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“Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem . . . and More Salutes to Nonsense” |
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| Jim Gill's thoughts about "MUSIC PLAY" |
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When I was making my first recording, Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes, the producer had a question about one song in particular. The Sneezing Song (the title song) bothered him because, "well...it isn't really a song." He was right. It's a simple rhyming game set to a few strummed chords. The important thing, in my mind, isn't the music or the melody. To me, it's most important that young children actively and enthusiastically play along with the song. Some children sneeze along. Some giggle when they hear other children sneeze. Some children create their own rhyming verses of the song. It's music play. Since we defined it better, the producer of my recordings, Steve Rashid, and I have made a great team. His musical sense along with my sense of play have allowed us to create four recordings filled with songs that fall into one of the following categories of music play. 1. Games or activities set to music that I have created through my own work with children and families. Teachers and children's librarians appreciate these songs for circle time activities and parents enjoy the active play to pass the time on long car rides. 2. Rhymes and word play that I have created while talking, singing, and playing with my own children. These are the types of songs that you can keep singing long after the CD player is turned off. You can create verses of your own... and improve the song! (By the way, some research points to this type of rhyming play as one important factor in a child's learning to read. It's a concept called phonemic awareness.) 3. Rockin' numbers that get everyone dancing together. Some of the best times with my own children are when we crank up the stereo and dance with abandon to some of the best CD's in my collection - none of which are children's recordings. Moms and Dads might enjoy the numbers on my recordings as much as the kids. One mother told me that a neighbor called and asked her to turn the music down. She was listening to The Night We Made it Noisy in Boise, Idaho...and her kids weren't home! |
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MUSIC SAMPLES | A word about audio files . . . |
| Can't Wait To Celebrate | realaudio | ||
| Jumping and Counting | realaudio | ||
| The Dance Along Gong Song | realaudio |
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SONG LISTING/LYRICS |
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1. The Irrational Anthem
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LINER NOTES |
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"Six grown men spent hours on the "Dance Along Gong Song" to make it sound as though we lost our composure with each strike of the gong. We would work, listen, laugh . . . and repeat the process. By all known standards, this qualifies as a complete waste of time. The truth is, we were playing . . . and play's value is for it's own sake. I hope parents, teachers, librarians and the children they care for will be inspired to sing and play along on all sixteen songs and poems . . . as we did." - Jim Gill All songs written by Jim Gill, published by Jim Gill Music BMI, © Jim Gill, except: "Bix Beiderbecker" music written by Steve Rashid, words by Jim Gill, published by Used Camel Music, BMI and Jim Gill Music, BMI "Laughing In Rhythm" written by Bulee "Slim" Gaillard Arranged, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Steve Rashid Digitally recorded, mixed and mastered at Woodside
Avenue Music Productions, Inc. in Evanston, Illinois |