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Good news: My NEW website https://riverofsong.uk/ is up and running ready for the new school
year. It is still in its infancy but linked to my ‘Singing games for children’
site which though functioning fine is a little creaky after 16 yrs - a little
bit like me! The new site is user friendly, inviting and interactive. Do visit
and let me know what you think of it. Sad news: This ‘Singing games for children’ site will
continue as before but I am now unable to edit the Index front page to add
new titles and blocks of songs. A few pages are too long so music and video
links no longer appear. But do not fret new songs and missing content will
take priority on my new website. Let me know which songs
to put at the top of my ‘to do’ list in the comment box https://riverofsong.uk/ If
you know great children’s songs / singing games that do not yet appear on my
website or YouTube videos and would like to hear them do let me know at:
mailto:singingchildren@aol.com Don’t
forget to press F5 to
refresh pages as I regularly correct and update. I
regularly post videos every Monday but family circumstances might mean
timings will be flexible for a while. |
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About the author and the
project Dany Rosevear Last updated: 8/01/2022
2:50 PM I am a retired primary school teacher living in Devon, England. I began teaching in and around Birmingham but then spent most of
my professional career in Oxfordshire. Music making was one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job. I
also sang regularly with my three children when they were younger. I set up the web site ‘Singing games
for children’ as a retirement project to
share the fun that I and the children had in the classroom playing these
games. I was also keen to research songs I would have liked to have
discovered but as a busy teacher would have had difficulty finding. To publicize the web site I have now produced many videos
and playlists
on Youtube. As well as the traditional singing games the scope of this
project has grown to include a treasury of songs: number songs, lullabies,
nursery rhymes, poems, songs of the seasons, songs for a better world, hand
plays and old favourites from my childhood among others. I also now have young grandchildren to entertain so lullabies,
lap songs and pirate songs come in useful! Sometimes they ask me to write
songs for them and were keen to join in when I recorded songs; sadly that is
no longer possible with children’s wellbeing on the internet nowadays an
issue. |
NEW! Songs for a better world Songs that tackle climate change issues,
looking after our precious natural world and looking after ourselves and each
other. |
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Background Though born in
Brighton, like many British people today I have friends and family in other
countries. My grandparents came from Russia, Poland, England and Ireland. My
aunts had French and Italian husbands. My sister lives in
Australia and one of my brothers in France. As
a child I lived in Malaya for 2 ½ years
and then in my youth I travelled widely; sometimes to international work
camps (Poland, Finland and Turkey) where youngsters from many countries came
to work, socialize and sing together. Find out more about my
international
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Schools in this country
often have a wide ethnic mix. For a broader understanding of each other’s
cultural identities we need to be familiar with aspects of these traditions
and language. With this in mind and to support those children with a mixed
background like myself, I am keen to collect and promote songs and games from
around the world. |
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http://www.trilingualchildren.com/2014/12/life-story-spans-two-centuries-multicultural-family.html OTHER INTERNATIONAL LINKS http://www.trilingualchildren.com/ is a wonderfully
supportive site if you are trying to raise your child in a home where more
than one language is spoken: You
also can find many more songs and singing games in Polish and other languages
and vidoes at: http://www.edumuz.pl/news.php From Australia? You might well be interested in Rebecca Jane
Flanagan’s great site: www.musicalexperiencesforchildren.com Dynamic Alina Celeste sings and tells stories in
English and Spanish at: https://www.youtube.com/user/AlinaCelesteMusic
Find more Catalan songs and poems too, some by
Valencian musicians such as Paco Muñoz and Dani Miquel, translated into
English by Lluís Barberà i Guillem. Find Aimee Curtis
Pfitzner’s delightful Orff based Hand clapping books and other collections
at: http://www.beatinpathpublications.com/ACP/home.html and a very lively blog full of great ideas
at: http://ofortunaorff.blogspot.co.uk/
Nancy Stewart is a children's singer-songwriter based in Seattle, Washington who
has produced a wonderful collection of children’s songs at: http://www.nancymusic.com/index.htm Find music in the
Waldorf tradition on Marty Lane’s
lovely CD at: http://www.martylayne.com/music/ Sarah Pirtle is an award-winning author and
musician who writes and sings for all ages. Sarah has recently created a site
where people can hear and download sixty of her two hundred songs for free: http://sarahpirtle.com/hope-sings/heart-of-the-world.htm Patty Zeitlin is a
wonderfully accomplished songwriter with a much admired opus; find out more
and access her CDs at: PattyZeitlin.com Round and Round by Patty Zeitlin.c.1960 Bullfrog Ballades, ASCAP. Lots of Worms by Patty Zeitlin c. 1967,
Spider, Spider Spin by Patty Zeitlin c. 1974 Bullfrog Ballades. . |
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Translations Despite not being a linguist I endeavour to translate
international songs so they can be sung both in their native language and in
English. Google Translate has been a great help to get a rough translation but fortunately
I have friends and family, including my supportive husband, who have kindly
checked the accuracy and all round feel of the translations. I have not
attempted a literal translation of the songs but aimed to create an English
translation that can be sung and reflects the spirit of the original. I was enthused by old school song books including those from my
childhood where songs from other countries were accompanied by English
translations, albeit rather old fashioned ones. |
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Adaptations and compositions During my teaching
career I have often adapted songs to suit a particular audience and to
encourage creativity I have enlisted the help of my young students. Some of
these adaptations can be found in the early collections. Since retiring I have
also written lyrics to complement a few of the lovely tunes discovered during
my research. More recently I have had a go at composing my own simple
melodies to accompany original songs, traditional rhymes and classic poems. The original songs can be found at Sunshine
Pie (Sunshine
Pie - original songs written by Dany Rosevear - YouTube). After travelling around the Antipodes and to
Australia in particular, where I visited my sister in Perth, I was inspired
to write several songs including those about the incredible wildlife to be
found on that side of the world. Songs for a better world: Most recently concerns about our beautiful planet
have encouraged me to collect and write songs that address enviromental and
issues including looking out for and being kind toothers and ourselves. Songs for a better world Website
pages: A-L H-L M-R S- T U-Z YouTube playlist: Songs
for a better world - YouTube |
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Australian originals An
Australian animal alphabet (Tread
lightly on the Earth my friend) Did you ever see a kangaroo? Grandma saw a possum Great big boomers If you want to see a wallaby Inky pinky pumpkin pie Kevin the Crow The sea sings to me Whales can’t ride a bike Who wants an octopus cuddle? With Wynken, Blynken and Nod |
Some of my other compositions: You are welcome to use
these songs freely if you are working with children or are parents or
grandparents as long as they are not used for commercial purposes. I would
love to know where and how you are using them. |
Some of my more recent compositions: You can find many, many
more on my Sunshine pie playlist: Sunshine
Pie - original songs written by Dany Rosevear - YouTube You are free to copy, distribute, display and
perform these works under the following conditions: · you must
give the original author credit · you may not
use this work for commercial purposes · for any
re-use or distribution, you must make clear to others the licence terms of
this work · any of these
can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder Your fair use and other rights are no way
affected by the above. |
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Illustrations As a life-long “doodler” I wanted to draw my own illustrations to
accompany the songs. My first drafts were based on children’s drawings and
Quentin Blake type pictures; but with the aid of pen, watercolours and the
simple Paint programme plus plenty of practice I hope I have begun to develop
a more personal style. |
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First
steps I set up a website named www.gryphonsgarden.co.uk to promote the first collections of singing games; this site
also includes other resources that were developed to support 4-11 year olds
in their learning. At the same time I produced four booklets of singing games but
found the practical side of putting pages together to produce these books too
much like hard work. How much easier it is to put everything online with no
need for postage and packing! |
Next
steps: Once the website was up and running I developed it further by: 1. Making
videos to accompany many of the songs in the English language. My voice is a
little rusty after years of teaching but as I sang daily with classes of
children supported by my trusty guitar I am having a go and having fun! Please
remember I am just an ordinary practitioner (rather than an accomplished
musician) who wishes to pass on the many wonderful songs discovered during a
long teaching career. As an older person I now tend to sing in a lower pitch
than the written music but as always the singer should not be bound by a key
but be ready to adapt it to a comfortable mode. The
accompanying mp3s, however, are often in a higher key. Most of
the recordings can now be found on my dedicated YouTube channel. 2. A collection of
Dutch singing games has been added. 3. Since the birth of
my three grandchildren I have begun to include a number of nursery and number
rhymes. Many of these are simply songs rather than movement games. ….4. I have also added songs from my childhood and other songs
that I have more recently remembered for those nostalgia buffs out there.
Occasionally I have added more verses or a different ending! 5. I have developed a
‘Poetry corner’ of children’s rhymes sometimes with my own original musical
accompaniments. …..6. 15/8/20: Most of the songs I now post on my YouTube channel
tend to be much more random than in the early days – they tend towards the
seasonal and are often just songs that take my fancy including nostalgiac
ones from the past! |
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More
recent developments: I would like to continue developing the strands above but also: 1. Make
videos of English translations of some of the international songs especially
those from the Far East. 2.
Continue writing songs when the muse comes visiting – usually during a 25
minute walk to the Leisure Centre! 3.
Continue adding seasonal and dedicated playlists to my YouTube channel 4. After a
visit to the Antipodes I have begun to develop an Australian section. Do let
me know if you are aware of great songs and games for children (especially
younger ones) from this part of the world that I have not yet included. 5. Italian
and Portuguese songs are next on my list. Watch this space! You will have waited a long time for 5. (!) As I have been
distracted by the so many songs with great tunes and words, traditional and
newer ones, discovered in books and on the internet, ones that I had never
encountered before but would, in the past, have loved to use in the
classroom. I add them weekly to the website and to my YouTube channel for others to enjoy. 6. Lastly
I would like to grips with the chaotic nature of my website – it has grown
like Topsy and is certainly not mobile or even tablet friendly – maybe one
day! |
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****I have been very frustrated
of late when music, links and pictures have disappeared from my website which
must be even more frustrating for those who come searching for chords and
music. As I am not very
technology-minded it will take a while before they are restored. If you would
like me to prioritise sections do let me know at the address above.**** Don’t
forget to press F5 to
refresh pages as I regularly correct and update. |
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