrument accompaniment and a vocal score that may be copied for each singer.
Volume 2 contains more songs and canons, also with copy priviledges. These are arranged for Orff instruments and voices, and sell for $12.95 each (plus $.90 per item for shipping) which includes the right to duplicate the vocal score for your singers. These are anthems I have written for my junior choir at church, and the children experienced great success.
Contact: Brent M. Holl, Beatin' Path Publications, 302 East College Street, Bridgewater, VA 22812
or reply to [email protected]
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03/03 You're right, there are dozens of spirituals that fit the bill. "Wayfarin' Stranger" is a goody, too, but there are many good songs with settings in Orff Schulwerk American Edition, mostly in Book 2. (Schott, available from European American in Valley Forge, PA) or from West Music. If you have Orff training, it shouldn't be hard to make clear open simple settings for all the many American folk songs there are. And you're lucky to have strings to fill in as borduns, like cello, and flute for melody
intervals in rondos.
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03/03 PENTATONIC SONGS for Arranging Orff Style Accompaniments:
(I have these hymn tunes marked in an old Baptist Hymnal)
Balerma ("Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove") ("Oh, For a Closer Walk")
By and By
China ("Jesus Loves Me")
Cleansing Fountain ("There is a Fountain")
Coming Home
Dorrnance ("May the Grace of God our Saviour")
Foundation ("How Firm a Foundation")
Holy Manna ("Brethren, We Have Come to Worship")
I Love Thee
Jesus Loves Even Me
Land of Rest ("We'll Work Till Jesus Comes")
Plainfield ("Nothing But the Blood")
Stockton ("Only Trust Him")
The Unclouded Day ("O They Tell Me of a Home")
Ballerma, 52
Deep Spring, 93
Holy Manna, 107
Idumea, 44
Middleton, 69
Midnight Cry, 84
New Year, 67
Parting Hand, 95
Pleasant Hill, 43
Prospect, 15
Protection, 57
Waynesville, 108
Barton, W. E., "Hymns of the slave and the freedman"
Fisher, W. A., "Seventy Negro spirituals"
Grissom, M. A., "The Negro sings a new Heaven"
Hayes, R., "My songs: Afromaerican religious folk songs"
Jackson, G. P., "Spiritual folk-songs of early America"
Jackson, G. P., "White and Negro spirituals"
Johnson, J. W. & Johnson, J. R., "The book of American Negro spirituals"
Kimball, J., "Down East spirituals"
Marsh, J. B. T., "The story of the Jubilee Sings with their songs"
McIlhenny, E. A., "Befo' de war spirituals"
n. a., n. d., "National Jubilee Melodies"
Work, F. J., "New Jubilee Songs as sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers"
Work, J. W., "American Negro songs and spirituals"
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03/03 OCTAVOS ('bells' generally that means can adapt to Orff)
Here are some publications you can get (Most of these are Choristers Guild Pub.)
AS WITH WISEMEN Horman/round in 10 canons/3 part/bells + r. instr./Christmas
HODIE! BORN TODAY Horman/round in 10 canons/8 part/one h.b.part/Christmas
HOLY NIGHT, BLESSED NIGHT arr. McRae/unison/bells/in 4 Asian Hymns/1 c./Christmas
PRRRUM PUM PUM Horman/round in 10 canons/acapella/Christmas & Epiphany
SING NOEL* McRae/unison/bells/3 songs French, Polish & African/1 c./Christmas
MIDNIGHT STARS arr. McRae/unison/bells/in "4 Asian Hymns/1 c./Epiphany
A SHAKER CELEBRATION Stroope/2-3 part/organ, bells, h.d./ Palm Sunday
HE IS RISEN Jothen/unison + 2 part/minor/bells/Easter/copyable
CAROL OF CREATION McRae/unison-2part/difficult/Orff ++ R. instr/
GOD'S GREAT LIGHTS Kemp/script + song/bells/lively/ + cong. on new wrds to All Creatures
LIFT EVERY VOICE Wilson/2 part/piano/opt. bells/1 c.
PRAYER OF NORWEGIAN CHILD* arr. Artman/2 part/bells or flute/12 c.
WE COME O LORD THIS DAY* Bedford/2 part SA canon/bells./ traditional/1 c.
SING A LITTLE SONG OF JOY FOR GOD IS LOVE Horman/unison/diff. accomp/glock/1 Jn 4:8--B(E. 6)/1 c.
MAKE US TO BE..(Children of the Light...) Great piece with narration; Choristers Guild Publication
"Sing for Joy", a collection put out by World Library Publications
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REPETOIRE
HOLY NIGHT, BLESSED NIGHT arr. McRae/unison/bells/in 4 Asian Hymns/ 1 c./Christmas (The collection: Four Asian Hymns has Orff parts, pub. by Choristers Guild)
Have You Seen My Lord? arr. Wilder- unison- opt. Orff arrangement-post (in collection: 15 Songs - Choristers Guild) Easter
Have You Seen My Lord? arr. Wilder- unison- opt. Orff arrangement-post (in collection: 15 Songs - Choristers Guild) Easter
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COLLECTIONS
Beaten Path Publications, 302 College St., BA, 22812
540-828-6903, 704-586-4802
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15 SONGS AND HYMNS WITH ORFF ACCOMP. FOR CHILDREN CGBK-3, great tunes, verses, parts for xylos, a variety of numbers Sorry - this book is no longer in print. Contact Billie Newton at [email protected] for availability of copies, permission to copy or purchase photocopies. We do have limited copies of some items that have been discontinued at the Choristers Guild office and Billie will be able to help you locate these materials.(Worth the trouble!!)
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BOOKBACK to Topics
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PLANNING
EPISCOPAL/CATHOLIC LECTIONARY (Readings for the 3 year cycle): http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/
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[email protected]
OCP-Oregon Catholic Press-Probably the best resource. I choose music-but the READINGS?!!!Here, you'll have to get a hold of the misselette at church-(it will change at the end of the liturgical year-the Feast of Christ the King-right before Advent), and look in the back where they have the dates and the readings-and the Gospel reading of the day. Your hymn choices should back the themes of your readings up. Basically, it's 4 hymns and possibly, a psalm, (sometimes you can get away with having the kids read the response here instead of sing it).1-Opening hymn; 2-Offertory hymn; 3-Communion hymn; 4-closing, or "sending forth" hymn.Right after the offertory, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. Before communion you'll have a mass setting comprised of : The Sanctus & benedictus:(Holy, Holy, Holy), memorial acclammation, (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again), and the Great Amen. Right before communion they sing (Agnus Dei)- Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world...You will need to check with a religion teacher or your principal to find out if they use the children's lectionary or just whatever's in the misselette. (The lectionary just simplifies the language, for the most part). You'll still have to find out what the readings are.The best advice I could give you is -PLAN OUT THE YEAR NOW!!!! Look over your school calender, find out when the masses are, and get a hold of the misselette, (usually found in the pews). Choose a Mass setting-the OCP books are extremely helpful-most parishes have them. Find out who the church music minister is and give him/her a call-usually they are very gracious-and they'll be grateful that you spoke with them before rummaging on your own through their stuff! -- Bernadette T.
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Rehearsals
I had a children's choir at church for 6 years. They were grades 3-5, and we met once a week for an hour. An hour is a really long time to keep their attention, so I would stop about half way through the rehearsal and we would go out into the lobby, or outside, or in the hall, and do a singing game or two, just to get them moving. We did Step Back Sally, Charlie Over the Ocean, the Minister's Cat (for steady beat), Paw Paw Patch, Kitty Kitty Casket, Cut the Cake, and I can't remember what all else.BACK to Topics
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PENTECOST RESOURCES
The Festival of
Pentecost has a long and colorful history, and is rooted in ancient Hebrew
history. "Pentecost"
is known by the following names:
Feast of Weeks (Shavuot)
Feast of Firstfruits (Hag haBikkurim)
Feast of Harvest (Hag haKatzir)
Greek-speaking Jews in the diaspora named the feast "pentecoste", meaning
the "fiftieth" day
after the start of Pesach (Passover).
Whitsuntide/Whitsun--this is the name commonly used in Great Britain and
many places in
Europe. This refers to "White Sunday"--the English designation denoted the
white garments that
clergy and baptismal candidates wore. Baptisms were (and are) commonly held
on Pentecost,
since the weather was warm enough to permit outdoor immersion. Baptism on
Pentecost also
recalls the 3000 who were added to the church as recounted Acts 2.
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PENTECOST WEBSITES ON THE INTERNET
http://protestantism.about.com/religion/protestantism/cs/pentecost
http://psv.ascinet.com/psrc.pentecost.html
http://members.ols.net/~stannes/Pentecost.html
http://users.javanet.com/~/anat/Pentecost.htm
http://worship.lcms.org/insert/pentecost/0499/pente.html
http://members.stratos.net/shatch/pentecost.html
http://turtle.looksharp.net/~muir/whitsuntide4.htm
http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/pentecost.htm
http://www.childrensermons.com/sermons/pentecost.htm
http://www.wesleyan.org/lce/pentecost/pentecostmenu.htm
http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/myfriend/games/coloringpages/pentecost/pentecost.html
http://www.school.com/kids/match/ProdSon/pentecost.htm
http://www.kencollins.com/holy-07.htm
http://www.annieshomepage.com/pentecost.html
http://www.textweek.com/pentecost.htm
http://www.byzantines.net/feasts/pentecost.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/instleonard/pentecost.html
http://www.culham.ac.uk/Pentecost
http://www.angelfire.com/pa/slavic/pentecost.html
http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri./Orthodox-Faith/Worship/Pentecost.html
http://members.truepath.com/DrDavidsPlace/1000index.html
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PENTECOST STUDY SITES
http://www.cdn-friends-icej.ca/judeochr/pentecost/pentecost.html
http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/publications/dispatch/biblicalfeasts/Article-11.html
http://www.iFive.com/article.cfm/homiletics/40146
http://www.cts.edu/Library/crc/pentecost_resources.htm
http://www.rca.org/resource/seasonal/pentlit.html
http://www.wcie.net/bible.studies.htm/sg13.htm
http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/bk4/pentecost.html
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MORE PENTECOST WORSHIP SITES
http://www.pastornet.net.au/rtc.pentecost.htm
http://www.kofc.org/liturgical/june/pentecost.htm
http://www.swd.lcms.org/events/pentecost.htm
http://www.immaculateongunhill.com/Liturgical%20Life/Pentecost/
http://www.diomass.org/EpisTimes/Pentecost.htm
http://www.acns.com/~mm9n/festivalw/pentecost.html
http://www.stgeorgeschurch.org/cal_pentecost.html
http://worship.lcms.org/insert/pentecost/0499pente.html
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PENTECOST FOLKLORE & CUSTOMS
http://www.inv.se/svefa/tradition/engtrad/whitsun.html
http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/customs/pentecost.html
PENTECOST MUSIC SITE
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PENTECOST FOOD SITES
http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcg/category.cgi?category=SHAVUOT
http://aish.com/holidays/Shavuot/
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JEWISH AND MESSIANIC JEWISH SHAVUOT SITES
http://www.joi.org/celebrate/shavuot
http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/shavuos/shavuot.htm
http://www.amfi.org/shavuot.htm
http://www.messianic.net/art_faq/from_rabbi_elders/shavuot.html
http://www.templeinstitute.org/services/Shavuot-Firstfruits.htm
http://www.everythingjewish.com/Shavuot/origins.htm
http://www.jajz.cd.org.il/festivls/shavuot/l.htm
http://www.ou.org/chagim/shavuot/default.htm
http://www.derech.org/shavuot.html
http://www.terraflux.co.il/kibbutz/id/pentecost/pentecost.htm
http://www.concordnh.com/messianicfellowship/shavuot.html
http://www.wzo.org.il/encountr/shavuot.htm
http://aish.com/holidays
BACK to Topics
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COMBINED ADULT/CHILDREN'S CHOIRS
I only have 8 in my grades 2-6 choir and we combine choirs about once every 3 months; Even with only 8, it's still important for them to sing on their own as well; You could split adults and kids into 2 parts:
HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD arr. Hopson/good accomp: piano/2 part/flute/nice piano accomp.
JESUS AND THE CHILDREN Kirkland/2 part/juxtrapos of 2 melodies-nice/4 c/ Matthew 9:14, 18:3/
LET US TALENTS AND TONGUES EMPLOY* Lovelace/2 part/syncho in style of Jamaican music/opt. guitar-bongos/
THANKS UNTO THEE Handel/2 part - SSA/Ariosa from Cantata:"Dank Sei Dir, Herr/trad./Thanksgiving/1 c.(This is great with kids - I'm sure there is an SAB, SATB, or SATB + kids available)
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD Horman/SA/John 3:16 B(Trinity)flute/beautiful
GO NOW TO LOVE AND SERVE THE LORD Hruby/unison/text:Wesley/hand signs, opt. flute/A(pentecost)(written for kids but adults can sing this text)
I WILL BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES* Hruby/#34/unison/bells/choir-cong./
ALLELUIA, SING PRAISES Jothen, CG, Bongos, tamb. (3 equal parts, use simple side to side steps for choreography) Builds part upon part, exciting when put together
YOU ARE THE BRANCHES Jothen, SAB (I put the kids on top part) Beautiful! Kids still sing it for fun and adults loved it; text very good for Year A(Easter 6), congregation joins in on first theme;
CANON OF PRAISE (I put kids on top part)Pachelbel Canon arr. by Hal Hopson, CG, SAB
GESU, BAMBINO (Traditional) sounds great with kids as sopranos
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Kids will love lively spirituals, here are a couple:
EVERY TIME I FEEL THE SPIRIT arr. R. Schram/SAB/spiritual/1 c.
EZEKIEL WENT WALKIN' C. Curry/SATB/"Dry Bones"/difficult
CHARIOT (info at church-juxtraposes Go Tell.. and Gonna Ride Up In the Chariot) Let me know if you want more info
HUSH arr. Parker/spiritual/lively/5 pt. high sop./1 c./ (I love this)
MY GOD IS SO HIGH arr. Harlan/SATB/spiritual/syncho/lively
FOUR AFRICAN HYMNS Corbitt/SATB/perc. instr./short (fun, in African and English in call/response style/percussion parts written for you
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SAB or SATB
PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE THE LORD! arr.R.Johnson /Cameroon /perc./SATB pub. by earthsongs (this is great for choreography, drums - if you lgt it, let me know and I'll give you the choreography that another director taught (more interesting)Sandy Toms [email protected]
MWANBA NI YESU arr. N. Corbitt SATB/acapella/in Four African Hymns opt. percussion/(you could change these to 2 part - lots of rhythm, chanting fun)
HELELUYAN arr. J. Ulrich/SATBB/Creek Indian "Alleluia"/15 c.(Wow!)
Resucite (Spanish I think) I have it in Cry Hosanna
GAELIC BLESSING - Rutter/Benediction/1 c./SATB
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SATB
This is a beautiful SATB mountain carol: HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING?* arr. Honore/SATB/south. hymn
This is a good rousing Southern piece: LET THE CHURCH ARISE* Williams/SATB/southern gospel/16 c.
This may not be in print: EASTER BELL CAROL Davies/SAB + childrens choir/bells/12 c./Easter; Dynamite number (an alltime favorite) that you could use kids on Soprano;
PRAYER FOR PENTECOST Kensinger/SATB/**/"spirit wind"/1 c./Pentecost
This is written for SATB but kids would like it: THE LORD IS MY LIGHT Carter/SATB/lively/#27/16 c.
This piece for children + adults is very moving; kids begin and sing first 3 verses; there are 3 basic melodies (one being "We Shall 0vercome") THANKS BE TO GOD Haugen/w. children/partner song/SATB/106/1 c.
HALLELUJAH ROUND OF PRAISE Mozart/Hopson/SATB + children's choir/8 c./#148
SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG** Poorman/2 part/lively, syncho/PSALM 148, 149
BACK to Topics
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RESOURCES
12/07 UPPER ELEMENTARY - Commercial website for church music and hymn resources
www.dotmusicresources.com
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02/05 Buy and sell children’s sacred music here:: Postings are free for a while. I hope LOTS of people will use this site and help it get started. http://www.churchbid.net Nancy
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08/04 Psalms in Song: Music Book and Teaching Resources
http://home.earthlink.net/~apex_ps/links.html
Here’s one item: The songbook, "How I Praise You! 150 Little Psalms in Song,"
which uses literal verses from 8 different versions of the Bible; melodies are original tunes, spirituals, camp songs, folk songs, hymns, carols, rounds, and nursery tunes. All arrangements are original and include guitar chords. The book has otabinding, which means it lies open and flat on music stands.
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01/02 Songs of Praise - Original Christian music in midi, Realaudio, and MP3. These were written by Gilberto Barreto, Elton Smith and many other songwriters. Many of the songs have been translated to other languages
http://songsofpraise.org/
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01/02 Larry's Songs of Praise and Worship! - Original Christian songs freely available for non-profit use.
http://larryholdermusic.org/
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01/02 Free Praise and Worship Sheet Music Downloads - Free Sheet Music including Praise and Worship, Contemporary Christian, Adult and Generation X oriented pop/rock. All songs are theologically sound with modern style. CD, MP3, MIDI, PDF.
http://www.pastornet.net.au/inside/
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01/02 Worship and Praise MIDI Music - Rose's Worship and Praise Page, MIDI juke box of worship and praise music
http://members.tripod.com/~RoseMcK/Jukebox-Worship.html
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01/01 (Knock knock knock went Joseph) (no midi or tune though .....sounds cute!)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9087/christmas/caction.html
www.perpetualpreschool.com/christian_christmas_songs.htm
I can imagine using instruments with this.....
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Songs of Praise - Original Christian music in midi, Realaudio, and MP3. These were written by Gilberto Barreto, Elton Smith and many other songwriters. Many of the songs have been translated to other languages
http://songsofpraise.org/
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Larry's Songs of Praise and Worship! - Original Christian songs freely available for non-profit use.
http://larryholdermusic.org/
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Free Praise and Worship Sheet Music Downloads - Free Sheet Music including Praise and Worship, Contemporary Christian, Adult and Generation X oriented pop/rock. All songs are theologically sound with modern style. CD, MP3, MIDI, PDF.
http://www.pastornet.net.au/inside/
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4. Worship and Praise MIDI Music - Rose's Worship and Praise Page, MIDI juke box of worship and praise music
http://members.tripod.com/~RoseMcK/Jukebox-Worship.html
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http://songsofpraise.org (main site)
http://www.songsofpraise.org/adonai.htm
http://www.utm.edu/~lholder/until.html
http://www.songsofpraise.org/isitany.htm
http://www.utm.edu/~lholder/wecome.html
http://www.asan.com/users/dweber/hymns.html A GREAT resource for obtaining: African, African-American, Asian, Latin American, Caribbean, Indigenous-American, Oceanic and Polynesian hymnals and songbooks.
http://web.presby.edu/~danderso/misc/hymns.htm You know those Presbyterians do it "decently and in order!" Here's a wonderful guide to hymn resources on the internet.
http://www.hymnsociety.org This is truly the "Mother of All Hymn Organizations"--The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. These folks publish a quarterly journal on any and all topics in hymnology, and they also carry hymnals and whatnot you can order. They have a cool phone number: 1-800-THE-HYMN
http://www.choristersguild.org
The Choristers Guild is an interdenominational organization for children and youth choir directors. The Guild publishes music for pre-school through high school ages, both vocal and handbell sheet music. In addition, the Guild has made a concentrated effort to publish multi-ethnic sacred music for both choral and congregational use. Here's some materials your church can utilize-- Leah King
The Choristers Guild publishes sheet music and materials for both middle school and high school choirs and in a vatiety of voicings. You can request a free catalogue from the guild through the website, or through Lorenz Publishers at 1-800-444-1144. Charity Dell
YouthCue has a wealth of information on youth choirs, and also sponsors youth choir festivals. Charity Dell
http://www.creatormagazine.com
http://www.choralnet.org
http://www.Minister-of-Music.com
http://www.tcmr.com
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BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS
01/03 I highly recommend music from http://www.accomplishmusic.com/the_music.asp
Wonderful for childrens church music. In the past we have done It's a baby, We've come to see the baby, Knock knock for the small children. The older children have done "midnight, Child in a Manger, Christmas Time and many more. The pieces have wonderful backings and are easy to learn. The children love them.
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My church is doing a children's musical for Christmas called "Star Journey." In it there is a song called "Star Light, Star Bright" that has portions of that passage in the lyrics.
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Many of us are engaged in working with young singers, or find ourselves being "volunteered" or "gently conscripted" to help out or lead singers in the middle school to high school age levels. For some of us, we "became" youth choir directors after our younger age children "grew up" and entered puberty! Take heart! There are now many excellent resources available to help the fledgling youth choir director--you can literally READ your way into knowledge that wasn't available even a short fifteen years ago. Leading youth in vocal music experiences in your church and/or community can be one of the greatest satisfactions in your own spiritual life. There is joy in watching and helping young people grow in Christian discipleship as they learn, develop musical proficiency, grow in performance skills and mature in all areas of life.Here are some sources to help you get started:
BUILDING THE YOUTH CHOIR: Training and Motivating Teenage Singers. John Yarrington. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1990. ISBN 080662454X $10.95
REVEALING RICHES AND BUUILDING LIVES: Youth Choir Ministry in the New Millenium. Randy Edwards. Morning Star Music Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0944529313 $42.50
TEACHING KIDS TO SING. Kenneth Philips. Macmillan Library Reference, 1992. ISBN 0028717953. $52.95
WORKING WITH ADOLESCENT VOICES. John Cooksey. COncordia Publishing House, 1999. $9.00
http://www.youthcue.org
Amen! We just hosted Helen Kemp, a well known children's choir clinician. (If you ever get the opportunity, don't miss seeing her. She does have 2 booklets published that are very helpful. I think they are published by Choristers Guild about teaching children to sing.) She recommended the book: A Child Shall Lead by John Witvliet
Hymns with chords--many of you have requested information on lead sheets with chords for guitar players. Here it is:
HOW SWEET THE SOUND: HYMNS AND CHORUSES WITH GUITAR CHORDS. Over 250 hymns are set in a standard "lead sheet" format with chord symbols above the melody line. This book is published by Abingdon, retails for $30.00, and is available Concordia.
INVOLVING CHILDREN IN WORSHIP. Elizabeth J. Sandell. ISBN 0806625449 Augsburg Books 1991
YOUNG CHILDREN AND WORSHIP. Jerome Berryman:Sonja Stewart. ISBN 0664250408 Augsburg
FORBID THEM NOT: Involving Children in Sunday Worship. Carolyn C. Brown Abingdon
In addition to these materials, there are numerous books available on designing children's sermons for the weekly service. Consult
the catalogues available through:
Concordia Publishing House
Cokesbury
Augsburg Fortress
Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Judson Press
Lorenz Publishers
"Warm-Ups for Young Voices" I just received my copy of the above from Plank Publishing this week and absolutely love the book! It is written by Anne Ellsworth and Teresa Jennings. Contains lots of good information, and just good sense type vocal warm-ups and activities. My students are loving it and so am I. I would highly recommend buying it to anyone. I had been looking for a good warm-up book for some time, and this certainly fits the bill.
USEFUL BOOK: THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC.Kenneth Osbeck. 1981 Kregel Publications ISBN 0-8254-3410-6 This is a great, informative, easy to read text on all aspects of church music ministry. Anyone connected with church music should acquire this inexpensive paperback.
MUSIC AND WORSHIP IN THE CHURCH. Austin Lovelace and William C. Rice Abingdon Press 1976 ISBN 0-687-27357-9 Another good all-round text, which focuses considerable attention to the development of choirs. There is a useful glossary of music terms frequently used in worship and church music. This book has been revised and expanded.
A MUSICIAN'S GUIDE TO CHURCH MUSIC. Joy E. Lawrence; John A. Ferguson. The Pilgrim Press 1981 ISBN 0-8298-0424-2 This fine text is unfortunately, out of print, so be sure to order this through the inter-library loan service at your local public library. If you presently attend any college/university, you can also use their inter-library loan service. Sections of this valuable resource include: the adult choral program, the youth and children's choir program, using instruments in worship, designing, purchasing and maintaining the organ (yes, it's about those magnificent pipes!), and integrating various kinds of choral music into the church worship service. Most useful for any musician is the comparison of various church services in both liturgical and non-liturgical traditions. There is an extensive bibliography in the back of the book.
In addition to these books, the Cokesbury Catalogue (1-800-672-1789) carries an outstanding series of books geared for the new or inexperienced choral director: CHURCH CHOIR 101. Ginger Wyrick. This is a 12-session plan that enables you to teach music fundamentals to adult choirs, while developing their choral skills. There is a>booklet for the choristers, entitled THE CHOIR MEMBER'S COMPANION, which is given to all choir members and used as the supporting text.
Here is the series:
THINGS THEY NEVER TELL YOU BEFORE YOU SAY YES. Robin Knowles Wallace. This book gives guidance to all the other issues connected with church music ministry: dealing with volunteers, budgets, recruitment, managing a music library, etc.
HOW DOES YOUR CHOIR GROW? David Donathan. Everything you wanted to know about recruitment and retention of choir members.
O FOR A DOZEN TONGUES TO SING: Music Ministry with Small Choirs. Deborah K. Cronin. How to help the church musician work with smaller vocal ensembles within churches.
THE WEDNESDAY WORKOUT: Practical Techniques for Rehearsing the Church Choir. Richard DeVinney. A book detailing how to rehearse your choirs to get the best sound, diction, and preparation of music for worship.
UPBEAT DOWNBEAT: Basic Conducting Patterns and Techniques. Sandra Willets. This guide will help you lead and direct choirs--now you'll know what to do with that little baton!
CHORAL THERAPY: Techniques and Exercises for the Church Choir. Lloyd Pfautsch. A manual of practical vocal exercises for choirs, which will help them to improve vocal and musical skills.
THE CHURCH MUSICIAN. Paul Westermeyer. Westermeyer discusses various aspects of church music ministry from a liturgical viewpoint.
A most useful pamphlet available from Concordia Publishing House (1-800-325-3040) is: ACOUSTICS IN THE WORSHIP SPACE. Scott R. Riedel. This informative booklet explains in better detail what we've always known, but didn't.
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ROBES
Shenandoah Robe Comany at http://www.choir-robes.com/
Alpha Robe Company at http://www.alpharobesales.com/ which represents Murphy Robes.
Almy and E.R. Moore are also well known, stable suppliers of robes.
The Choristers Guild web page at http://www.choristersguild.org also has a link page with a very useful link to many resources for church musicians at http://www.worshiplinks.com/
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STARTING A NEW CHOIR
I advertise in our church bulletin that a choir is beginning, speak to parents and children individually about coming, and make announcements before Sunday worship - all in all, the idea is to give the new choir plenty of exposure even before we begin. I generally wait until I see whom God has blessed me with before I plan much music. Pull out music that is initially familiar, then introduce more. BETTY Reusch, Bloomfield Hills, Mi.
1. Inventory any music, instruments, etc., you have at your disposal.
2. Join Choristers Guild. $48.00 per year but you get a newsletter (10 monthly) with many suggestions, ideas and about 3 octavos of children's music (sometimes SATB or combined anthems and sometimes a musical) to peruse. Some great material here. Many places in the U.S. have local chapters that are active and offer workshops for directors, children and music festivals for children's choirs.
3. I offer a snack for the kids. (my rehearsal is after school)
4. My rehearsal routine is:
a. warmups
b. hymns (that kids will have to sing, they sing 1-2 x a month)
c. work on anthems coming up (I use the blackboard alot to talk about various elements or problem spots (I'm a music teacher as well so I feel compelled!)
d. I try to schedule time to use rhythm instruments with songs (even just folk songs like Kumbaya) The kids love to play even a triangle or drum. I try to challenge the older ones with more sophisticated rhythm patterns.
e. When there is time I do a game with them. (I have a HUGE file of games if anyone is interested.)
5. I do a musical every 2 years with my grades 2-6 choir. They look forward to these because they enjoy costumes, lines, scenery. If there is time, I try to take the musical to a nursing home as well.
6. At Christmas time, we have a party. (Food, dancing, video)
7. At the end of the year, I do either a workshop weekend, a camping weekend, or an overnight with a day of field trips to museums and an overnight at church.
8. I started a reward system. (One of my Chorister Guild members suggested it). I keep attendance throughout the year and at the end of the year, beads are added to represent rehearsals attended, Sundays sung, musicals participated in (different colors for each of these) and they go on a necklace that has a cross on it. (Crosses cost 1.80 and I asked for beads from congregation and received a ton.) When the child graduates after 6th grade. They receive this as a momento to hang on their mirror or bulletin board. It is presented to them in a church service. (Junior high-high school receive the Chorister Guild pins with pearls for each year.) Sandy [email protected]
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Take the time to write to all children in the church (or nearby subdivisions, apartments, etc. and tell them about the new choir. A suggestion in "Church Music for Children" Abingdon Press is to invite the children to a party to kick off the new choir year. This year, I wrote to all families participating in our preschool, and our afterschool programs as well as church member families who have children in the age ranges of our choirs. I invited the children to an "International Party" where we sampled foods (kid foods, of course) that represented the different countries that we would visit as choir travelers this year.
At each lesson during the year, there is some point from a different country: the basis for a song is _____country, the composer is from ____country, this is based on a ______folk song, etc. I have a map of the world in the music room and we locate the place on the map each week. When I did this several years ago, the students had "camera" name tags that hung around their necks. Their music folder has a "passport" in the back and they receive stickers for visiting different countries (or a teacher could stamp the back of the book). This choir is grades 2 through 6 and the students really enjoy the activities. Believe it or not, they loved the international foods! I checked out a health foods store for ideas..(even found Chinese cola). However, I would not do this approach every year with choirs of different age groups because the idea would get very stale. I do it every 3 years.
Another thing I would like to add is that I also work on teaching the children how to use "worship tools" like the hymnal. Using a different little idea each week, we have worked on "finding the hymn" using the index, finding the liturgical season, learning about the liturgical seasons (sometimes with accompanying songs), learning about baptism (with an accompanying song), and learning about why different elements in the worship service are important. Cindy [email protected]
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2. READ BOOKS TO HELP YOU. You can add to your knowledge of the child and adolescent voice by reading good, solid material. Here's some great stuff: OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE, Vol.1, OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE, Vol.2
These two books are by Helen Kemp, a renowned clinician and the "god-mother" of children's choirs. Ms. Kemp's books are accompanied by tapes that permit you to hear good quality children's singing. The first book delves into all those pitch-matching issues so many of us work to overcome in voices of all ages. You can obtain these books and tapes (and matching sheet music)
by contacting Lorenz Publishers at 1-800-444-1144.
Choristers Guild also has excellent video tapes that enable you to SEE AND HEAR how a music teacher works to obtain good intonation from children who have difficulty singing on pitch. This video is called: GUIDING THE UNCERTAIN SINGER. Mabel Stewart Boyter. Ms. Boyter led children's choirs in Baptist churches for over fifty years--watch her help children work through pitch problems and other musical challenges. WORKING WITH ADOLESCENT VOICES. John M. Cooksey. Concordia Publishing House $9.00
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An excellent manual for working with the changed voices of both female and male adolescent singers. If you believe that girls' voices do not undergo drastic change at puberty, you are sadly misinformed! Learning about the cambiata (changing) voice will help you and your singers AVOID FRSUTRATION and build on the strengths of the newly emerging voice. You can obtain this book by phoning--1-800-325-3040 (Concordia Publishing House). There are also two good videos to obtain from Concordia, that were made by Helen Kemp: BODY, MIND, SPIRIT, VOICE: Developing the Young Singer SING AND REJOICE: Guiding Young Singers
The first video concentrates on the child voice and helping it achieve a good sound. The second video shows children in action leading worship in a Lutheran church. You will have ample opportunity to hear good vocal role models for children, and be able to see a director helping children to worship and lead worship.
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A CHILD SHALL LEAD: Children in Worship, A sourcebook for Christian Educators, Musiciains, and Clergy. I also recommend highly their curriculum, Stepping Stones. Also Halle, Halle which is a wonderful collection of multicultural songs which children and youth love. The book has teaching helps and performance guides so that what we do with these songs smacks of authenticity instead of simply anglicizing music. Leah King
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CHILDREN'S CHOIR BASICS. David T. Nastal. Oregon Catholic Press, 1999. ISBN 1569290326 $11.95
INNOCENT SOUNDS: Building Choral Tone and Artistry in Your Children's Choir. Marie Stultz Morning Star Music Pub., 1999.
ISBN 0944529305 $29.95 This book was recently reviewed in the Choristers Guild magazine "The Chorister."
REVEALING RICHES AND BUILDING LIVES: Youth Choir Ministry in the New Millenium. Randy Edwards.
Morning Star Music Pub., 2000. ISBN 0944529313 $42.50 Charity Dell
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SUGGESTIONS & IDEAS
I strongly suggest that you join the national organization: Choristers Guild: wwwchoristersguild.org The membership is $48.00 per year. You receive 10 magazines with ideas, music to copy, skits, lessons, devotions, and about 3 octavos (& sometimes musicals) to peruse. It's a great organization. You may have a local chapter in your area andon't realize it.
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Possible Choir Names
The age range of the choristers also is a factor in naming young singers. Some titles work better with pre-school and primary groups, others work well with upper elementary, middle school and adolescent singers. An easy rule to follow: younger singers can use "cuter" titles, older groups should avoid "cute" like the plague! Singers from the fourth grade and above will not join ANY group that makes them sound or appear "babyish", "cutesy" or "sweet."
Joybells Joy Choir Joyful Noise Joy Singers Kids in Praise
Kids of the Kingdom Sunbeam Choir
Cherub Choir--even though we know that biblical cherubim are anything
BUT cute...
Carol Choir--from the Latin word "carolus", meaning a round dance.
All God's Children Alleluia Choir--from the Latin of "Hallelujah."
Alleluia Singer Alabare
Hosanna Choir--Greek form of the Aramaic word "Hoshana", meaning
save now!"
Angelic Choir Celestial Choir Epiphany Singers Exultation
The Sounds of Heaven Heavenly Choir Heaven's Choir Seventh Heaven
Jubilate Choir--from the Latin translation of Psalm 100:1; Jubilation
Rainbow Choir; Westminster Choir-typically used in Reformed and Pres.
Celebration Choir Celebration Singers Temple Praise Hallelujah Choir
Fellowship Choir Seraphic Choir New Life Singers Young Saints in Praise
The Disciples Covenant Singers
Wesley Singers--typically used in Euro-American Methodist churches.
Laudate Choir--from the Latin word for "praise". Pure Sound
Sanctus Choir--from the Latin word for "holy" Harmony Choir
Praise Singers
The Sound of PraiseT'fillah Singers--from the Hebrew word for "psalm."
This name list is by no means "exhaustive", and many choirs use names other than what is written here. Giving a choir a "name" goes a long way toward building esprit d'corps and a sense of group identity. Most musical ensembles within a church/synagogue prefer to name themselves, and this is common practice in both denominational and independent churches/synagogues.
Enjoy your new name(s) and your new choirs!
Charity Dell [email protected]
"Jubilate Deo omnis terra!" (Psalm 100:1)
In our church of historically German background, our young children's choir (ages three through second grade) is the Kinder choir (from the German word for child!), and our high school girls' choir is Seraphim.
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Children In Worship
MOST kids at this age resent singing with younger children, especially if pre-schoolers are included! There are good reasons for them resenting this--the age span is too great to be bridged musically, and you have children who are barely verbal to those who can read adult books and converse with adults about practically anything! So what normally happens is that the music and activities are reduced to the LCD--lowest common denominator--rendering them too "babified" for the older children. Having worked with this age, I know firsthand that the 3rd and 4th grade child is physically and mentally able to take on increasingly complex musical and worship tasks. In fact, most 4th graders can accomplish many worship functions successfully in the REGULAR service--so put them to work IN THE REGULAR SERVICE. They can rotate worship functions with other adolescents and adults in the church--and ALL benefit in the house of God! Here's what children and adolescents did in my home church--
Give the call to worship
Read scripture
Lead prayer, including the Lord's Prayer
Lead responsive reading
Help collect the offering
Pray the offertory prayer
Help usher and pass out bulletins
Lead many of the worship songs and devotional service
Read the announcements
Help pass out the Holy Communion
Sing in the choir
Play in the instrumental ensemble
Play small percussion instruments during the service (tamborines,
maracas, cymbals, etc.)
This occured in a small black Pentecostal church, and we were NOT considered "special" in any way--ALL OF US HAD to do SOMETHING, or contribute in some way. This approach "works" because you are truly PART of the worship service, you understand that worship is your FIRST priority, you look forward to church because you KNOW you are doing something important and meaningful in God's House, and you develop leadership skills that are used both NOW, in your youth, and for ADULTHOOD. Most of us started doing these things during the Sunday morning service at the 3rd and 4th grade level, and we were fully expected to also run the Tuesday night youth service, as well. On several Sunday nights during the year we were expected to prepare and preach a message/sermon. This also developed public speaking skills, and we knew the adults were there to back us up. Those children/youth who had made a profession of faith were also called "Sister/Brother", but no distinction was made between saved or unsaved in terms of responsibility or participation in worship functions.
It was assumed that this was the way to "train up a child", and when the child later was converted, s/he already had developed worship skills and a heigthened sense of responsibility towards God's House. Many children and youth were also in the youth choir, and some of us participated in an instrumental ensemble as well. Giving children and youth RESPONSIBILITY in worship fosters correct attitudes toward God, and the community of faith. In addition, many youth discover particular talents and abilities, and this carries over into other areas of life. In many churches today, youth choirs are responsible for leading worship services if there are multiple services during the day. Children and youth who contribute to worship and worship leadership on a weekly, semi-weekly and monthly not only learn to "love the place where His honor dwells", but also learn to work with others toward a common goal--the praise of God--and to give God the BEST of their time and talents. The youth choir sang weekly, as did the adult choir. Each choir sang two compositions, and each choir also had its own processional at the beginning of service. Your 3rd and 4th graders should be given CHALLENGING music to sing that engages their minds and spirits and develops their vocal chords. Get some cool stuff from the Choristers Guild--their catalogue is available from Lorenz at 1-800-444-1144. You don't have to be a Guild member to purchase the sheet music, curricula, posters and all the other goodies. They have an abundance of great unison songs, as well as two-part and three-part music for the upper elementary child.
Start with unison pieces and let them discover the joy of singing music other than what's on the "top 40" stations!
Third and fourth grade children are beginning to develop their voices, and you should explain to them that the greatest composers of choral music wrote for the child voice, and these compositions are STILL sung today by children in many of the world's greatest cathedrals! Also, explain that ALL SINGERS ARE ATHLETES--they must learn to use the WHOLE BODY to produce sound, and that good singing is NOT work for "wimps. Separate this group from the younger kids, and start teaching them vocal warm-ups, breathing exercises and hymns and anthems. If you think your kids can't learn it or "just don't have it," guess again! Children and youth can achieve virtually anything if challenged to rise to the occasion, and ENCOURAGED in their BEST EFFORTS to do so. Explain to them that the BEST Christian musician is a VERSATILE Christian musician, and that means they should be able to learn and sing ANY style or period of music, and that only IGNORANT folks refuse to learn something other than "pop stuff." Show them pictures of prominent boys, girls and mixed treble choirs--you can get these right off the internet, by accessing the numberous links to Http://www.choralnet.org.
Explain to them all the work and effort that goes into getting that fabulous cathedral sound! THEY CAN ACHIEVE THIS ALSO, BECAUSE ONLY STRONG SINGERS CAN DO IT, AND YOU KNOW THEY ARE NOT WEENIES! Emphasize this repeatedly in rehearsals with them, and you will see attitudes begin to change. Get video tapes showing these choirs in rehearsal and young choristers taking lessons with a voice teacher--again, what is seen reinforceswhat you are teaching the 3rd and 4th grader--I , too, CAN DO THIS. THESE ARE KIDS LIKE ME, AND THEY GET TO DO COMPLEX STUFF. Challenge them to worship based upon the fact that God WANTS TO SEE AND HEAR FROM THEM, and that He VALUES their worship as much as any adult's. Tell them that God can use them NOW, and they don't have to be 25 before they're "ready" for God's use! Let them know that, you fully expect them to give God their BEST, not their "trash", and that what they do in worship is holy and to be done with reverence and joy. You will discover that you not only have the basis for a fine children's choir, but these 3rd & 4th graders will develop their minds, spirits, voices, bodies and talents in the place they truly belong, their own church!
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Children and Baptism
Via Charity Dell: My church practices infant baptism but does not admit children to communion until they have made a public statement of faith. Note: I am not looking for a theological discussion of these matters :-) However, one issue we're increasingly conscious of is that our kids are completely uninvolved in the communion portion of a service. This is only about every couple of months (again, not an item for doctrinal discussion!!) but still concerns me. Mostly the elders bring communion to the pews and trays are passed along, missing out the kids of course. Occasionally we will all go to the platform at thefront of the church - the kids either stay in the pews, or come with their parents and stand around like lemons.
Having been raised in an Anglican church, I was used to filing up to the altar rail, along with kids who would receive a blessing rather than the elements. This seemed better than what we do, but I don't see an equivalent in the pews. Do any of you with similar communion practices have ways of including kids in what is going on?
I was raised in the black Pentecostal tradition, which is open and does not restrict Holy Communion to anyone--it is strictly up to individual conscience/choice. It sounds like your church may be in either a Lutheran or Reformed tradition, and even then, custom varies from church to reach and from region to region. However, having worshipped and had choirs in various other Christian denominations, here are some things I have seen:
My father, who was a minister in a charismatic American Baptist church, advocated this and announced to the congregation that he had no problems with the young who wanted to help serve. He went on to say that, should anyone feel "she's not old enough to know what she's doing", he would rather have Toni serving communion in God's House and "not know what she's doing", than to have her shooting up on heroin or dancing in a topless bar, and "not know what she's doing!" Needless to say, he received NO FLACK on that issue... I have never quite understood how folks theologically or biblically justify infant baptism and believe the child is Christian, then restrict Communion, as if the child were NOT Christian. In seminary, I had some lively discussion with a Presbyterian worship professor.
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Choir on Tour
Ruellene Seymour (not Ruth as it says in the address above.)
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Shy Singers
1. Do you take them into church to practice before they sing?
(I usually walk them thru the anthem once in the rehearsal before that Sunday. Our kids sing 1-2 times per month.)
2. How do you direct them? (are you at a keyboard or in front of them?)
(I have them stand on kneelers right in front of me if I'm playing the acccompaniment or I sit on a chair in front of them.
3. In my case, I think the kids' confidence has alot to do with my enthusiasm and sense of fun. I smile alot, (sometimes laugh when I make mistakes-which I do regularly!) and sit very close to them when they are singing. In rehearsal, I use my face and body in exxagerated motions to elicit stronger responses from the kids. (It also makes them laugh.) I had to discover the hard way that my enthusiasm means nothing unless they can read it.
4. Repetoire: What sort of music are you using for the kids? This can make a huge difference in their enthusiasm. The more modern harmonies, tempos, rhythmic styles will capture them more quickly as that is what they hear (TV, radio, movies, etc.,) We also do traditional (old) music but I space it with contemporary literature. (Check the message I'm sending you of Previous discussion, there are some 'favorites' listed for repetoire.)
5. Do you do any sort of movement with them? This is a weak point for me but I do try to do some sort of choregraphy on one number each year.
6. Kids love rhythmn instruments (as tacky as they seem) and they can add alot in small doses to an anthem. (Finger cymbals, sticks, drums, etc.,) and don't require a huge investment.
7. Lots of positive reinforcement is crucial. The kids need to hear (individually as well) when they are doing well. The kids who are not singing consistently on pitch are especially important in this way. I do some pitch matching at unexpected times and my responses are: You're right on. Can you reach a little higher? (one more try) Good job! (for trying even) When the child has improved, tell them and point it out to whole choir. "Did you hear how well (name) did that? (clap)"
8. I recommend the Helen Kemp books: Of Primary Importance She is a children's clinician who has a real knack of getting the most out of kids vocally and spiritually. Let us know how things are going. Good luck! Sandy Toms
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I try to teach sign language to go along with the songs we sing for worship. Somehow, having something to do with their hands helps them to feel less self-conscious. I have a book called Religious Signing by Elaine Costello and use it all the time. We have learned signs to the doxology, sanctus, agnus dei and fraction anthem also. Seems to help. Anne Vitort [email protected]
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Try some mini "lectures" about their importance in the service, whether giving God our best, giving important messages to the congregation, being role models for congregational singing. Anything which increases their sense of worth. Try some warm-up calisthenics. Rehearsals in the sanctuary are important, as Sandy says. Stand in the back of the sanctuary and have the children sing to you (during rehearsal). And, at this point in my music ministry, all my choirs are lightly miked. I don't want the children to ruin their beautiful clear singing by shoutin to be heard in our large sanctuary. Louise Angermeier
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Voice Amplification
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Last year we did our musical in our parish hall ( a smaller room) and sound was not a problem. This year we will present the musical in our sanctuary and sound is my biggest concern. We own 1 body mic and will probably have to set up stationary mics and try to get those with lines to speak into them. That adds so many problems, though, with kids playing with equipment, tripping over cords, blocking movement so that they are near a mic when they need to deliver a line. I think we will work extra hard on projection this year! Maybe a local school has equipment you could borrow? One of our parish members is a band teacher and he has allowed us to borrow risers in the past, so maybe there is someone with access to the equipment you need could lend it to you.
I have no qualms what so ever, about having the child move to the microphone to be heard...this may seem clumsy, but if the child is trying to project, and just doesn't have it.... Also, I've borrowed sound equipment from a local music store... advertising in the program as a trade off... or... find a parent who can worry about finding sound equipment for your program.
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MidWeek Program
I work as a music director in a small rural town in Virginia. We developed our Wonderful Wednesday program over the span of several years. The original evening consisted of a potluck supper and a Bible Study followed by Adult Choir practice. We added two children's choirs to the evening (ages 4 through First grade and Grades 2 through 6). As our numbers grew and we expanded our church, we added a "cooked meal" which is done weekly by some volunteers and offered at $2.50 per person and $10 per family. We do have several non paying persons at this dinner, but the money collected seems to cover those expenses. The menus are crowd feeding type menus such as soup and sandwich, beans, hamburger casserole, meatloaf, etc. The cooked meals have been much more popular than the potluck. The numbers for the choirs and the Bible studies have increased because of this offering. There is a person who drives the church van and picks up several children from an apartment complex. Someone offers a nursery if babies are in attendance. Just this year, the Youth have scheduled meetings during our children's choir time. Now, every age has something to do at the church on Wednesday night. I have seen this evolve over the eight years that I have been at this church.
In children's choirs, we began our first year without a curiculum, but have been using "Church Music for Children" by Abingdon Press. It is a lectionary based curiculum, and it is on three year cycles. I do add to the curiculum with selected anthems, etc. Church Music for children incorporates Bible Stories, Life applications, worship materials (What is Lent?, What is baptism? etc) and practical things like music theory (rhythm, music reading), pitch production, breath control, etc. There are sections about learning how to use the hymnal, finding the composer, composer stories, etc. A end of year program is included but I have found them to be a little dry and usually write my own or purchase something else.
I guess my suggestion to you would be to start with smaller steps, such as having the choirs first, then adding the Bible study, then the meal., etc. If you decided to inculde activities for every age, I would spend at LEAST six months in the planning stages, maybe a year. You should have lots of planning meetings and make sure the volunteers are secure. This would also give you a chance to budget for music materials, bible study materials and other things you would need for the evening. We begin our year when school begins, or after Labor Day. (Labor Day is a giant flea market and gun show in our town, with over 400,000 tourists, so everything really starts after the Flea Market). We spend several weeks in August advertising and announcing the upcoming Wonderful Wednesday kickoff. I send out personal cards to potential children's choir members before the big day, inviting them to a party (sample cards are in the curiculum). This year's party had an international theme since we were to become "World Traveler's" in this year's curriculum.
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Choir Festivals
The Houston Chapter of Choristers Guild has recently gone to a youth and children's festival combined. The youth and children rehearse seperately with different clinicians during the afternoon, with breaks, recreation, etc. Then the festival happens in the late afternoon with one combination piece. Rather than processing, we bring participants in from the sides of the chancel. We work hard to make the logistics as easy as possible on everyone. Last year's clinicians were Susie and Allen Pote. In 2001: Tim Morrison for youth and Rhonda Buescher for children. Former clinicians: Randy McChesney and Helen [email protected]
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We did a major mailing annoucing a festival asking for those interested to respond. We chose a Saturday in January and got several interested directors together to choose the music. We chose 8 numbers which could be
done throughout the church year so that directors didn't have to duplicate efforts with other music. Everyone bought their own music.
We ended up with around 500 children (too many) and were hard pressed to find a church. We hired a clinician (Michael Jothen) and he ran the morning and early afternoon rehearsals. The children brought a bag lunch.
This event brought directors of different churches together and because we had a clinician, they were somewhat free to enjoy observing. (Being near Detroit, our chorus was integrated which was great.)
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PROS
Music was a good varied selection; We had extra (other than piano) instrumental accompaniments that added alot to the music.
We did a 'kaleidoscope' day ahead of the festival with games, activities, choral rehearsals, etc., to prepare for the event. Kids had fun. It was an event we all looked forward to. Exciting to sing with such a large chorus.
CONS
The actual festival day was too long. (9:30 a.m. thru 3 p.m.) I think the rehearsals were (due to our design) too long. Some kids had trouble seeing the director. Processional was too complicated with so many.
Music (off the top of my head)
You are the Branches - M. Jothen Dynamite setting of this Bible text - 3 equal parts + piano and percussion; I used both kids and adults at our small church when we did this later in the year.
Set the Sun Dancing - H. Kemp Epiphany; upbeat, pretty, 3/4
Siyahamba - trad. (I'm ashamed to say it's the first time we'd sung it - a must for any choir- ("We are marching in the light of God")
Alleluia, Allelu, Sing Praises - M. Jothen (Mr. Jothen has each group (3 groups) move when their parts are being sung - very effective with percussion;
Rocking Carol - (can't remember but if want to know, ask) Gorgeous melody, opt. 2 part, kids still sing it for fun
Prayer for Today (Margaret Tucker I believe) prayer for peace, beautiful, wide range, not easy, unison but well worth the effort;
Festival Alleluia (working from memory here) Alan Pote I think - effective piece for a large choir.Sandy Toms
HYMNS
I have a friend who is in search of the song Be Near Me, a Christian song. I know of two entitled "Be With Me Lord " Be With Lord " by Marty Haugen, check GIA Publications (giamusic.com) "Be With Me, Lord" by Michael Joncas, check Oregon Catholic Press (www.ocp.org
There is a hymn: "Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee, I pray...."
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WEDDING MUSIC REPETOIRE
12/07 THE NIGHTINGALE: Story, Activities, Sound clips with questions to answer
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/cuesheet/pdf/KDYAJ.pdf
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02/05 The Greatest of These is Love by Roberta Bitgood. Great song by a contemporary organist.
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Wedding Songs:
The Other Side of Me - Michael W. Smith
Don Henley's "On My Wedding Day
If You Could See What I See - Geoff Moore
Friend Like You - Geoff Moore
I Cross My Heart - George Strait
Communion Song, Unity Candle, One Love - Rick & Cathy Riso
Perfect Union - Matthew Ward
How Beautiful - Twila Paris
Shine ON Us Philip Craig & Dean (done by quartet or trio)
Find Us Faithful - Steve Green
In His Presence - Sandi Patti
I Do (Cherish You) - 98 Degrees
May I be His Love For You - Kathy Troccoli
I See Jesus In You - Saralee Lucas
Christian World Inc.-has a soundtrack "Wedding Traks"
Wherever You Go- Carla Karst, www.carlakarst.com
Flesh of My Flesh-Leon Patillo (an oldie but still a goodie)
"From This Moment On" - Shanai Twain - alot of people use it
"I've Dreamed of You" Barbra Streisand
"Household of Faith" (not sure the artist)
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Starting Here, Starting Now--Barbra Streisand (and others)
One Hand One Heart--West Side Story
Since You've Asked--Judy Collins
You're My Home--Billy Joel
"This Day", by Point of Grace is really nice, and the new big wedding hit is "A Page Is Turned", by Bebo Norman. Both wonderful and not outdated.
How Beautiful" by Allison Kraus
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* A Moment Like This - (Kelly Clarkson)
* Heaven (Candlelight Remix) - (DJ Sammy)
* Only Time - (Enya)*
* Cross My Heart - (George Strait)
* It's Your Love - (Tim McGraw/Faith Hill)
* Ribbon In The Sky - (Stevie Wonder)
* Grow Old Along With Me - (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
* Here and Now - (Luther Vandross)
* Something Like You - (NSync)
* Your Song - (Elton John)
* Storybook Love - (Willy DeVille (Princess Bride Soundtrack))
* When You Say Nothing At All - (Ronan Keating)
* Annie's Song - (John Denver)
* In My Life - (The Beatles)
* The first time ever I saw your face - (Roberta Flack)
* Could I have this Dance - (Ann Murray)
* I Believe In You and Me - (Four Tops)
* Love of a Lifetime - (Firehouse)
* May It Be - (Enya)
* Pie Jesu - (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
* "Hornpipe" from Water Music - (Handel)
* At the Beginning - (Donna Lewis/Richard Marx)
* Heaven - (Bryan Adams)
* I Do - (Paul Brandt)
"The Prayer" by Celine Dion
"Someone Like You" from Jekyll and Hyde
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Sacred/classical. http://www.blarg.net/~infrared/wmc.htm
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Wedding music websites: www.theultimatewedding.com, www.theknot.com
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YOUTH CHOIR REPETOIRE
Teen/Adult choir
COLLECTIONS:
"With One Voice" Tom Fettke - great traditional acapella pieces - we use this throughout the year
"Solid as the Rock" great collection of pieces SAB for youth choir/contemporary/ includes several one page optional skits to accompany songs
LORD, I STRETCH MY HNDS TO YOU*** J. Althouse/piano/SATB/great for dance/newly published/great music for interp. dance/gorgeous melody SATB or SA
THANKS BE TO GOD - M. Haugen/SATB + unison/really cool for Thanksgiving with children's choir/interesting vocal lines
CANON OF PRAISE Hopson/15 c./SAB/Pachelbel canon/Psalm103
FOUR AFRICAN SONGS - Choristers Guild/great for drums/text in Swahili and English/
HELELUYAN - Huron Indian Carol arr. J. Ulrich/beautiful acapella esp. for processional/parts are layered/SSATTB (I think) We've used this several times. -- Contributed by Sandy Toms
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"Because We Believe" by Integrity
How Will We Know Him - Charlotte Algozin (Chor.Guild)CGA634/unison/opt. flute
Prepare - Allen Pote (Choristers Guild)CGA705 Two part mixed voices; With "Prepare", we sang in unison and used an Alto Glockenspiel on the T,B part with sparkling results!
The Star Still Shines/SAB/collection of contemporary settings for Christmas carols + new Christmas music including "Did You Know?" Great collection. I've used the accomp. track that can be purchased separately.
"Solid as the Rock" SAB collection of rock style contemplative songs; includes several one page skits suitable for church use; easy
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11/03 I directed my church youth choir for years, and something that will fit the bill for you is "Songs from the Loft." I don't know where to purchase it, but it was in our church files with accompaniment cassettes and 'right to copy' word sheets and lead sheets. They are easy, catchy, and kind of repetitive so that the kids could memorize them in one rehearsal if they needed. Also, for more challenging stuff, we did a Joseph medley that was always a hit, with cassette acct. And there's a great contemporary book called "The Ultimate Youth Choir Book." If you need more info on these resources, let me know and I can find publishers, etc. Good luck and have fun! - Contributed by Stacie DeVaney
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09/03 MUSICAL/PRESENTATION: "ADVENT OF OUR GOD" by James Hansen This is a very nice Christmas presentation that you can slice and / or dice any way you wish (I know I did) from Oregon Catholic Press. It's based on all the nativity stories (birth narratives) from both the old and new testaments. http://www.ocp.org/en/products/music/11010.php
http://www.ocp.org/en/songsearch/viewsong.php?musicid=6868 BACK to Topics