Folk Songs
Budget cuts to public school music programs have left many children without a knowledge base of songs and singing games that give context and meaning to the symbols of notation.
To learn how I could help out with my private students’ general music education, I took a course for public school music teachers (Kodaly Level 1) at Portland State University. In this course we learned to use folk music in the classroom to teach children how to sing, move to, write, and eventually read music.
Excited to put my new knowledge to work, I taught a folk song to a student - just for a fun - just for that one lesson – just to see what would happen. The student enjoyed this activity so much that she insisted on learning a new folk song at every lesson for the rest of the school year!
So began the integration of folk music into my regular curriculum for beginners!
What the students are saying:
“Can we just get to the folk song already?!”
“This week I played ALL my folk songs in a row!” (at that time, this student knew 32 songs)
“I drew pictures for all my folk songs.”
“I organized my folk songs. I put all the ones together that I can play with chords.”
“You should write your own piano book. You know all the good songs, just don’t draw any pictures.”
“Can we JUST play folk songs today?”
"We only have 10 minutes left and we haven’t started the folk song yet!”
“I played Fuzzy Wuzzy in every key.”
“I only practice the folk songs.”
“I like the folk songs. I love them.”
"Can I put on the headphones and figure out the do re mi’s by myself? It will be more challenging that way!”
“I transposed Dinah to g minor!”
Email: “Guess What?” “Did you know that today I transposed camp town races to the key of F#? I'm so proud of myself because I wasn't very good at it at first but now I can play it very well and transpose it! :)”
"I practiced Amazing Grace a LOT.”
“I organized my folk songs in alphabetical order.”
“I put some of my folk songs in another notebook so there would be room for more folk songs in my regular notebook.”
“I played Down to the Baker's Shop over and over and drove my Grandma crazy!”
The following quotes were from students who already knew between 50 and 70 songs.
“For a long time, you’ve only been putting assignment sheets in my notebook. There haven’t been any folk songs.”
“I wondered if we were ever going to play another folk song.”
“Can we do a folk song again? I want a real challenging one!”
Photo Gallery
Students having fun learning folk songs:
Other folk song images:
Jessy and Olivia play Rabbit Race, a game created by Mayron Cole which adds structure and fun to the theory portion of the lesson. Students must answer a question about music or play something on the piano, etc. to be able to roll the dice. In this photo they are writing the stick notation (by ear) for their new folk song in between dice rolls. (a very fun way to learn rhythmic and melodic dictation) In the background, little sister, Katy, quietly plays with some left over game pieces.
Writing the solfa syllables to the song, Little Lisa.
Once the song is written out it's time to play it on the piano!
Copying her creation.
Isaac took a break from learning Hurry Scurry by Bernard Shaak to figure out the notation and harmony for Lavendar's Blue - just for fun.
Jessy correcting a mistake in the notation of a folk song.
Ramona's Folk Song collection.
Children love rhythm patterns that look and sound "challenging." In this song, they learn how to hear, draw, and play the dotted eighth - sixteenth note pattern.