Sand

Ah, summer at the beach. The warmth! The waves! The fun! The sand? Yeah, there's that. Anyone who's ever been to a beach knows and understands that is the price you pay for all of those other lovely things. And what a price. Gritty, ubiquitous, annoying – it's everywhere and in everything!

This humorous ditty is an homage to the unfortunate fact of life that is sand. Set in a beachy light Latin style, it's simple and unison through the verses. At the chorus, the opportunity to do a little showing off enters with the optional second vocal part. It sits higher than part 1 and feels quite natural, so it should be easy enough to add with maximum effect. To help teach it, we have isolated part 2 and put it on our web site for you.

As it so happens, this tune also works nicely with ukulele and guitar, using only three chords: C, F, and G. These are optional, too, but contribute to the overall summery, lighthearted nature of the piece. Plus they give your ukulele and guitar students a chance to show their stuff in a performance.

The recording of this seasonal song borrows generously from other familiar tunes of the genre with its use of wood flutes, xylophone, percussion, and notably, steel drums. One can't help but think of a beach, maybe even on an island. Bring out the beach balls, sunglasses, straw sun hats, and colorful shirts!

Both the part 2 rehearsal track and PDF of the ukulele and guitar parts can be found at our web site.