Dance with the boogie, get down
In the first part of this series, we learned two lines you can play to fill the chorus to the song. The ‘A-ha, A-ha’ parts.
Now it’s time to learn the Intro Theme. This starts the song and is repeated towards the end. It’s not difficult. But like the rest of the song, you need to keep it funky!
Ok, ok, ok let’s boogie on down brothers and sisters.
Whatever it is, it’s got be funky!
Ok, ok, ok, disco time people! And here’s the groove to really lay it on. Get your harmonica chops ready for KC & The Sunshine Band….aaaah that’s the way, a-ha, a-ha, I like it, a-ha.
That’s The Way I Like It was a disco hit in 1975 when trousers were so flaired they called them bell-bottoms and the waist band came up so high you could count the buttons. In the summer time, a short trouser emerged which they named ‘hot pants’. And as for the shoes they called spoons…go ask grandad! But hey, whatever it was, as long as it was funky, it was cool. Now let’s go disco. (more…)
Let’s get together and feel all right
Here’s a great song to play in harmonica groups. One Love/People Get Ready was written by the great man of music and peace from Jamaica, Bob Marley.
Bob Marley’s musical style is called reggae. The reggae rhythm, or skank, uses the up-beat to create a relaxing and happy groove. We’ll be looking at this more closely in the final part of the series.
In this post we’re looking at the chorus of the song. So let’s get together and work out how a group of junior harmonica players can enjoy performing this cool instrumental. (more…)
Vegas is learning harmonica at school and she recently wrote a poem about it for the school forum. It’s great!
Other children at school have been writing their own tunes at break time and playing them in their music classes.
Why not try writing your own harmonica or musical poem too? Here’s Vegas’ harmonica poem.. (more…)
Near the village, the peaceful village
Welcome to part two of our African extravaganza! Last time we learned where the word Wimoweh comes from and what it means. We also learned about where the song was composed.
Now we’re going to look at how one player – a soloist – can perform the main melodies. Some parts sound slightly better on a 10 hole harmonica, others work fine on a 4 hole. Purple music is for four hole harmonicas. Orange music is for ten hole harmonicas. A number tells you which hole to play. D is draw (breath in). B is blow (breath out). We’re using harmonicas in the key of C major
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In the jungle, the mighty jungle
Welcome to our African extravaganza! Wimoweh comes from the Zulu word Mbube, meaning Lion. The song was composed and first recorded by Solomon Linda in South Africa in 1939. Most of us know it from Walt Disney’s film The Lion King.
Let’s look at how a group of harmonica players can perform the song. In this part, we’ll work on the rhythms. In part 2 we’ll look at the melodies, then in part 3 we’ll work out some extra fun parts to finish the job.
Some parts sound slightly better on a 10 hole harmonica, others work fine on a 4 hole. Purple music is for four hole harmonicas. Orange music is for ten hole harmonicas. A number tells you which hole to play. D is draw (breath in). B is blow (breath out). We’re using harmonicas in the key of C major (more…)
