Wind Power

There's something majestic about a field of wind turbines. We travel from Milwaukee to Indianapolis to record the music for our products, and we pass a couple of wind farms on I-65 on the way there. As many times as we see them, it never fails to impress. Not only are wind and solar clean and sustainable means for creating electricity, they are now the cheapest way to do it. A wind turbine will pay for its construction within six months, but will keep generating energy for up to 25 years. Seeing them so often inspired us to write about wind power, another great cross curricular subject. Plus, the second Saturday in May is Windmill Day, so there's that, too! It will give you a chance to talk about other types of windmills as well, including the iconic image with tulips all around.

The song has a halftime feel, and may be a bit challenging for younger singers due to its rhythm and modality. It's worth noting that John has assigned the word "power" – a word which normally has two syllables – to a single whole note, relying on the diphthong in the word to make it work. We recommend holding the "ow" out and only get to the "er" at the end of the note length. Our full performance version offers a good reference.

And speaking of the full performance, our rhythm players did an outstanding job on this piece. Have a listen to the tasteful electric guitar riffing by our own Sandy Williams beginning at bar 33 the second time and continuing to the end. It's really nice!