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Description:
I improvised this song out of desperation last year. Today, the last day of school, I asked my students to request favorite songs. THIS was at the top of the charts of both first grade classes! Who knew? The students remembered the words and (kind of) the melody, and then I remembered the chord progression. I set up the laptop to record really quick, and now, you are the first lucky persons to hear 'Stand Up, Sit Down' outside of the primary wing of Nasonville school. If you have noisy kids who need a little movement & music, try this song out and see how it works for you.
Lyrics:
Stand up, sit down,
Stand up, sit down,
Stand up, sit down,
Stand up, sit down,
Pretend you're asleep,
Pretend you're asleep,
Stretch your arms and wake up,
Stretch your arms and wake up,
Stretch your arms and wake up!
Stand up, sit down,
Stand up, sit down,
Stand up, sit down,
Stand up, sit down,
Hardware:
PowerBook G4
internal mic
Software:
GarageBand
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This is a cute little song! &mdash 06/09/07 - 01:42:57 AM
You also have a lovely voice and must be an amazing teacher as well. Thanks for sharing. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for stopping by, &mdash 06/09/07 - 08:14:08 AM
I've found that I sing better when I have a guitar in front of me for protection. Also, when I have 45 first graders hopping up and down and shouting in front of me. The kids really do enjoy doing all of the actions in the song, and it is fun to watch them and listen to them do this song. [ Reply to This ]
Thanks &mdash 06/09/07 - 05:45:58 AM
hey Mungo! &mdash 06/09/07 - 08:19:14 AM
Energy &mdash 06/09/07 - 06:49:16 AM
The kids sound like they are really getting into the song. This must have been very fun for them. Sounds like just the thing primary kids. Do you have something for High School Seniors? Thanks for sharing. [ Reply to This ]
It is great to be able.. &mdash 06/09/07 - 08:57:57 AM
to channel energy that might otherwise explode into chaos. I've been teaching this age group for 14 years at this school. I'm not sure I could handle high school seniors in the same way, but you never know! Thanks for listening and commenting. [ Reply to This ]
Wonderful fun! &mdash 06/09/07 - 10:35:00 AM
I can tell that both you and the children had a lot of fun with this song. I wonder how many of them will be influenced by their experiences with their teacher, to some day pick up a guitar.
God bless and thank you for sharing this gem,
Rick [ Reply to This ]
Hi, Rick, &mdash 06/09/07 - 03:50:23 PM
Yes, we had a lot of fun with this. Before I saved it to iTunes, we listened to ourselves singing with the 'mousevoice' 'helium breath' and 'deeper voice' vocal settings in GarageBand, which was a real hoot, too. Great school year ending activity all around. Thanks for listening and commenting! [ Reply to This ]
Me too &mdash 08/05/07 - 09:14:46 PM
I've done that too, with GarageBand on my MacBook. A year ago I bought my MacBook to do all the things that were either forbidden or hard to get permission for, or hard to get support for. Like GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto. It was money very well spent. And I spent a week last spring demoing GarageBand on our overhead "TVAtor" in my classroom. I think I sold a lot of kids on Macs that week. I especially enjoyed showing them PhotoBooth on the overheard TV. What fun! --- My NEW 2007 jazz piano CD on the iTunes Music Store. [ Reply to This ]
desperation improvisation &mdash 06/09/07 - 10:44:23 AM
now THERE's a genre!
how nice to hear your voice! the kids are great, with the amazing energy that only kids have. good job of riding herd on their enthusiasm - and giving us something we don't normally get. enjoyed the song - anne [ Reply to This ]
PS &mdash 06/09/07 - 11:44:18 AM
the photo &mdash 06/09/07 - 04:08:18 PM
Thanks for noticing the 'stunning' new photo. My grandma had this hanging in her house 'til she went into the nursing home, and I just found it while cleaning out the attic. I took my cue from the two of you! [ Reply to This ]
desperation improvisation - &mdash 06/09/07 - 04:05:14 PM
is actually what I spend a great deal of my life doing. You're right, there should be a category with this name! I'm actually a pretty darn good herd rider, but I need to do something novel with them on the last day to keep them tamed, and this was perfect. I'm glad you enjoyed it! [ Reply to This ]
I can't help but smile. &mdash 06/10/07 - 04:05:47 AM
I wish I had had more teachers who were musically inclined. You do have a great voice. And you must be doing something right with those kids musically speaking because rhythmically they are right on the money! [ Reply to This ]
Thanks for listening. &mdash 06/10/07 - 07:21:32 PM
They are a musical bunch of kids! I don't play my guitar in class very often, only five or six days a year, so when I pull it out, some of the kids go hopping around saying "she's getting out the guitar, SHE'S GETTING OUT HER GUITAR, shhh, shh, sit down you guys, we're doing songs with the guitar, today." and they are, like, ready to explode with excitement. It does make for a high energy performance! Thanks for noticing their rhythmic accuracy. Although they weren't really singing, they were on cue! [ Reply to This ]
What a great teacher you must be! &mdash 06/10/07 - 06:52:57 AM
Not only teaching them music, but writing songs for them that they will remember all their lives. They'll probably sing that to their own children someday. The last day of school... If you can do that, you can do anything. Kristy, you have a very lovely voice. :-) [ Reply to This ]
Thanks, Roxy, &mdash 06/10/07 - 11:43:54 PM
I'm glad you got to stop by and listen. I really am lucky to work in a school where there is a climate that lets kids enjoy learning. It's not about prizes, or ease, or even 'fun'. but learning is valued by students, parents & staff. I know there are many schools like that, but I also know there are many schools that AREN'T like that. This climate lets us feel comfortable creating and performing for each other - teachers as well as students. I just hope that comfort level travels with the students as they move on.
Thanks for the lovely comment on my voice. I had some problems with it over the last year and a half, and truly thought it would never come back, but little by little, it's getting stronger, and tuning accuracy is coming back, too. [ Reply to This ]
Wish &mdash 06/10/07 - 08:09:27 AM
you'd been my music teacher - When I was that age I had a middle-aged lady who played the piano and Seekers records (well it was a long time ago I guess - and the fact I can remember her so well shows how important music is at this age). Sounds like all the kids are really enjoying themselves. Love the tune too!
Peter [ Reply to This ]
Times have changed - &mdash 06/10/07 - 11:57:06 PM
I'm a middle-aged lady who plays piano and my iPod for the kids. (hint - if you're looking for instant 'cool status' for any kind of audio, put it on an iPod and plug it into a stereo system to play for the kids. It works for me.) I've branched out a lot, though, and do drumming and Orff with the students, too. The guitar is always a fave, but they get into singing with recorder, too. I think students will get 'into' any kind of music that is presented intelligently with enthusiasm. Thanks for your your listening ear and your comments. [ Reply to This ]
I can imagine &mdash 06/11/07 - 09:54:29 AM
a teacher with an iPod must be really cool - all we had was an ancient mono record player - but then it was 1967...! [ Reply to This ]
Hey! &mdash 06/10/07 - 09:08:57 AM
Where were you when I was in grade school Kristine? My teachers were all drill sargeants! Way to go! Lucky kids...
Be well! [ Reply to This ]
Hey, Michael - &mdash 06/11/07 - 09:32:17 PM
Let's see - when you were in grade school, I suspect I was that little girl in my new icon pic. I really hope I'm a better elementary music teacher than the music teachers I had; one was a nervous older woman who had an alchoholic husband, the next two or three came and went within a year or two, the next one was an extremely immature man who mysteriously left after he showed more attention than necessary to a Jr. High girl. It's a wonder I can carry a tune in a bucket. Oh well, that's the past. Thanks for listening & for your comments. [ Reply to This ]
Wowwww... &mdash 06/10/07 - 03:56:18 PM
...how could you not absolutely love this, Kristy?
So sorry it's the end of school and you can't go back to your class and tell them how much I enjoyed this...
Thanks, Kristy. And enjoy your summer. Sounds like the kids love you... [ Reply to This ]
Hey - you enjoy your summer, too! &mdash 06/12/07 - 02:57:47 PM
I'm teaching a couple of three week summer school courses. (Drum circle for kids and Make your own drum for teens). but otherwise I muck out the house, play in civic band, and generally re-energize for next school year.
I'll tell the kids next year that you enjoyed it! [ Reply to This ]
ToTY &mdash 06/11/07 - 10:26:45 AM
What a fun piece of interactive music to focus their attention... thank you for sharing this bit of "musical-exercise" with us! Sounds like it was a lot more fun than Hanon exercises!
ttfn,
Drakonis [ Reply to This ]
I love songs with motions, &mdash 06/12/07 - 03:03:41 PM
So I guess it makes sense for me to write a song that's almost all motion. We did it today sitting on the floor, so it was a long way up and a long way down. I'm glad you enjoyed it more than the Hanon exercises, and I hope you did the actions with us! Thanks for listening! [ Reply to This ]
Hello! &mdash 06/12/07 - 11:10:47 AM
I feellike I should send you money!
I just tried this song with a bunch of Kindergarteners and they LOVED it!
You truly have a gift for composing children's music.
~Brian Weiland [ Reply to This ]
Glad you tried it with a 'test audience' &mdash 06/12/07 - 11:30:26 PM
just wondering - did you play and sing it with them, or did you use the recording of me & my kids? I'm glad the kids enjoyed it. I'm sure you made them do the actions, right? Thanks for letting me know that they had fun with it! [ Reply to This ]
Kristyjo (of the amazingly cute new picture!) &mdash 06/13/07 - 05:31:18 AM
I played the guitar and we sang it ourselves. And oh yeah, did we ever do the motions! They just LOVED it!
Two things that as a music teacher you may be amused/intriqued by: I did this song with two classes yesterday and both times when we got to the "pretend you're asleep" part there were some students who tried to "sleepwalk" and keep moving. This reminded me of Jim Gill of "The Sneezing Song" and The Washing Machine" fame. He deliberately writes movement songs with fast and slow sections because he works with autistic children for whom switching from big moveements to small movements or from movement to resting is a huge challenge. I think your song would also be great for that purpose.
Also, the second time I tried the song they didn't want it to end so, in the great spirit of "desperation composition" in between "stand up/sit downs" I threw in "pretend you're a frog" and they had such fun hopping around that we went through a bunch more animals, including butterfly and crab and dinosaur. 'Twas great fun!
~Brian
---
Peace Through Music [ Reply to This ]
Rock on! &mdash 06/13/07 - 11:20:29 AM
Really nice, Kristyjo!
What a great way to "warm up" a room of kids! Nice dynamics. Nicely sung!
Doug [ Reply to This ]
Thanks, Doug! &mdash 06/13/07 - 09:29:57 PM
childish, perhaps, but... &mdash 06/15/07 - 11:45:29 PM
Wow, Smokey &mdash 06/16/07 - 12:44:17 PM
now I feel like some philosopher, but, you're right, by gum, it does remind me in a subtle way of what life is like, sometimes. Thanks for listening! [ Reply to This ]
Stand up... &mdash 06/17/07 - 11:53:06 PM
...What a blessing for your students to have a teacher who writes music for them that they can actually perform. They must love coming to your class. The more of your things I hear, the more I understand how you "imagine" your music. It all seems so very accessible and that's where the magic lies. ... I just left a note for you on "Organic Silk" as well. Another well-conceived number with some really great percussion orchestration as counterpoint. ... Take a look... I am really enjoying the breadth of your work. There's always a surprise waiting...and a delightful one at that.
Paul [ Reply to This ]
This is great! &mdash 08/05/07 - 09:11:01 PM
Kristy, this is a great track! I love hearing your kids sing. This is a home-run song. It is inspiring me to try my own little variation of it this fall.
Wait a minute -- August is not Fall, last I checked. Oh well, "Fall" is a euphemism for August 13th (first day of kids), I suppose.
[ Reply to This ]
EEK- August 13th! &mdash 08/06/07 - 07:19:14 AM
Wisconsin passed a state law not allowing us to have students in classes before Labor Day. Right now, I like that law!
I'm glad you enjoyed the song - and that you have your new Mac laptop available to use in class. We have a Bondi blue imac and a G3 snow white iMac in the music classrooms I use, so the laptop comes with me to school a lot. I'm not allowed to get on the internet with it at school, though. (Our technology director is one of those guys who sees his job as 'don't let them try anything new', especially with technology that he doesn't personally use.)
Have fun in school this year! [ Reply to This ]
;) &mdash 08/10/07 - 11:24:21 PM
What a nice find.
I love kids singing.
I can feel there enthusiasm!
Refreshing and honest,both singing and playing.
thanks for sharing, this
is a treasure!
I'm gonna learn it to me for to play for my chilrens
They are going to wov it.
They can be loud and shout n stuff.
peace
[ Reply to This ]
Thanks for stopping and listening. &mdash 08/11/07 - 12:48:24 AM
I'm nearing the end of a summer break, and am starting the preparation for next year's classes. It's nice to know that you enjoyed the song, and will be sharing it with other kids, too. [ Reply to This ]
Genius &mdash 09/17/07 - 05:29:36 PM
When I taught preschool, I think it was...
soap and water, scrub, scrub, scrub
soap and water, scrub, scrub, scrub...
hee hee. [ Reply to This ]
Cool- &mdash 09/17/07 - 09:46:54 PM
I thought ALL preschool teachers sang, because kids learn so much at that age by singing. Your 'Soap and Water' song is a good example. But, I found out that many teachers don't sing, and that is kind of sad. I'm glad that YOU have been carrying on the tradition! [ Reply to This ]
Hehehehhe ( 8 ) &mdash 12/01/07 - 03:51:16 PM
: ) &mdash 12/01/07 - 04:00:58 PM
What first struck me was Your beautiful voice ! I bet the kids had this as a Fav ! 6yearolds? In Sweden a Musicteacher started using hiphop in his class/lessons with GREAT success - for the Kids developement ! Amazing what Music can do & does to People . How fortunate for the Children in school to have You as a Teacher -not only of Music perhaps ? [ Reply to This ]
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