Golden Ribbons, Silver Bows

Celebrating the beauty of the colors of the season, this lovely song features several options for performance. It could be sung as a unison piece, sung as a round, used as a movement piece for scarves, used as a feature for ukulele or guitar players, or all of the above! The way we have chosen to demonstrate it on the recording is first in unison, then as a round when it repeats. (The small circle with a "2" in it at measure 13 is the place where the second group of voices begins to sing the song. The four measure offset becomes a round.) The song is so simple that you could print or project the words for your audience and have them join you the second time for the round. Let your singers start, then give the audience a big cue four bars later for their part.

It just so happens that the chords C, F, and G make this piece work well with beginning ukulele and guitar, too. We suggest letting players establish a simple strumming pattern and just repeat similarly throughout. It could be quarter note chords on beat 1 of each bar, or on beats 1 and 3 of each bar, or even all three beats of each bar. We have extracted parts that include chord diagrams for both ukulele and guitar and put them on our web site for free download. (See details on page 76.)

One of the best ways to use this song in performance is with the addition of scarves (or streamers, ribbons, etc.). As you design the movement, plan to have each group move when their color is mentioned, at least the first time. For the intro, interlude, and ending, colors could be combined. Here is an example:

- m. 1-8 scarves are held in front and swayed left then right on the first beat of each bar
- m. 9-12 gold and silver scarves are raised up on beat 1, then down on beat 3 of each bar; alternate hands/colors for a more flowing effect
- m. 13-16 white scarves (and perhaps silver or gray) are raised up on beat 1, down on beat 3 of each bar, also alternating hands
- m. 17-20 repeat similar action using red and green scarves this time
- m. 21-24 repeat similar action again, but now with purple and blue scarves
- m. 25-32 repeat action of intro or use variation

These are obviously basic moves, but you can use more elaborate ones. Swirls and loops will look very nice especially if you have material that flows well. Don't feel you must use all kids for scarves. A smaller group that is featured while the others sing and/or play would also be quite nice.