What will the children experience?
One hour of jazz to sing, dance and play along to – with improvisation and humour. The children ride through the hall as a train, hunt for a hidden yellow basket, wake the sleeping pianist and cook a fantasy dish on stage.
Between the songs we tell short stories: what syncopation is, why the blues often sounds sad and how improvisation works. It’s like a little side path in the forest that leads away from the main trail and back again.
We adapt the running order to the age group: children aged 3 to 6 get more movement and games, children aged 7 and up more stories from the history of jazz.
What music will you hear?
From ragtime through blues and swing to bossa nova:
- Ragtime by Scott Joplin
- The Birth of the Blues
- My Favorite Things
- A-Tisket, A-Tasket
- Lazy
- When the Red, Red Robin …
- It’s Only a Paper Moon
- Frim Fram Sauce
- The Girl from Ipanema
- On the Sunny Side of the Street
- Chattanooga Choo-Choo
How to join in
On the Chattanooga Express
One child becomes the conductor and checks the tickets; the others hold each other’s shoulders and ride through the hall as a train. The parents go “choo-choo” and whistle like a locomotive.
Clapping in jazz rhythm
To “Frère Jacques” everyone claps on beats two and four – that’s how jazz sounds. Then the big question: can you see, smell or eat syncopation?
The basket hunt
During “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” the children search for the little yellow basket hidden in the concert room. Whoever finds it may keep the surprise inside. The parents help by singing.
Waking the pianist
During “Lazy” everyone gets to be lazy for a moment. Then the pianist falls asleep, and the children have to wake her: “Wake up! Jazz time!”
Scatting and cooking along
During “Frim Fram Sauce” everyone scats together: Shoobapduiyah! Dubabdupi! Anyone who wants to can cook up a fantasy dish of sand, chestnuts and leaves on stage.
Samba and sunshine dance
Everyone dances samba to “The Girl from Ipanema”, with shakers and maracas. For the finale, “On the Sunny Side of the Street”, everyone dances freely.
What do parents take home?
On the Chattanooga Express you’re the locomotive for a moment, and you sing along during the basket hunt – the rest of the hour you can sit back. And you take ideas home with you: a wake-up song for the alarm clock and a scat for the next mud pie from the playground.
