I'm A Little Teapot - ensemble playing for beginners

Need a nice piece of ensemble music that your very youngest beginners can join in on?

This arrangement is super easy! The first part (sun part) is a cute little British children's song called "I'm A Little Teapot":

Students who have played their instrument for a year or so should be able to play this without problems. If your group consists of complete beginners only, why not sing the first part instead of playing it?

The second part (moon part) is meant for those who have only just started putting fingers on the string - notes on the D string only, and mostly the same rhythm as the melody.

Then there is the third part (star part), which follows the same rhythm as the second part, but on open strings only.

In other words: This piece is super easy to play, and super easy to learn by ear! It's from a book called "First Lesson Orchestra", available on Sheet Music Plus. This book contains eleven pieces for ensemble playing with absolute beginners. Some of them are even easier than this one! And some have first parts that are a bit more challenging. The download contains parts for both cello and violin, which may be mixed as needed. It's also provided with chords for accompaniment. Check it out here!

 

PS: If you haven't seen Benedict Cumberbatch perform I'm A Little Teapot - 

well, you should, that's all I'm saying 😁

You're welcome!

Listen to Pterodactyl Polka from The Dino Dances!

Another one of my Dino dances for junior strings:

This is the last movement, the Pterodactyl Polka! 😃


Download the whole suite, complete with score and parts, at Sheet music Plus

Listen to Tyrannosaurus Tango from The Dino Dances!

I've been having fun with iMovie recently, and here's one of the results:

 

This is of course one of the movements from my Dino Dances for children's string orchestra (see this blog post from 2012), and one of my most popular pieces ever! Hope you liked my little animation 😄

"Reinlender" - traditional dance from Northern Norway

This traditional fiddle tune is from the area where I live, quite close to where the Arctic Circle crosses Norway. It's a popular dance as played by the local fiddler Mikal Rabliås, which I have arranged for a combined junior/youth orchestra with a very easy open string part. That way everyone can join in!

The Violin 1 and Cello 1 parts provide some challenges to the youth players, whereas the violin 3 (Viola) and Cello 2 parts avoid any streching, and so are suitable for less experienced players. The open string part is written in treble clef with violin in mind, but is equally playable on the viola or cello.

Hope you enjoy this festive tune! :)

 

One elephant – or more!

This arrangement was made as a part of The Double Bass Project, but for a spesific concert with both junior and youth orchestra members playing together in one big orchestra.

The unusual thing about this particular orchestra was that it had 5 – five! – double bass players, which, let me tell you, is no common occurence in our small town. We had two of my cellists-turned-bassists, one junior bassist, one youth bassist, and the bass teacher. I really wanted a piece with which to show off this incredible bass section, and this Danish elephant march was the result. Well – I'm not the first to cast the double bass in the role of the elephant...

We actually had the whole bass section stand in front of the orchestra for this piece, and it seemed to me that it was very popular!

As this piece is meant to be played by musicians of varying ages and abilities, some of the parts are super easy (Violin 3, Cello 2 and Double bass 2 can all be played on open strings), some are just easy, and some – notably the Violin 1 part – require more experienced students.

I include the beginners' part, Violin 3 and Cello 2 (in Norwegian only, sorry!), which is basically rhythms on the open A string.