Winter In America

We've had our share of letters from southern states expressing concern about the songs that speak of the joys of winter. You know - snowball fights, making snowmen, wearing big boots to keep all the snow out, etc. Well, we hear you. Just for you folks, Winter In America extols the beauty of diverse winters in the same land. You say it's not snowing where you are in January? No problem. We've got you covered. By the same token, if it's minus thirty degrees outside as you read this, and your dog is little more than an icicle on your front porch, we've got you covered, too.

Winter In America is a fairly rhythm and wind intensive tune, so the piano/vocal score will serve mostly as a reference and rehearsal tool. The CD/cassette that goes with this issue features a great soundtrack for your students to sing along with. In fact, we hope that you recognize this tune and its arrangement as a homage to a popular American rhythm and blues writer and performer. (If you do, you'll find great humor in this. If you don't, it's okay. It will work well anyway.)

Fortunately, there is a lot of repetition in the vocal melody which should help students when learning the three different verses. The lyrics at the chorus each time are the same. Playing the recording for your singers will help them to pick out the rhythms and intervals, etc., and will give them an appreciation for the exuberance of the kids in the recording studio. They had fun with this!

The range of the piece is from middle C to the D an octave higher. Please note that the divisi at the coda is optional. The line will sound just fine in either the lower or upper octave.

The sound effects that are peppered throughout the tune are also optional. We have included two versions of background tracks for your convenience: one with all effects included so you don't have to do them, and one without the vocal effects only so that your students can add them. The spoken cues for these effects are on the piano/vocal score and lyric sheet on page 19. We left the non-vocal effects in on all versions because we figured you wouldn't have access to your own sources for these effects, such as wind, trampoline boings, or skin frying in the sun.

If you use this piece in performance, you can spice it up by having performers wear appropriate costumes. Some kids could wear hooded parkas, thick gloves, and so on, while others could wear shorts and Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, etc. Maybe have a sled or two, and a couple of sand pails with shovels for props. Try putting some zinc oxide on the noses of your warm climate folks, and maybe some ice skates hanging around the necks of you cold climate folks. Be creative! A scene like this has the potential to be downright hilarious!

Always thinking about your need to bring music to the rest of the school - we suggest that you might open up discussions with the regular classrooms about geography or science. Kids (and some adults) may assume that the weather in the United States is similar everywhere, which is, of course, not the case. Pull out a big map and talk about it. And when you're done, use the map as a backdrop for your performance. Have a weather person indicating regions of the country as different parts of the song are sung.