John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt & Friends

This old campfire song has long been a favorite. (As a matter of fact, we enjoyed it at camp as children, so "long" is putting it mildly!) It is a great way of teaching the rudiments of dynamics, and kids will never tire of the extremes it calls for. Still, we had never arranged it until now because we wanted some special twist to make it unique.

The setting of "John Jacob..." is quite straight-forward, with four verses, each quieter than the next. There are a couple of ways to approach the fourth verse. We chose to have the singers whisper this verse, though in some circles the quietest verse is just mouthed. Of course, the most difficult thing to do is to sing the pitches at a whispered level. Choose the path that works best for you. Another key to enjoying this tune is really belting out the "Da da da da" part.

As for our web-footed ending, there are two options. One is to end it as written and performed on our recordings, with the orchestra falling apart after the singers quit. The other option is to stop the recording abruptly as the kids sing "Well, it is." Consider adding some students playing a repetitive march pattern on drums and cymbals during this section. Then they can add to the pandemonium of the ending.