Graduate

We've been asked to provide music for graduation ceremonies, as well as music specifically geared for upper elementary and middle school students. We have written a number of songs over the years with both of these things in mind, but we thought it was time to do it again.

This song is unusual in that it is a combination of jazz and hip hop. It is written as a two-part, with the lower voices in the bass clef. This should be a comfortable range for your lower, changing, or changed voices. Of course, it can be sung an octave higher if you have no lower voices. That would essentially make the song unison, which would work perfectly well. Let your students sing it in a relaxed manner, not going for volume as much as style. The recording provides an excellent example.

We highly recommend using the recording to perform this song, or at least to learn it. Though it may be intimidating on paper, once you and your students hear it, you will realize that it is actually quite simple. In fact, you might want to make it an exercise in creativity and let your students write their own lyrics to the piece. Using just the recorded instrumental tracks, they can write their own verses about graduation, or they can even write about an entirely different subject. And because it's a hip hop, they might feel inspired to write a rap in lieu of using a melody for all or some of it. This could be just the ticket for getting some of your young men involved.