Spring, Spring, Spring

Have you ever heard of the old big band tune by Benny Goodman called "Sing, Sing, Sing"? How about one of the many, many parodies of it called "Swing, Swing, Swing"? Over the years, we have done a number of old-fashioned big band tunes reminiscent of the style of these familiar pieces. However, we've never done one that also borrows from the title a wee bit. Since this is our March/April issue, and spring is definitely in the air, we thought it was high time we offered a song called "Spring, Spring, Spring"!

If you've been with us for a while, you know that we tend to focus on jazz in our fourth issue of Music K-8 every year. We usually open with something lively that utilizes a jazz ensemble, or big band, as it is also called. This issue is no exception. The featured instrumentation for our big band is similar to a standard big band: four trumpets, four saxes, two horns, four trombones, piano, bass, guitar, percussion, and drums. (Some ensembles use five saxes, and possibly more trumpets and trombones as well. Usually, there are no horns.)

Because of the focus on the ensemble, this is one tune we really think would be best if used with the Performance/Accompaniment CD or cassette. That way, your students can get the full flavor of a jazz band accompanying their performance. Our players on the recording are superb as always. Check the masthead on the inside cover to learn who they are.

The song "Spring, Spring, Spring" is actually not difficult melodically. It is written in unison throughout so that even your younger singers can join in.

One thing to keep in mind as you are teaching this one is that the style of the song is swing. That means that there are no straight eighth notes. They are based on a triplet feel, which is indicated on the style marking at the beginning of the tune. Listening to the jazz band on the recording will help you and your students feel the swing more readily.

After the instrumental introduction, students should be primed and ready to sing at measure 20. There is a natural break after each vocal phrase during which the instrumentalists play a brief response. This gives your vocalists a chance to catch their breaths for the next phrase, which you may find helpful if you're using younger singers.

After the first time through the complete statement of the verse, the song goes into a call and response between your singers and the jazz ensemble. This is the neatest part of the tune and one we think your kids will enjoy. They are pretending to be birds as they sing out on the word "tweet" and variations thereof. (This could be considered as a type of scat singing even though the "lyrics" are predetermined. Scat singing, which utilizes nonsense syllables, is usually improvised. If you are working with older students, you might wish to invent your own scat syllables instead of using ours, or in addition to them. Perhaps they could scat over the instrumental responses. Play with it and let your students' creativity shine!)

When the song is performed as written, your singers get to establish the melody, style, and rhythm of each phrase which the band then imitates. The vocalists on our recording do a very nice job of interpreting the music. Let your students sing along with them a few times to learn the phrasing, pronunciations, and nuances. Feel free to alter these elements as you like.

Be sure to also let your little birds listen to the instrumental responses on the recording at least once without singing. Have them analyze what they are hearing. What groups of instruments are playing? Is it high or low? What kind of articulations are they using? For older classes, this would be an excellent reinforcement of musical lessons they are already learning.

After the call and response, the tune repeats and goes to the coda this time for an all-out screamin' "bring-it-on-home" type ending. It definitely inspires movement, and you may wish to add some. In fact, if you want, you can add movement to the entire piece. Some simple charades depicting birds, flying, wings, and so on would be fun to add. Let all singers join in, or select a few performance artists to focus on.

We have seen a number of our tunes used as large chorus features that implement movement. If your students are on risers, keeping it to upper body movement is probably best. If they're on the floor, whole body movement may be possible. If movement ideas do not come to you easily, don't underestimate the contributions your students might make. We have found that kids have great ideas for simple and memorable moves that work with songs if you just allow them the opportunity to brainstorm with you. It also helps them feel more a part of the whole experience when they can contribute ideas.