Recommendations: Simple Favorites

Subject: RE: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: LadyJean
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 10:55 PM

Gypsy Rover (You could play the Boiled In Lead version for fun)
Old Time Religion, the original or the many versed parody.
Three Old Ladies Got Locked in a Lavatory.
Barley Mow,
Oh Mary Don't Weep
The best singing I ever had, was when the Smokey City Folk Festival got rained out, and a bunch of us ducked under the bridge in Point Park, and sang "Hard Times Come Again No More". Try that.

Subject: RE: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: Little Robyn
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 08:12 PM

"There'll be more joy."
Wonderful - almost like Kumbaya.

Subject: RE: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: Amos
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 06:58 PM

Streets of Laredo
Red River Valley
Haul Away, Joe
You Are My Sunshine
Green Grow the Lilies, Oh!
Greensleeves

are a few more of the top of my head that make good starters for young groups.

A

Subject: RE: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: Mudlark
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 03:10 PM

Good for you, Kelsie...your group sounds like it's off to a good start. Old standards like the following are good in that even if people don't know all the words they are at least vaguely familiar with them:
On Top of Old Smoky
Frankie and Johnnie
BlueTail Fly
Swing Low, Swt Chariot
Country Roads
The Banks of the Ohio
Aura Lee (Love me tender tune)
Mountain Dew
Druken Sailor
Summertime
Wabash Cannonball

All of these are easy to play, involving only a few chords, if anyone is playing a stringed instrument, and all easy to sing, without straining anybody's range.

Keep us posted how it goes. Your group members may come up with more tunes also, they know and can sing.

Subject: RE: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: GUEST,Kelsie
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 02:32 PM

Age range -- From seven years old to never-ask-a-lady. Mostly twenty-somethings. 60-40 Female-Male split. Seven who showed last week, and about double that who've expressed interest. Now that I'M not exhausted, we DO have...

Cold Haily Windy Night (well, okay, some of these fly over the seven-year old's head, and some of them we sing after she's had enough and gone off to play on the swingset despite that. We're letting Mom call the tone.)
Frere Jacques (French and English)
My Grandfather's Clock
Hole in the Bucket
Lusty Young Smith
Roll the Old Chariot Along
Rose Red
The Undaunted Female
Waltzing Matilda
I've been Working on the Railroad
Some gregorian chants (by special request)

And yes, we did sing Row Row Row... and the Itsy Bitsy Spider, too! (Seven year olds are great!)

The range isn't bad, but it shows some biases, I think. Some of those reflect the group we collected (and the fact that the seven year old was an unexpected blessing) and all of them reflect the simple reality of the number of songs I could locate, transcribe and partially memorize in two weeks. (Ignores the fact that in the process she forgot to transcribe the warm-ups... D'oh!)

I'm ultimately wanting to add some barbershop for the men and some ballads for the women, provided everyone gets a chance to sing SOMETHING. And I'm getting a head start on it while we have fun with the songs we DO have, so I never have to spend another two weeks like that again....

Subject: RE: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: AllisonA(Animaterra)
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 06:10 AM

This is great, Kelsie! What is the age range of your group? How many of them are there?
Have you tried some simple rounds? It sounds like your group wouldn't mind starting with "Row, row row, etc." but there are so many wonderful rounds out there.
Try: Hey, ho nobody home
Music alone shall live
Rounds Galore (click here) is a great resource.

Songs with a chorus, where you or a more confident singer carry the verses and everyone joins in on the chorus:
The Garden Song (inch by inch)
All God's Critters got a place in the choir
Rise Up Singing is a good resource for your group, too.
Another great book is "Sing and Shine On" available from the wonderful song leader Nick Page.

Good luck, and keep us posted! I'll post some more songs when I wake up!

Subject: Recommendations: Simple Favorites
From: GUEST,Kelsie
Date: 19 Jul 03 - 05:44 AM

Just got together a group of folks for a series of informal songfests and we've got a lot of folks who are scared of the sound of their own voices! It's been a lot of fun picking out songs that "everyone knows" or can learn fairly easily. But I'm wondering now what others would pick in the same situation. Right now, we're simply building confidence -- songs that can be sung in unison, rounds or call-and-response. Hence folk...

Any thoughts or recommendations would be much appreciated -- there's so much out there, I'd like to narrow the field slightly, at least to begin with. No limitations as to style -- I'd like to give folks a flavor for as many kinds of music as I can. It's just more fun that way.

(Apologies if I've skipped any protocols -- I've been ghosting the boards for a while, but... *shrugs* Let me know and I'll do better next time.)