Finnegan's Folly

Here's a fun body percussion tune for your class. And in Celtic style, no less! Perfect for your St. Patrick's Day celebration, or any time really.

"Finnegan's Folly" uses five methods of percussion for your students: patsching (slapping the thighs), clapping, stomping, snapping, and drumming on their desks. Students can perform it while sitting at their desks, or if standing, they could drum on something like a stool, which is what we did in the recording studio. The piece is in 6/8 time, and on the recording we use toms to count off (4 bars), which will help kids know when to begin since they start right in the first measure. The tracks use fiddle and bodhrán for that Celtic flavor, then add strings on the repeat. The only vocal line in the song is when performers yell, "Hey!" on the very last note, but if you'd prefer no vocals at all this can be omitted.

For rehearsing, or just because it's really neat, we have included a student mix of this piece on the recording. You'll find it at the end (track 27).