Students

Oran's Recordings:

I have recorded some of the songs that we are singing in class for you to listen to with your children. You can scroll down to find lyrics. There are also some other songs that we are singing, such as Jingo-Lo-Ba and Salt Peanuts, which I have placed in the Music of the Masters section, since the recordings feature legendary musicians.

NEW:

High Low - (2:49) This is a song I wrote to help teach the concept of high and low. It uses two notes, C and E, and we will eventually play the song on the glockenspiel: E is the high note (it is smaller, and looks and sounds more like a little bird high in the sky) and C is the low note (it is big and looks and sounds more like a big cow that lives low on the ground). After we sing "High Low", we can get the glockenspiel to answer us by playing the high note, then the low note. On this recording, you can hear the clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, tuba and drums being individually featured after the vocals. Many of these instruments that have been demonstrated in class. See if your child can identify which instrument is playing!
Oran Etkin - vocals, clarinet, saxophone; Paul Olenick - Trombone; Ron Caswell - Tuba; Jason Marsalis - drums

NEW:

Mali Sajo - (1:05) This hypnotic song from Mali, West Africa is about a hippopotamus named Mali Sajo who wanted to help the children cross the Niger river. It uses a scale called the Lydian scale, which is less common in American music, but is great for the children to be exposed to at this age. On this recording, I am joined by the great Malian singer and guitarist, Abdoulaye Diabate. Click here to find out more information about the Oran Etkin/Abdoulaye Diabate Duo.
Oran Etkin - clarinet; Abdoulaye Diabate - Guitar and Vocals

Up The Stairs - (1:18) This is an instrumental version of the song we sing as we go up the stairs to music class. The melody goes up the scale as we sing "come on up the stairs"
Oran Etkin - clarinet; Bob Sabin - bass

Sevivon - (0:49) This is a song we learned for Chanuka. Sevivon is the hebrew word for dreydle.
Oran Etkin - clarinet; Jon Levy - drums; Ethan Halpern - bass

Scale Song (Clap, Clap, Clap Your Hands) - (0:51)This song starts with high notes and goes down the scale and then back up. It has body motions that start up high, go down to the ground and then back up, following the contour of the melody (see lyrics below). This song goes with a game we play, called the Pitch Switch.
Oran Etkin - saxophone; Bob Sabin - bass

Under My Bed - (0:33) I developed this song based on a traditional musical form from the Antilles Islands. It is a silly song about animals under the bed. The rhythm of this song goes in groups of five beats, which is rare in American and Western European music, which usually goes in groups of three or four beats. Exposure to this different rhythmic structure at a young age helps develop a feel for different rhythms.
Oran Etkin - clarinet; Bob Sabin - bass

Classic Recordings:

It is never too early to start listening to the great music created by timeless composers and performers from a variety of cultures. We will learn music from numerous sources including Africa, Cuba, Austria, American blues, jazz and bluegrass, spanning over 200 years of music history. We sing along with some of these selections, play along with others and move our bodies in response to others. The activities that go allong with each are explained. If you like any of these recordings, I recommend that you purchase the entire album from which they came.

Good News, The Chariots Are Coming - (2:43)This is a classic recording of a gospel quartet singing this old traditional spiritual.
Original Kings of Harmony - Chruch Choirs, Vocal Groups and Preachers Vol. 4 (1927-1943)

NEW:

El Timbal - (1:36) In this song by Tito Puente, the pioneer of Afro-Cuban music, we sing "El Timbal" (the drum) while hitting the drum to the rhythm of the words, and then point to ourselves and sing "El Timbalero" (the drummer). Can you hear the drums and the saxophones taking turns saying "El Timbal, El Timbalero" in the beginning?
Tito Puente - Tito Puente and his Orchestra

NEW:

Ain't It Grand - (1:36) Blind Willie McTell was one of the great blues singers of the 20s through the 40s that influenced numerous musicians to follow, from Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash
Blind Willie McTell - Blind Willie McTell 1927-1947

Jin-Go-Lo-Ba - (0:50) This song is by Babatunde Olatunji, the great Nigerian percussionist (performed at JFK's inauguration, collaborated with John Coltrane, The Grateful Dead, etc.). This song was also covered by Santana. We play this song with Maracas. In the first part, we shake our Maracas while singing Jingoooo Jin-Go-, then hit them on the floor when we say Ba.
Babatunde Olatunji - Drums of Passion

Salt Peanuts - (2:33) This is a recording of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker playing a classic by Dizzy Gillespie. After the saxophone says "I'm feeling real hungry, now whatcha got?", we all answer: "Salt Peanuts, Salt Peanuts!". See if you can identify what instruments are soloing after the vocal part is over.
Dizzy Gillespie - Groovin' High

Lyrics:

High Low
High low, That's the way we go, High low, Walking through the snow, High low, That's the way we go, High low high low high low low low