Make Your Own Chinese New Year Music - (for kids of all ages)
by Paul Smith - Feb 12, 2010
On Feb. 14, 2010, the Chinese Year of the Tiger begins. The Chinese New Year is a celebration of renewal and optimism, and is marked by many charming and colorful customs.
For non-Chinese neighbors, this is also a good opportunity to appreciate their rich cultural heritage. If you're fortunate to live close to a metropolitan area like San Francisco, you can take in the Chinese New Year Parade. Many schools, libraries, and museums also have special events planned around this Spring holiday.
Something that I would like to share, as a music teacher, is a project that allows you and your family to play and write your own music for Chinese New Year. No previous musical experience is necessary but, it is helpful to have a piano or electronic keyboard and some noise makers handy - drums, shakers, pots, pans, etc.
Click on the link above to hear a "Chinese New Year Music" song written and recorded by young musicians in San Jose, CA last year.
The notes and rhythms from the class, who followed the musical exercises below, were transcribed and then played into a MIDI keyboard recorder to create the sounds you hear now.
So Easy - Just Play the Black Keys
Even very small children can play with pointer fingers (like "chopsticks") on the piano.
If you use your "chopsticks" fingers to play only the black keys on the piano, then you are also playing a Chinese music scale:
Instant Duet Fun
Try having one young musician use their two "chopsticks" to play only the black keys up high (the right side of the keyboard) while another plays a steady F# (F sharp) rhythm on the low keys. You should immediately hear the Chinese "wind chime" music scale come to life.
In order to find that "F#" note (which in this case is our primary "bass" key), look at your piano to see the alternating 2-black-key group and 3-black-key group all the way up the keyboard. The first black key in the 3-black-key group is the F#. Pick the first or second F# from the left of the keyboard to get that low tone going.
As long as everybody just hits the black keys, there are no wrong notes.
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Paul Smith is a musician and teacher from Silicon Valley, USA.
Please visit and contact at: www.paulzwebz.com
