The Science Of Light
by John Riggio
By the time your students are old enough for college and are looking to specialize in a particular field, believe it or not, light could play an important role. For example, the sciences of photonics and optics include fields such as communications, energy, medicine, astronomy, and virtual reality. As the lyrics of this song reinforce, light helps us see the world, no matter what field we work in.
For this song, John wanted a world beat groove juxtaposed with a futuristic synthy vibe, which you can really hear in the section from measure 25 to 49, and again from measure 25 into the coda to 75, then from measure 83 to the end. For effect, be sure to honor the rest in bar 58 for the big synth drop on our tracks, and listen for the "light explosion" in 59.
As we often do to help your singers, the melody is covered by synthesizer and piano throughout. The divisi at the end is optional, but if you choose to sing it unison, the top line is the melody.
The song is cross curricular, so you might be able to tag-team with your school's science teacher when students do a study on light. In performance, it would be cool to have a projector displaying sensory lights or changing colors behind the performers. And if you need an excuse to perform this song, The International Day of Light is May 16.
Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.