Are You As Hip As A 4th Grader?

Are You as “Hip” as a 4th Grader?
EQUIP, INSPIRE, EXCITE, ACHIEVE AND GO! WITH POPULAR MUSIC
Presented by Jim Tinter
Over a 30+ year career as a music educator in grades K-9, my students and I have had many wonderful
experiences with popular music. This session will offer numerous examples of how popular music was
incorporated into our program in an educationally effective manner.
I. Musical People - TBA - Tuneful, Beatful, Artful (may not be literate)...John Feierabend
II. Warm up with movement
A. “Billie Jean,” from Thriller. See separate handout for listening/movement activities.
III. Three suggestions
A. Embrace the teachable moment.
B. Choose wisely - try to find quality examples and be able to justify using them.
C. Never play music blind!
IV. Flea trainers place limits and restrict opportunities. Fleaberators take the lid off the jar and liberate the
fleas!
A. Recognizing and overcoming self-imposed limitations in ourselves and our students.
1. Nurtured by Love, Schinichi Suzuki.
B. The Lion King — “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.” 5th grade flutes playing in F# major.
V. Movement/Promoting beatfulness/Form identification
A. “Billie Jean,” from Thriller, the #1 selling album of all time. See separate handout for process.
VI. Cool recorder examples
A. “Stairway to Heaven” — alto, tenor, & bass recorders.
B. “Angela,” theme from TV show Taxi — alto recorder.
C. “Wild Thing” — Ocarina (sweet potato). You Tube: Troggs — Wild Thing 1992. Easy solo to play.
GGEGEGEGGE…. Uses the notes E, G, A & B. Figure out the rest by ear.
VII. Jingle Bells in 10 Favors — “Rap”
VIII. Listening opportunities
A. Word Painting.
1. Nat King Cole — “The Christmas Song.” “...to see if reindeer really know how to fly.”
2. Eagles — “Lying Eyes.” “...to comfort an old friend who’s feeling down.”
3. Tommy James — “I Think We’re Alone Now.” “...the beating of our hearts is the only sound.”
B. The break (or the freeze).
1. Mamas and Papas — “Monday, Monday.”
2. Rascals — “Good Lovin.’”
C. Dynamic contrast, quick beat/slow beat.
1. Aerosmith — “Back in the Saddle.” Also word painting & how not to sing!
2. Foreigner — “Juke Box Hero.” Somewhat controversial after used in Rock of Ages movie.
3. Elvis Presley — “An American Trilogy.” One of the most dramatic crescendos ever!
D. A classic song and it’s covers — “White Christmas”
1. Bing Crosby (1942). #1 single of all time.
2. The Drifters (1954) — Doo wop version. Used in Home Alone I. Influenced Elvis.
3. Elvis (1957). Loved by me - HATED by Irving Berlin! Tried to get it banned.
E. “Blue Christmas,” by Elvis. Use of color (blue memories, blue snowflakes, etc.).
IX. Teachable moments
A. “Iron Man” (in E and A. Original in B) — Black Sabbath, 3rd grade recorders, voices, guitar,
alternate B. Alternate lyric: “I am Iron Man, I learn every melody that I can. You can learn them too,
A-B-C-D-E-F-G that will do.”
1. Notes for SR: E G G AA CBCBCBG G A A. Same fingerings for AR. In A and you have parallel
fifths — POWER CHORDS! — “Bad for Bach, but rad for Rock!”
2. Original recording in B. Another teachable moment — high register and high F#: B D D E E
GF#GF#GF#D D E E.

B. “Do, Re, Mi” — The Sound of Music.
1. How a shy, introverted 3rd grade girl experienced fleaberation.
C. Star Wars, “Main Theme” — John Williams. In G. Awesome on recorders and/or saxes.
D. “We Will Rock You” — Queen (A).
1. Collaboration, drums, soprano & alto recorders, improvisation, A/D pentatonic (SR/AR).
X. Three Chord Bliss — I IV V Chords. Letters in ( ) represent the key of the song.
A. Lots to choose from: “Green Onions” (F) - Booker T & The MG’s, “Pride and Joy” (Eb) - Stevie Ray
Vaughn, “Lucille” (C# or C, it varies. Probably a tape speed issue) - Little Richard, “Bama Lama
Bama Loo” (F) - Little Richard, “Barbara Ann” (F#) - Beach Boys, “The Twist” (E) - Chubby
Checker, “Peppermint Twist” (C) - Joey D and the Starliters, “At the Hop” (Ab) - Danny and the
Juniors, “Hound Dog” (C) - Elvis Presley, “Hard Headed Woman” (C) - Elvis, “Too Much” (Ab) -
Elvis, “I Feel Good” (D) - James Brown, “Johnny B. Goode” (Bb) - Chuck Berry.
B. Movement activity to “Green Onions,” by Booker T and the MG’s. (Could be done with any of the
tunes listed above.
1. Movement Level 1 (individual): I — pat legs; IV — clap; V — snap w/hands over head.
Simultaneous imitation (leader faces students and students imitate exactly, at the same time).
a) Extension 1 — Say “one, four and five” on beat 1 of each chord.
b) Extension 2 — Sing the root pitch of each chord. Use “I, IV, V” or solfege (do, fa, so).
2. Movement level 2 (preparation for partner activity): I — pat, clap; IV — patty cake (clap/pretend
to clap a partner’s hands, both at the same time. Clap, partner, clap, partner.
a) Extension 1 — Alternate the partner clap to increase difficulty (clap, right, clap, left).
3. Movement level 3 — Pick or assign partners. Concentric circles. Face partner. Level 2 movement.
Everyone says “head” on beat one of the next chorus, indicating we're at the beginning or the
head of the tune.
4. Movement level 4 — Same as level 3 except on the first beat of the next chorus, do a right steptogether
while saying, “head.” Now you have a new partner.
XI. Christmas with Elvis.
A. “All Shook Up” played on guitar and sung by 4th grader, Robert Rossman.
B. A word to music educators by Robert as a college student.
Further reading —
“A Whole Lot of Learnin’ Going On,” Mac Randall. Teaching Music, August, 2010. Volume 18, Number 1
Further study —
Consider attending the Summer Teacher Institute at the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in
Cleveland. Here’s the link: http://rockhall.com/education/inside-the-classroom/summer-teacher-institute.
Publications by Jim Tinter
A Minor Melody
Big Mouth Blues
B-A-G Bossa Nova
Jingle Bells in 10 Flavors
VFX
jimtinter@gmail.com
recorderman.com
This session partially sponsored by:
2