Eric,
I'm excited about it! I'll start on it as soon as I finish the one
I'm working on now for Kindergartners to learn some simple facts about
certain jobs listed in the SOLs. I discovered that the background music
minimized some of the annoying noise when recording in my "studio" - a mic
by the screen of my computer with the music coming from the other side of
the monitor.
I really think that music should be incorporated into instruction.
Picking music to go with subjects is fun, tho your caveat on copyright
reminded me that I cannot keep the background of "Doctor" as A Spoonful of
Sugar, since I've heard that Disney tends to growl and stab over
copyrights. I, of course, have no money to spend, it's keeping myself
busy - between jobs - learning new software.
Yankee Doodle is on a midi of unknown origin downloaded from
somewhere a few years ago. Perhaps George Washington will be good to start
with. I found a CD bought in Charlottesville some years ago with music from
the Revolutionary period. Most of it obscure to my untrained eye. Could be
useful if I get to Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson ... if it pays to
continue the project.
Glad you mentioned water drums. The Native American music I bought
at local Pow-Wows doesn't include Eastern tribe music. One is the Lakota,
and the other lists songs about the buffalo. I do have a video made at a
Pow-Wow, if I can figure out how to get it from the tv to the computer and
snatch pieces without me talking over the music. I don't know if they were
water drums. There was a three large drum configuration at the Pow-Wow on
the reservation up the road from West Point. I think I will need to do some
searching for Pocahontas, but I may just use a bird background until I find
the right stuff. The links you provided for the court when Pocahontas was
there look like they could be helpful in finding something to supplement
pictures of that time of her life.
Christopher Columbus looks like another adventure ... I really
would like to find something used by sailors or in seaside taverns, etc. of
the time. Somehow chamber music and choral pieces don't suggest the
adventure involved.
Thanks for the rest of the links. I'm sure they will be helpful as
I create multi-media for the kids.
Anne
At 12:52 PM 9/16/02 -0400, you wrote:
>Hi, Anne--
>
>What a marvelous project! I've long thought that period music should
>better be incorporated into classroom and other educational
>settings. (See caveat below)
>
>Here are a couple of sites that might help you out; the titles on the
>sites might give you a place to start (even if you can't find the specific
>CDs or works referenced):
>
>Music from the Time of Christopher Columbus
>http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/cds/phi32821.htm
>
>Music of the Court of King James VI (James I of England)--for Pocahontas
>in court
>http://www.music.gla.ac.uk/HTMLFolder/Resources/SMIC/html/James.html
>
>There's an enormous range of musical styles when it comes to Native
>American music--the drums and flutes of the Southern Plains tribes, for
>instance, are very different from the drones and semitones of the music of
>the Pacific Northwest. The music of the Powhatan Confederacy seems to
>have concentrated on the use of the water drum. If you can't narrow in on
>traditional native music of Virginia (you might contact members of the
>Nansemond, Mattaponi or other local nations), I would try to find
>recordings of eastern woodlands tribal music.
>
>I suspect that Sailor's Hornpipe (or College Hornpipe) dates from a period
>later than Columbus, though I have no hard proof. It strikes my ear as
>sounding like it comes from the British Isles rather than Italy or Spain.
>
>There is quite a lot of music available from the period of the Revolution,
>both Loyalist and American, that can be categorized as field music (e.g.
>fifes and drums), secular chamber music (e.g. Haydn), sacred music, dance
>music, ballads, etc. Yankee Doodle is today probably the most famous
>piece of field music from the time and would certainly be appropriate. It
>would certainly get instant recognition. If you wanted something a bit
>more obscure, you might contact Colonial Williamsburg or the U.S. Army's
>Old Guard Fife & Drum Corps about other possibilities.
>
>Finally, some general resources for American popular music through the years:
>
>American Music Timeline
>http://www.infoplease.com/spot/musictime1.html
>
>Popular Songs in American History
>http://www.contemplator.com/america/
>
>American Popular Music Before 1900
>http://www.nhmccd.cc.tx.us/contracts/lrc/kc/music-1.html
>
>The caveat to all the above is the fact that you have to be careful about
>incorporating copyrighted material into "public performances," which
>typically include websites, classrooms, and educational material available
>for sale. Most recorded musical performances are copyrighted even if the
>song performed is traditional. However, I'm not much of an expert on this
>so I would suggest consulting with someone who is. Best idea is to get
>permission from the holder of the copyright!
>
>Hope this helps.
>
>All my best,
>
>--Eric
>
>Eric D. M. Johnson
>Proprietor
>The Village Factsmith Historical Research & Consulting
>http://www.factsmith.com/
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Anne Pemberton
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Monday, September 16, 2002 11:08 AM
> Subject: Background Music for Famous Americans
>
>
> Folks and especially Randy Cabell,
>
> I've recently learned how to make instructional applications in
> Macromedia Flash. This allows me to include graphics, animations plus a
> sound track which is compressed to a 1/10 the size of the original wave
> file. I've been experimenting with playing the music low and narrating over
> the music. I'd like to start converting my current Famous American pages at
> http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer to Flash presentations so that
> primary children don't need someone to read the information to them. I'd
> like to use appropriate background music.
>
> Would the Sailor's Hornpipe be appropriate background for
> Christopher Columbus? I have some Native American CD's with interesting
> drums. Would that be good for Pocahontas? What music could represent her
> visit to the Court of England? What about George Washington? Would Yankee
> Doodle be good, or can you suggest some other lively music from his time?
> I'm kinda partial to midi music, but suggestions for CD's are welcome
> as well.
>
> If someone knows of a good music history site that can provide
> help on this project, I'd appreciate it as well.
>
> Thanks for your consideration and help.
>
> Anne
>
>
> Anne Pemberton
> [log in to unmask]
>
> http://www.erols.com/stevepem
> http://www.geocities.com/apembert45
> http://66.92.112.50/edu
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
>
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Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]
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