Children of NDS, Bret Ellerton, Mike Plympton - also includes guest vocals by Sonya Shaw and instrumental performences by various parents at the school!
Sounds Like
Fun
Record Label
unsigned
Type of Label
None
Ninny Cow Tea: 58 Really Short Songs...........'s Latest Blog Entry
[Subscribe to this Blog]
About Ninny Cow Tea: 58 Really Short Songs...........
NINNY COW TEA: 58 Really Short Songs with lyrics by 3 to 5 year old children! Buy the CD at www.cdbaby.com/cd/ninnycow or call the school directly at 206-447-2377 (its cheaper and 100% of the money goes to the school)- 100% of the artist's earnings are donated to New Discovery School's educational programs. Includes a 32 page color booklet with children's drawings of their songs!
This CD began as a portion of the music program at New Discovery School (www.newdiscoveryschool.org). In trying to demonstrate the process of songwriting, I had each child compose a short lyrical phrase on the spot, one at a time. I tried prompting them with words like: “Tell me your song.” or “Tell me something that you like.” explaining that their song could be about anything they want.
After getting their ideas on paper, then came the task of putting the words into melodic form. If the child was willing and capable, I would ask them to sing their words. If they were able to do so (most were not able or willing in the moment), I then helped them to solidify the melody. Otherwise I demonstrated by putting the words into a tune myself.
We then sang the song as a group a few times, accompanied by the guitar, before recording a rough version. We were generally able to accomplish 3 or 4 songs for a half hour class. Once all of the children in the school had a song, we then would practice them each week. This involved dancing and singing along to them, as well as the songs being used as teaching tools for basic musical concepts like pitch, rhythm, volume and tempo.
Apart from having fun and learning about music, this project also helped build a sense of community between children. They all took a keen interest in learning the songs of each of the other children at the school. They also drew pictures to illustrate their songs (which became part of the book inlay for the CD).
At a certain point it became evident that it would be fun to record a more professional version of the songs to demonstrate how a collaborative studio project comes to fruition, and that this would be a great way to raise money for the school while also producing a compact disc. So began the process of recording drums, adding layers of guitar and other instruments as well as recording vocals. As the accompanying music for each song was completed, I would then bring the recorded version to school and have the children record their vocal tracks as a group. Enjoy the music! - Bret -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bret Ellerton is a preschool teacher, as well as musician. You can hear samples of his various other music projects at www.uncle-nobody.com
Mike Plympton is also a preschool teacher and musician. He has played drums with Bret in the band maximum coherence www.myspace.com/maximumcoherence
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
Ninny Cow Tea: 58 Really Short Songs...........'s Friend Space (Top 7)
Ninny Cow Tea: 58 Really Short Songs........... has 17 friends.
Dude you gotta proliferate this gem! With a little marketing you could be the next Wiggles . . . . (and if you think I'm kidding you're only half right!)
