In today’s lesson, we will recap what we have learnt so far and will apply our learning to four new songs. Let’s enjoy playing and making music together! 

The first song that we will play together is a simple nursery rhyme called ‘Rain, Rain Go Away’. When playing the song, pay attention to the lengths of the notes in particular in order to play the correct melody and rhythm simultaneously. There is also a new sign at the end of the song; the end line with two dots is a repeat sign and means that we need to play the song twice in a row. This is excellent practice in any case! You can have a good sing-along too. 

Rain, Rain Go Away

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C A CC A C C A D CC A /:

The bold letters are two beat minim letters and the thin letters are one beat crotchet notes.

The second song that we are playing together today follows a similar pattern to ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm’, but it is shorter and only has one beat crotchet notes in the melody line. Practice playing the song with a steady beat throughout. The bass clef lower notes can be played with the left hand mallet and the right hand treble clef notes with the right hand mallet. This song also has a repeat sign at the end of it, meaning that we need to play it at least twice in a row. 

There is also another new sign just before the repeat sign; this sign looks like a small lightning bolt. This is a rest sign for one beat, which means that we need to be silent for one beat before carrying on with the song. 

There are lyrics underneath the song; feel free to sing along once you get the hang of the melody! It is also fun to try and increase the speed of the song as you go along. 

One more aspect to consider is whether to play the song loudly or quietly. You can see the sign F and P at the start of the song. These are dynamic signs that indicate how the song is meant to be played. F means loud and P means quiet. This song is meant to be played loudly and so you can really go for it with strong ringing with the mallets. 

Once a Man Was So So Mad

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CCC G A A G

CC DD E D C /:

The bold letters are two beat minim letters and the thin letters are one beat crotchet notes.

The third song is a much slower and gentle song called ‘Let Me Fly’. The song should be played quietly and softly throughout and the tempo should be mellow and not rushed. There is also a repeat sign at the end of this song, indicating that the song should be played twice. 

Let Me Fly! 

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C A G G A C C C C E

C C A A G G A C C D D C/:

The bold letters are two beat minim letters and the thin letters are one beat crotchet notes.

The fourth and final song for today is ‘My Best Friend’. This song consolidates all of your learning from the past few lessons nicely. Enjoy & remember to sing about your own best friend!

My Best Friend

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CCC DE D CC DD C

A A A B C B

AA BB A

The bold letters are two beat minim letters and the thin letters are one beat crotchet notes.