Promenade Together

Here's a short and easy way to get kids on their feet, singing and moving. Set in a 2-beat country style, it features an ensemble of fiddle (violin and viola) players on the recording, which are cued on the piano/vocal in case you want to invite your own fiddlers to join in. The tempo is lively to promote energy and action, just as you might expect from a tune like this. And no one will wonder what moves to make, because the lyrics of the song tell them! There is a brief pause after each instruction during which singers can actually perform the action indicated. These are also marked above the vocal staff on the music. The exception to this is "Stomp your footies one two three." In that case, kids should stomp while singing "one two three," one stomp per beat. After that, they join hands to prepare to promenade.

In this case, the promenade is meant to be a traditional step usually found in square dancing. But it can be modified for simplicity. We have indicated some options at the bottom of the music on page 55.

If the singing and dancing are a bit much, you can divide students into groups, some singing and others dancing. The singers could do the actions, or perhaps the dancers do the action. Another way to simplify the tune is to do the same lyrics for verse two as you did for verse one.

There are also some claps indicated on the music, which are optional, but very natural. During the promenade starting at measure 13, anyone who isn't dancing can clap on offbeats. The first time, this would stop in measure 20. The second time, it could continue into the D.S. As always, the patterns can be adapted however you like.