King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O

As is the case with many well-known folk songs, there are many variations and derivations for the tune "Froggie Went A-Courtin'." You may have heard "Frog In The Well" or "Froggy Would A-Wooing Go." We've always liked this version of the froggie's tale for children as it gives you the option of all sorts of activities and performance alternatives. And to be honest, it's just lots of fun to sing the title as it pops up throughout the song.

Folk songs like this that tell tales often have lots and lots of verses – they can really stretch it out. For our arrangement, we have boiled it down to five verses, and that seems to make a nice presentation. We have orchestrated it for sort of a jug/bluegrass type sound, with tuba, fiddle, banjo, and guitar. And to spice it up even more, we ask your performers to whistle a line in the set-up for each verse. There is much fun to be had.

Options... you've got options! You can add just about anything you can dream of to this tune. Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Add recorders. You can let them play the whistle part (BAG) between verses, or give them a verse of their own to play, or even just let them play along with the melody, if they are able.
• Add kazoos. Virtually the same idea as recorders, though playing the melody would be even easier on kazoo. Be creative.
• Add classroom percussion. Given the style of our arrangement, almost any percussion can be used as long as it's not too bombastic or too thick. It might even be fun to use homemade/found percussion designed and decorated by your students. To get you started, we have created an optional classroom percussion arrangement, available as a download.

By the way, if you would like to compare and contrast this tune with the original, you will find our unique arrangement of "A Frog Went A-Courtin'" in Music K-8 Vol. 5, No. 1. This setting is also available as a Singles Reproducible Kit, in all three forms: Print/CD, Downloadable PDF/MP3s, and Convenience Combo Kit, which combines Print and Download versions – the best of both worlds!