Kindergrass Four Songs Composed for Children with Poems by Shel Silverstein

by Forrest Marowitz

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Bachelor of Arts (Music)

Colorado College

March 12, 2013

Approved by Date Ofer Ben-Amots

Date Victoria Lindsay Levine

Date Diana Anderson 2

Kindergrass Four Songs Composed for Children with Poems by Shel Silverstein

For my capstone project, I have set four poems by Shel Silverstein to music for children.

This project combines two areas of study, music composition and music education. Raising the standard for music education in America is a strong personal interest, and my overall goal is to compose educational as well as entertaining music for young children. Each song is interactive in some way, and has been recorded with the help of both professional musicians and young children. This paper describes how I created the project, from composing the songs to learning musical pedagogy. The paper is presented in five sections. The first section introduces general music education for young children, followed by a biography of Shel Silverstein and analyses of the four poems I selected. The third section discusses children’s albums, while the fourth section describes the composition and recording process I underwent during this project. A conclusion section revisits the objectives of my project as well as summarizes my experiences during this time.

Music Education For Young Children

At its basic level, educating children in music is not much different from educating adults. In fact, since children have a higher propensity for learning new information than adults, it would seem natural for people to be exposed to music theory at a young age. For both children and adults, the basic structure for learning music is the same. However, the way in which musical concepts are taught to children is completely different from the way music is taught to adults.

According to Michon Rozmajzl and Rene Boyer-White in Music Fundamentals,

Methods, and Materials for the Elementary Classroom Teacher (1990), these elements can be 3 separated into several categories. Children are taught everything from the definition of a beat and reading simple rhythmic patterns to singing in simple harmony (Rozmajzl and Boyer-White

1990: 3). In accordance with the national standards for music education, children are supposed to be able to “sing independently, on pitch and in rhythm, with appropriate timbre, diction, and posture, and maintain a steady tempo” (Bluestine 2000: 6). Just as in learning a language, children learn these concepts most efficiently from a mixture of listening, reading, and writing.

Music is learned sound-before-sight, although once children’s aural skills improve, “their reading and listening skills will reinforce each other” (Bluestine 2000: 39).

Children learning how to read melodies are taught the concept known as skip, step, and repeat; every note in music is a skip, a step, or a repeated note, which makes reading music easier. The music used to teach children includes songs accompanied by the piano or guitar, based on simple chord structures, mostly with movement from the tonic to the dominant. These songs feature simple, catchy melodies, with chord progressions that often repeat with different lyrics, similar to popular nursery rhymes and traditional folk tunes. Often, music taught to children in the classroom has a deep cultural connection, and different songs are learned depending on the season or holiday.

Rhythm and beat are taught to children by patching. When patching, one uses both hands in a crossing motion to count out each beat in a measure. Note values are taught using a series of one-syllable sounds that represent different values. A “ta” represents a quarter note or rest, a “ti- ti” eighth note or rest, and a “ti-ri-ti-ri” a sixteenth note or rest. Children are even taught triplets at a young age, using “tri-o-la” or “tri-pa-let” as a counting method. On paper, simple stick notation is used to represent these values (Rozmajzl and Boyer-White 1990:7-14). 4

After they have grasped these concepts, children are taught the grand staff and other aspects of

Western notation. However, the most important idea in teaching music to children is to make the learning process fun. Presenting information in an aurally and visually stimulating way helps ensure that children are not being simply entertained by music; making children sing, play, and dance to music in the classroom will help them internalize concepts. A main reason I chose Shel

Silverstein as my librettist for this project was his passion for making learning fun and not a chore.

Shel Silverstein and His Poetry

Shel Silverstein had a long and illustrious career in the arts, and was influential in several art mediums. Born on September 25, 1930, Silverstein grew up a fairly unsocial child who spent most of his time reading, writing, and sketching comics. He had a deep love for books, although never had enough money to satisfy his thirst for reading. The son of hardworking Jewish immigrants, Silverstein spent most of his youth in the library, sketching comics and writing short stories to go with them. He lived in a world of fantasy and developed a unique imagination that, unfortunately, created even more distance between himself and others. His father more or less rejected his desire to explore the world, and pushed him to join the family business and lead a banal life in the suburbs. His grades were mediocre at best, and after graduating from high school, he began studying art at the University of Illinois and the Art Institute of Chicago.

However, institutionalized education and Silverstein’s wild imagination did not mesh, and he dropped out due to poor grades. 5

In 1953, Silverstein was drafted into the army, and was “assigned to the Pacific Stars and

Stripes to paste up stories and photo features for the paper” (Mercier 1975: no page). This was

Silverstein’s first publishing break, although he spent most of his time outside sketching comics.

These comics helped him land a job at Playboy magazine after the war, and he began to publish small books and cartoons. This was Silverstein’s first big break, and from there he flourished as a renaissance man in the art world. He wrote hit singles for famous musicians, such as “A Boy

Named Sue,” one of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits. He published books for both children and adults including The Giving Tree (1964), which remains a light in the world of children's literature.

Silverstein even dabbled in the theater, and wrote mostly one-act plays. But throughout his prolific career, Silverstein never lost his creative spirit.

Silverstein was a nonconformist. This shines through his work, and adults often enjoy his books as much as children. In fact, Silverstein disdained most work at the time that was written for children. In the 1960s “there was a trend toward having the illustrations in children’s books look like children drew them” (Rogak 2007: 66). Silverstein understood that what children crave is detail: “Kids want detail. I love Dr. Seuss and kids love Dr. Seuss because there are details.

There are things happening in the drawings. If you can’t draw any better than a kid, he doesn’t want to see that” (Rojak 2007: 68). When criticized for his work straddling genres, Silverstein explained that “I would hope that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with in my books, pick up one and experience a personal sense of discovery” (Mercier 1975: no page). Fittingly, personal discovery is a theme that permeates Silverstein’s work, especially his poetry.

Silverstein’s poetry is sporadic, unpredictable, and funny. His three books of poetry,

Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), and Falling Up (1996), all maintain 6 a level of intelligent silliness that defines Silverstein’s style. His characters are imaginative, his topics are unpredictable, and he often takes liberties with the English language. In choosing poems to set to music, I tried to both consider the quality of the poem and its potential as a song.

The first poem I chose, “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” is one of Silverstein’s more formal poems, and also one of his most famous:

There is a place where the sidewalk ends And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white, And there the sun burns crimson bright, And there the moon-bird rests from his flight To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black And the dark street winds and bends. Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And watch where the chalk-white arrows go To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go, For the children, they mark, and the children, they know The place where the sidewalk ends. (Silverstein 1974: 64)

This poem demonstrates Silverstein’s ability to appeal to both children and adults. His language is sophisticated and evokes otherwordly images. Conjuring moon-birds and asphalt

flowers is certainly fun for children, yet has a deeper meaning for adults. In this poem,

Silverstein urges adults to remember the innocence and beauty inherent in the world of children.

He implores his adult readers to “leave this place where the smoke blows black” and re discover the world where children live, the place where the sidewalk ends. Even though adult life may involve many hardships and responsibilites, Silverstein believes one should never forget how to laugh, play, and imagine. 7

The second poem I chose is a fantastic story with a moral. It tells of Jimmy Jet, the boy who due to an obsession with cable broadcasting, turned into a television set:

I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet -- And you know what I tell you is true. He loved to watch his TV set Almost as much as you. He watched all day, he watched all night Till he grew pale and lean, From "The Early Show" to "The Late Late Show" And all the shows between. He watched till his eyes were frozen wide, And his bottom grew into his chair. And his chin turned into a tuning dial, And antennae grew out of his hair. And his brains turned into TV tubes, And his face to a TV screen. And two knobs saying "VERT." and "HORIZ." Grew where his ears had been. And he grew a plug that looked like a tail So we plugged in little Jim. And now instead of him watching TV We all sit around and watch him. (Silverstein 1974: 28-29)

The story comments on excessive television viewing. By writing “he loved to watch his TV set almost as much as you,” Silverstein challenges children to compare themselves to Jimmy Jet, and heed the dangers of watching too much television. The mental images that this poem creates are fun for children and adults alike, since the problem of a child “glued” to the television is fairly common.

Another emotion Silverstein explores in his poetry is fear. Many of his poems revolve around dark or scary characters and events. In “Bear in There” the main character is a fearsome polar bear locked inside a refrigerator. Silverstein’s language is particularly musical in this poem, due to the rhyme scheme and syllable count in each line: 8

5 There's a polar bear Scheme 1 5 In our Frigidaire— 8 He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.

6 With his seat in the meat Scheme 2 6 And his face in the fish 6 And his big hairy paws 6 In the buttery dish, 6 He's nibbling the noodles, 5 He's munching the rice, 6 He's slurping the soda, 5 He's licking the ice.

6 And he lets out a roar Scheme 1` 6 If you open the door. 6 And it gives me a scare 5 To know he's in there— 5 That polary bear 6 In our Fridgitydaire. (Silverstein 1981: 47)

Here Silverstein uses assonance and a steady syllable count to create a rhythm in his poem. The poem is split into three schemes; I have indicated the syllable count for each line and italicized the assonances. The syllable count is crucial in the rhythm of this poem; the six-syllable lines in scheme two create a rolling tempo, which seems to accelerate throughout the poem. His rhyme scheme is highly unpredictable and the poem finishes with a syllable count inversion, where a

five-syllable line precedes a six-syllable line. This acts as a cadence to the poem, resolving the forward motion into a comfortable closing line.

“Noise day” is a quirky poem that lurches forward using simple rhymes, until Silverstein brings the reader to a crashing halt with one of his famous one-liners:

Let’s have one day for girls and boyses When you can make the grandest noises. Screech, scream, holler, and yell, buzz a buzzer, clang a bell, Sneeze– – hiccup– – whistle– – shout, Laugh until your lungs wear out, Toot a whistle, kick a can, 9

Bang a spoon against a pan, Sing, yodel, bellow, hum, Blow a horn, beat a drum, Rattle a window, slam a door, Scrape a rake across the floor, Use a drill, drive a nail, Turn the hose on the garbage pail, Shout Yahoo– – Hurrah– – Hooray, Turn up the music all the way, Try and bounce your bowling ball, Ride a skateboard up the wall, Chomp your food with a smack and a slurp, Chew– – chomp– – hiccup– – burp. One day a year do all of these, The rest of the days– – be quiet please. (Silverstein 1996: 26-27)

This poem captures the positive energy that Silverstein brings to his writing. Each line is fresh and seems to be bursting at the seems with energy. It is silly, with a clear theme, yet does not attempt to bring a child down to a simpleminded level. Rather, it pushes children to think faster, as they mentally - or physically, act out the words in Silverstein’s poem.

Children’s Music

Just as Shel Silverstein realized that children love art that has detail, the same is true for music. Successful children’s music may be less complex than music to which adults listen, but good children’s music nontheless presents a clear, concise form and design. In addition, successful children’s music emphasizes fun, interesting timbres created with either voices or instruments. For example, folk singers use vocal production to create interesting timbres. Woody

Guthrie vibrates his lips in “Car Song” to mimic the engine of a car in order to capture the attention of young children. This sound is fun to mimic as well as to hear. Raffi Cavoukian, popularly known as Raffi, is one of the most famous and prolific composers of children’s music, and often sings in French. This adds a new fun element for children; even if they do not 10 understand the words, the interesting sounds are fun to hear. Raffi frequently uses call and response in his music, as in “Going on a Picnic.” He sings a question, asking if the children remembered to bring a specific item to the picnic. The children respond in the affirmative, and join in singing the refrain. This encourages children to interact with music, helping them learn while they listen. If children sing lines in the recordings, children listening are more likely to sing along themselves.

While artists such as Raffi are known for composing children’s music, it is interesting to hear composers for adult audiences create music for children. In the album Not for Kids Only,

Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman use lyrics and instrumentation aimed at a young audience. In the song “There Ain’t No Bugs on Me,” a storyline about bugs and other critters is accompanied by a twangy Jaw Harp. In the song “Teddy Bear Picnic,” a clarinet, trombone, and muted trumpet add a New Orleans jazz feel to a standard folk tune. The musical duo There Might Be Giants use brainy, fast lyrics to help teach older children concepts about math and science. The Grammy award-winner Ziggy Marley also writes songs that appeal to adults as well as children recorded on the album “Family Time.” These songs focus on the importance of love, friendship, and bringing families together.

Composing the Music

In setting Silverstein’s poetry to music, I adhered to a folk song style and instrumentation.

I chose the folk idiom because it is most natural to me, and it facilitates the process of arranging and recording the songs. That being said, I use instruments that are nontraditional in folk music in order to expand the pallete of timbres. In each song I am trying to teach a specific element of music, and in certain cases the music is sung by children, rather than by an accomplished 11 musician. Whether it is a percussive rhythm or a basic harmony line, the part is technically simple, while still augmenting the overall musical sound.

The main educational focus in the song “Jimmy Jet and his Tv Set” is melody and timbre.

The song starts in E major, but moves to a section in A. Since the storyline of Jimmy turning into a television set is humorous yet melancholy in nature, this new section employs an improvisational blues and jazz feel, which gives the lyrics definition. The instrumentalists improvise riffs over the relatively unchanging chord structure, until the song reaches the interactive section. Here the folk instruments and children’s voices create a call and response section in which the instruments play a written riff, and the children mimic it in scat singing.

Because each instrument has a different tone, the children have to mimic the rhythm and notes of the riff, as well as the different timbres.

Another song where children’s voices play a pivatol role is “Noise Day,” a fun upbeat song set in C# major. The song is has a basic I-IV-V chord structure, although a minor ii is added in the first verse. The song is syllabic because of Silverstein’s fast paced poetry, and the vocal part focuses more on rhythm than melody. Therefore, the main element of music taught in this song is rhythm. The second verse is sung entirely by children; they split the verse and alternate singing lines in a rapid-fire sequence. As long as the line is sung in rhythm, a slight mistake in pitch does not detract from the music. In fact, it adds a human element to the song, making the feel more light-hearted and fun.

The setting for “Bear in There” captures the fear of a ravenous polar bear in the refrigerator. The only song with a definitive minor feel, part of its intention is to help teach expressive elements of music. Stepping slightly outside the traditional folk idiom, this song is accompanied by piano as well as a classical soprano singer. It starts in the key of E minor, then 12 moves up a fifth to A minor halfway through the song. The song starts very slowly, but begins to speed up at the key change, culminating in a high intensity fermata on the dominant.

Of the four poems, the one that was easiest to set was “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” I do not know why this song came so easily to me, because its structure is more complex than other songs I wrote. But many musicians believe that the best songs are the ones that seem to write themselves. The song starts in E minor, yet ends in G major. The song has two sections, an A section in E minor that runs through a verse and an instrumental banjo break, and a B section in

G major that begins on the sub-dominant. The B section runs through the remaining refrains and also includes another instrumental break, this time played by an acoustic guitar. The repeated chord structures with varying melodic lines in “Where the Sidewalk Ends” make it an excellent venue to teach musical form. However, there is also a simple harmony line, usually sung in thirds, present for most of the song. Thus, this song is also used to teach melody and harmony.

With only two vocal lines, it becomes easy to make a distinction between the melody and harmony.

Conclusion

Through these four songs I have created a new tool for teaching children music. In each song I have written lies basic elements of music that are essential to any person who aspires to become a musician. Obviously, not everyone who listens to and performs these songs will become professional musicians. But music is a universal concept and everyone has the ability to understand, play, and enjoy music to some degree. The purpose of this project was to create a medium for children to learn about music by listening to and interacting with actual music, not textbooks. In doing this I have transported music away from the realm of entertainment and into 13 the world of education and understanding. However, these two ideas are not exclusive, and I have tried to create music that is simultaneously enjoyable and pedagogic. My hope for this project is that children find these songs fun, but that they also learn from them and realize their potential to create their own music.

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