Declaration

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These are the famous opening words of the preamble of The United States Declaration of Independence, which was adopted in 1776. The song "Declaration" allows you (and the history teacher, and/or your entire school for that matter) to easily learn and remember the famous words that helped build our nation. Set in a majestic rock anthem style, the orchestral adaptation is bold, inspirational, and dramatic. If you are concerned that your students are not able to totally read the rhythms, which include some sixteenth notes, just let them listen to our singers on the Performance/Accompaniment recording. Once they hear it a couple of times, they'll catch on nicely.

And if you have older groups of students (or teachers, parents, administrators, etc.) who want to join in, we have included an optional second part. This part doesn't begin until the repeat of the tune at measure 7. It's lower and mostly shares rhythms with part 1, but has enough independence (no pun intended) to let your students feel accomplished when they sing it. To help with learning it, we have isolated part 2 and made it available on our web site for you. (See details in the box following with the computer picture.)

Dynamics and articulation are also important in this song for a good musical performance. The nuances indicated will sound fantastic when used, though the grandeur of the piece will come through even if you don't have time for polishing that much.

While "Declaration" was intended to be used as part of the all-school revue Americans We, it can definitely be used separately. (The revue will be featured in the first three issues of this year - Volume 19 - and will include several songs, a narrative script, and a teacher's guide.) You could also combine it with other similar pieces such as "We The People" (Music K-8, Vol. 18, No. 1) or "Allegiance Rap" (Vol. 12, No. 1) to create a powerful, history-based performance that reaches across the curriculum. (Both of these songs are also available as Singles Reproducible Kits. Check out our big new Index, which was tucked into your first issue, or visit our web site at MusicK8.com where you can listen to excerpts.)

Online extras - The free, downloadable tracks mentioned can be found under the "Graphics and Extras" for Volume 19, No. 2 at MusicK8.com