10 Quick Tips for Caroling With Kids

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caroling-with-kidsI’m headed out the door in a few minutes to go caroling at a local nursing home with a group of my students from the Hope Institute.  But before I do that, I thought I’d share a few tried and true tips for successful experiences when caroling with children.

  1. Know your audience (and the students who will be doing the caroling).  This will help you decide whether or not it is appropriate to include sacred songs, or if it’s best to stick with secular.
  2. Choose songs (just about) everyone knows.  Save “The Holly & the Ivy”, “In the Bleak Midwinter”, and the like for more grown-up singalongs.
  3. Have lyrics to pass out.  Just because you’re singing familiar songs doesn’t mean that everyone (carolers included) knows the words.
  4. One verse is plenty, especially if the children are younger and singing from memory.
  5. Keep the tempo bright.  You’ll hold the attention of both your singers and listeners better that way.
  6. Use props.  Santa Claus hats, jingle bells, and other instruments are both visually and aurally stimulating.
  7. But don’t go overboard.  If you’re caroling in a nursing home as I will be today, don’t bring in cymbals and other over-the-top noisemakers.  Be mindful of the environment.
  8. Make it clear that you want audience participation (if that’s the case, which is usually true!).
  9. Don’t wear out your welcome.   Know in advance how long your group is expected to sing, or if it’s a surprise visit, keep it at 5-10 minutes (if that).  Again, knowing your audience and surroundings is key.
  10. HAVE FUN!  Your singing will be appreciated even if there are forgotten lyrics, out-of-tune moments, etc.

Are you doing any caroling this holiday season?  And do you have tips to add to this list?  If so, don’t keep them to yourself!  Please share them in the comments.  In the meantime, I need to dash through the snow over to the nursing home for my own caroling fun!

Sydney the Snowman’s Nose

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

sydney-snowman

Poor Sydney.  All he wants in life is a new nose, but for now he’s stuck with this old carrot (like so many of his snowman friends).  Cute song idea, right?  But don’t give me any of the credit…that goes to my friend Brian, who suggested this topic on my Facebook page.

When I first started writing this song, I had the intention of letting Sydney find the new nose for which he was searching.  But then it hit me that I had an opportunity for a lesson in self-esteem (though I kept it subtle).  Notice the nods to “Frosty the Snowman” — I just couldn’t resist!

Sydney the snowman had one wish, just one,
And it didn’t have anything to do
With the bright, hot sun.
His wish was for a brand new nose,
Made of anything but carrots,
Which he thought were gross.

Oh, Sydney searched high and low,
He even asked people that he didn’t know,
If they could help fill in the space,
In the middle of his face.

Sniffity-sniff-sniff, sniffity-sniff-sniff,
Watch as Sydney goes,
Over the hills and around the town
In search of a different nose.

Sydney the snowman liked most things, it’s true.
Candy canes and lollipops
And pretzels and bananas, too.
But the vegetable he did despise,
Unfortunately, was the perfect size.

Oh, Sydney couldn’t think of anything less cute
Than a nose made out of an old orange root,
And then a stranger who was kind,
Gave a compliment that changed his mind.

What a beautiful snowman face have you,
With a nose so bright and button eyes so blue.
I can tell you were made with love,
And that’s something to be proud of.

Sniffity-sniff-sniff, sniffity-sniff-sniff,
Watch as Sydney goes,
Over the hills and around the town
Proudly showing off his carrot nose.

Big props to Brian for coming up with such a clever song topic! I hope I did it justice. I received quite a few additional ideas as a result of my call for song topics, so I’m trying to decide which to tackle next. Do you have any last-minute holiday song topic suggestions? Let me know in the comments!

Sunday Singalong: The Other Eight Reindeer

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It’s been a few weeks, but “Sunday Singalong” lives on!  I’ve been waiting and waiting for this cold to go away (or at least, give me most of my voice back) so that I could make a new video, and today’s the day.

“The Other Eight Reindeer” (here’s the new recording) is a play on the old “Rudolph” song we all know and love, as you will hear in the first few bars.  In fact, when people hear it for the first time, they are thrown for a loop when they realize it’s actually not the familiar song.  Below the video, I’ll explain a bit more about how I use this song with my students.

This song works best in a group setting, especially if there are at least 8 or 9 children to “act out” each reindeer.  I wrote a post last December describing in detail how I use props and movement to turn the song into an interactive experience; rather than repeat myself here, I’ll point you to that post (complete with pictures).

Any holiday-related song suggestions for next week’s “Sunday Singalong” video?  Remember, if I choose yours, you get a free Listen & Learn album download.  Just leave a comment here or share on Facebook or Twitter.

8 Christmas Albums I Think You’ll Dig

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8-great-christmas-albumsThere are few things I enjoy more than a good Christmas album during the holidays.  I’m one of those people that feels it is completely appropriate to break them out at the beginning of November, and I’m always reluctant to remove my Christmas playlist from my iPod come January.

When it comes to holiday music, I don’t discriminate: I’m happy just to listen to the Christmas radio station.  But of course I do have my favorites, which I’m so excited to share with you today.

So on this December 8th, here are my 8 favorite Christmas albums…which I hope you’ll like just as much as I do.  I’ve ordered them according to how long I’ve been listening to them (starting just as recently as last month) and linked each to the Amazon mp3 album download.

  1. Glee: The Christmas Album I’m a total Gleek, so when I got wind of this album in November, I immediately pre-ordered it.  The songs are super-fun, especially since all of these familiar tunes have been given the unique Glee treatment.  My favorite is “Deck the Rooftop” — a mash-up of “Deck the Halls” and “Up on a Housetop”.
  2. Wilson Phillips: Christmas in Harmony If you grew up listening to this female trio back in the early 90s like I did, you should immediately download this album.  Their sound is still gorgeous 20 years later, especially on Christmas songs like “Little Drummer Boy”.
  3. Martina McBride: White Christmas Even if you aren’t a fan of country music, it’s hard not to be enamored with Martina’s voice.  Out of the 16 traditional tunes on this albums, I could listen to her versions of “White Christmas” and “O Holy Night” all day long.
  4. James Taylor: At Christmas There’s not a James Taylor song I don’t love.  But this is by far my favorite album of his, and it still would be even if his poignant rendition of “In the Bleak Midwinter” was the only song on it.
  5. Kristen Chenoweth: A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas Kristen’s voice definitely ranks up their amongst my favorite ever — it’s incredibly versatile.  A couple of the songs are originals, while others (like “Sing”) are familiar and happy surprises.
  6. Bette Midler: Cool Yule For me, this is the quintessential “fun” Christmas album.  I started to list a few of my favorite tracks just now, but then I realized I would be listing nearly all of them.  So just take my word for it and check this one out, starting with the title song.
  7. Christmas With the Rat Pack I grew up listening to the Rat Pack, thanks to my dad.  Does it get any better than Frank, Dean and Sammy singing holiday songs like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and “Marshmallow World” in their usual charming ways?  The best part about this album is that there are 21 tracks (and not a bad one in the bunch).
  8. The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait It’s not Christmas for me until I’ve heard Karen Carpenter sing “The Christmas Waltz” and “Merry Christmas, Darling”.  This has been a staple in my CD player (and iPod now, of course) since I was a child, and is still the most-played Christmas album I own.

There are many more Christmas albums in my rotation, but if I was stranded on the North Pole (or maybe just at the airport) and could only take 8 with me, these would be it.  I hope I’ve introduced you to some potential new favorites!  Oh, and let’s keep this list going…which Christmas albums do YOU dig?

Guess What Makes Great Reindeer Hooves?

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reindeer-hooves-castanets-sound-effectsCastanets!  I realized this on Friday as I was planning the music activities for my church’s annual Breakfast With Santa event, and then I wondered how I hadn’t thought of it earlier.  Rhythm sticks have always been my go-to instrument for reindeer hooves, but not anymore.

There are lots of castanets out there to choose from, but my personal favorites are these plastic beauties from Musician’s Friend.  At 99 cents, they’re easily replaceable and sound great (if a little loud).  Mine have held up extremely well; my students are not easy on instruments, but I haven’t had one castanet casualty yet!

Last year’s Breakfast at Santa music activities were fun (read about them here), but the castanets made this year’s even better.  I always stick with a reindeer theme, so we sang classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Up on the Housetop” along with Listen & Learn originals, like Do You Hear the Reindeer? and The Other Eight Reindeer.

Have you experimented with holiday sound effects?  Maybe you have an even better suggestion for reindeer hooves…if so, please do tell.  There are plenty more school days left to fill before holiday break begins!