MAY 2008

Everybody loves a parade! Spectators - young and old - enjoy colorful floats, strutting horses, classic cars, military units, fire trucks, clown brigades, and marching bands. Bands are a part of the American tradition, and their familiar music is likely to trigger many memories. Who can forget the sounds of a marching band delivering a rousing rendition of "The Stars and Stripes Forever"? Ask: What was the occasion? Were you with family and friends? How did the music make you feel?

There are a number of upcoming patriotic holidays, so it’s a good time to enjoy some activities on marching bands and their special brand of music, including marches and other patriotic tunes. Here are some suggestions to "strike up the band" and enjoy the occasion. (Note: Some activities are adapted from the ElderSong resource I Hear Music, a featured product for the month.)

  • Show a nostalgic photograph of a band and play sounds of a marching band outdoors. (Use I Hear Music, which features a photograph of three band members in uniforms playing on a city street.) Ask: Do you enjoy listening to marching bands? Name some occasions on which you have seen or listened to a marching band, e.g., parade, patriotic or political event, football half-time show, or pep rally.
  • Display an old high school band uniform and band sheet music. Ask: Did you ever play in a school band? Did you ever march in a special parade? Did your band enter any competitions? How difficult is it to march and play an instrument at the same time?
  • Invite a music teacher to demonstrate some of the instruments in a marching band. Ask: What instruments are used in a typical marching band? What is your favorite instrument to watch? Did you ever learn to play a musical instrument? Who taught you to play the instrument? Challenge your group to name instruments in the percussion, brass, and woodwinds families.
  • Reminisce about town parades in the 1950s and 1960s, featuring Drum and Bugle Corps sponsored by the American Legion and VFW. Describe your favorite hometown parade with a community band. Wave small American flags and sing "You’re a Grand Old Flag."
  • Play some of John Philip Sousa’s march music ("The Stars and Stripes Forever," "El Capitan," "Washington Post March") and march in place. (Use the CD John Philip Sousa: All-Time Favorites, which features the music of the "March King." See below.)
  • Watch the 1962 movie musical The Music Man, featuring the song "76 Trombones."
  • Reminisce about college marching bands and their inspiring half-time shows and pep rallies. Ask participants if they are familiar with the "Big Ten" or "High Step" marching style. Enjoy a CD of popular fight songs, such as "Anchors Aweigh" - U.S. Naval Academy, "The Victors" - University of Michigan, or "Notre Dame Victory March" - University of Notre Dame.
  • Show photographs of the Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps. Invite a historian to speak about the role of military music in the American Revolution. Listen to a fife favorite, "Yankee Doodle."
  • Listen to the official march of America, "The Stars and Stripes Forever." Share favorite memories of the Fourth of July holiday. Ask: What kind of patriotic music did you hear as you were growing up?
  • Highlight "The President’s Own," the United States Marine Band, founded in 1798 as a band of fifes and drums. Enjoy a CD of their marches and patriotic tunes. Ask participants to describe how the music makes them feel.
  • Host a party with a patriotic theme. Here are some suggested activities as part of that: Don Uncle Sam party hats; decorate bikes or wagons with red, white, and blue; strike up a band by marching with noise makers; compose an original patriotic song or poem; eat classic picnic foods; challenge your group to an American history trivia quiz.
  • Listen to Louis Armstrong’s rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In." Talk about the city of New Orleans and its rich tradition of jazz marching bands.
  • Learn some basic marching steps and conducting gestures from a local marching band drum major.
  • Ask participants if they enjoy marching bands with baton twirlers and majorettes. Arrange for a baton twirling demonstration.
  • Listen to the show tune "Strike Up the Band," composed by George and Ira Gershwin. Assemble a "kitchen band" and parade around the room.

For more ideas in planning your music and reminiscing groups, check out the latest ElderSong catalog. We’ve highlighted a few helpful resources below.

Continue to look for upcoming editions of this newsletter the last week of the month. Our newsletter contains useful information to make your job of working with older adults more fulfilling. In this issue, you’ll find:








REMEMBERING MARCHING BAND DAYS

Music can transport us back in time and evoke special memories. ElderSong’s multi-sensory resource I Hear Music: Sharing Memories of Music Through Vintage Sounds, Historical Photographs, and Discussion Materials is uniquely designed to trigger musical memories. The three-part set features 20 topics for reminiscing, including Singing at Home, Family Band, School Band, Church Music, Music at Camp, Square Dancing, Theatricals, Radio, Patriotic Music, Ballroom Dancing, Swing Dancing and Big Bands, Juke Box, and more! Simply pass around a photograph, play a musical excerpt from the CD, and ask the questions given in the activity guide. The resource includes the following items:

  • Compact disk with 20 sound vignettes, about a minute each;

  • 20 historical black-and-white photographs that correspond to the sounds;

  • Activity guide with discussion questions, song and prop suggestions, and related activity ideas for the 20 music topics.

Of special interest for this month’s theme of marching band days are sections on School Band, Patriotic Music, and Marching Bands. Sample School Band discussion questions: Did you play in a band at school? At what age did you start? Did your family or the school provide the instrument? Did you ever attend band camp? What do you remember about your band director? As a bonus supplement, you’ll find music trivia and music humor to round off a reminiscing session.

If you’re looking for some patriotic toe-tapping music for your group, try the 3-CD set John Philip Sousa: All-Time Favorites . Sousa was a conductor, composer, and arranger of American band music. During his career, he led the U.S. Marine Band and his own civilian band, the Sousa Band. The "March King" will have participants on their feet, clapping and cheering! The CD features America’s national march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever," and other favorites such as "Washington Post March," "El Capitan," "Hands Across the Sea," "Zampa Overture," "You’re My Baby Medley," "High School Cadets," "The Pathfinder of Panama," "Light Calvary," "The Blue Danube Waltz," and 26 more!

Ready to explore new ways to add music to your activities programming? Try some music games and trivia. The resource Say It With Music: Music Games and Trivia features 28 music trivia quizzes, 5 match games, 27 musical games, and 7 music activities. Trained musicians as well as those without any musical background can use the activities. Here’s a sample of the quiz titles: Claim to Fame, Clues to Musicians, Music in History, Theme and Signature Songs, Classical Music Trivia, Musical Nicknames, and What Song Is That? Add some fun with some music games and activities: Singo or Musical Bingo, Kitchen Band, Musical Pictionary, Musical Wheel of Fortune, Musical Spelling Bee, Name That Tune (with 10 variations), Memories of Music, and lots more!

You can adapt some of the music games to fit the theme of marching bands. Try Music Instrument Charades (pantomime the playing of a marching band musical instrument); Kitchen Band (assemble a band from items found in the kitchen and accompany with march music); Name That Tune (play excerpts from patriotic music and challenge participants to guess the name of the song).






MUSIC TRIVIA QUIZ

Here’s a trivia quiz on the topic of music. (Note: Some questions are taken from the ElderSong resource Say It With Music: Music Games and Trivia.) You’ll find some questions related to the theme of "marching band" music. You can use them as a tool for recalling musical memories as well.

  1. Who invented the Sousaphone? John Philip Sousa
  2. What famous band did John Philip Sousa direct before starting his own band? U.S. Marine Band
  3. What kind of instrument is the fife? A small flute
  4. What instrument is used to play "Reveille" and "Taps"? Bugle
  5. What is the common name for the tympani? Kettle drum
  6. What song, from the musical play The Music Man, is about a marching band? "76 Trombones"
  7. What is a glockenspiel? A set of bells
  8. What is the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps? "Semper Fidelis"
  9. Which classic march is usually played at graduation ceremonies? Elgar’s "Pomp and Circumstance"
  10. What does a drum major use to conduct a marching band? Baton or mace





    FEATURED PRODUCTS FOR MAY - 15% off

    I Hear Music: Sharing Memories of Music Through Vintage Sounds, Historical Photographs, and Discussion Materials - 20-track CD, 20 large photos, 34-page activity guide. Regular price $37.95. Online sale price $32.25.

    John Philip Sousa: All-Time Favorites . - 87 minutes on 3 CDs. Regular price $27.95. Online sale price $23.75.

    Say It With Music: Music Games and Trivia - 59-page book. Regular price $11.50. Online sale price $9.75.






    THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

    "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson




    The ElderSong online newsletter is written by Sue Hansen.
    Copyright © 2008, ElderSong Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.