We've Got Heart

What a great production number this would make! And we're not just talking about for Valentine's Day, though that certainly is one option. Teresa and Paul have teamed up once again to present one of their classic big band extravaganzas. (Lucky you!) Full of "charm, pizzazz, and all that jazz," this one is just crying for a spotlight. Fortunately, most of the heavy lifting is done by the superb jazz ensemble you hear on the Performance/Accompaniment recording. If you have a chance, play just the instrumental tracks for your students. It's a real treat.

For the singers, it's not really that difficult, though some pointers about style and swinging in general might help it sound more polished. Our singers on the recording give a pretty good example of how to do this. The thing to remember is that when there are eighth notes, they are sung with a triplet based feel. In other words, they swing. Again, the recording has a good demonstration.

But if you really want to be impressed, go to our web site, download the solo version, and play that for your students. Or just for yourself. One of our long time young singers from days gone by, Grace Morgan Berryman, was back in town when we did this recording session, and we asked her to sing this for us. All we can say is, "Wow." You've got to hear it. This young lady has Broadway in her blood! It might interest you to know that she is now living and working in New York, and about to go on tour with The Phantom Of The Opera as the understudy for the lead role of Christine. We're tickled to pieces for her and proud to say, "We knew her when."

Movement video - Because we feel this song is a special one, we're also pleased to offer suggestions for choreography to really make it shine. While you could keep it very simple and just let kids do a bit of pre-planned waving of paper hearts which it calls for at measure 39, you might also prefer to develop it more fully. That's why our talented choreographer, Melissa Schott, has created a video with her own troupe of young dancers demonstrating options for performance. As Melissa reminds us, use what works and alter anything to make it more simple or more complex as you need. She includes a PDF of written instructions for the dance moves, too, so you can really study and plan your own performance.

To access the movement video, PDF, and Grace's solo performance, visit our web site, MusicK8.com (More specific details can be found in the box on page 80.)