Today's Christmassy lessons included
"Silent Night" twice, (sharps marked in red)
"Jingle Bells" in F major once - She knows it already, now it's time to add an improvised boogie-woogie bass line. I've been teaching Jingle Bells, right hand only, in Cmajor, to about ten children for the last couple of weeks - they've mostly got the hang of it now)
"We wish you a Merry Christmas" - With and without me playing the duet accompaniment. That's one for the Christmas concert in a couple of weeks
"I saw three ships", "Away in a Manger" and "We Three Kings" about three times each.
The infants all needed to be taught not to sing faster and faster and louder and louder in their song "Busy busy busy" (all about arriving in Bethlehem and not being able to find anywhere to stay) in their Infant Nativity. Then I had to somehow try and persuade them not to sing "The Star Song" on an enthusiastic but ultimately boring monotone
Driving home in the afternoon, the sun was already beginning to sink, low across the fields, catching the bronzed autumn leaves of the trees lining the country lane. It made me think of
"The golden evening brightens in the west,
Soon to the weary traveller comes their rest." but I couldn't remember the next few lines before the
"A-----a--lle - lu----lia, a--a-lle-luuuuuuuuia" bit.
It is actually a mis-remembering of verse 9 (nine!!!!)
"The golden evening brightens in the west;
of the processional hymn which begins
"For all the saints, who from their labours rest,
and continues for eleven verses. I don't think I've ever sung all 11 verses.
I would hesitate to describe myself as a "warrior", It doesn't sound quite an appropriate word for a piano and music teacher. I have used words such as "lion-taming" and "fly-fishing" sometimes when people ask me what I do for a living. After a full day of teaching that line about "rest coming soon", makes me smile.
I've always liked the other misquote "The golden eagle brightens in the west"
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| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_eagle |
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