Clap for Classics!

Latest Episodes:

8. Pots and Pans Percussion Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Join Ms. Elizabeth and Forte as we use pots and pans and kitchen utensils to make music! We begin the episode by gathering some kitchen items to use as percussion instruments. Gather a variety of sizes and materials: pots, bowls, bins, pans. Don’t forget the utensils: wooden spoon, metal spoon, spatula, whisk, etc.

Steady Beat

Steady Beat, steady beat,

Can’t beat that steady beat,

Steady beat steady beat,

Can’t beat that steady beat.

This song can be adapted in so many ways! Forte/piano, adagio/allegro, marching, stomping, jumping, tip-toeing, etc. Feel free to try making different sounds with your drum or movements with your body. Your child is really working on experiencing steady beat as they sing and play this song.

Aaron Copland’s “Hoe-down” from Rodeo. This recording is of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Philip Ellis.

Peas Porridge Hot

Pease porridge hot

Pease porridge cold

Pease porridge in the pot

Nine days old

Some like it hot

Some like it cold

Some like it in the pot

Nine days old

This nursery rhyme chant is another great way to reinforce steady beat!

Interested in joining us in our All Access Membership so you can get access to even more great music education for your little one? Check out details and get signed up at www.clapforclassics.com/join

If your little one liked this episode, they might also like the free pots and pans mini class that you can watch on our blog: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/potsandpans

Thank you to Classical.com for licensing the classical music for us to use on this podcast and in all of our courses!

7. Get To Know The String Family Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

Let’s learn about the string family of the orchestra! We will meet each member of the string family, learn about how the instruments make sound, and hear a beautiful example of each instrument from our professional musician friends.

Optional props and resources to enhance your listening:

1. Printable orchestra map puzzle resource: www.clapforclassics.com/episode7

2. Rhythm Sticks (can also use blocks, wooden spoons, chopsticks, etc.)

To share a video with your little one of this same instruction head over to our blog: www.clapforclassics.com/blog/stringfamily. There we also include more details and ideas on how to adapt and extend the learning.

This video is just one tiny part inside of our "Meet the Orchestra" course where we tour each of the four instrument families: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. In that course we also learn about the important role of the conductor, enjoy lots of musical examples including listening to a large portion of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition."

You can find the rest of the course inside of our All Access Membership! Check out all the details and get signed up here! www.clapforclassics.com/join

The String Family Song (To the tune of I’m a Little Teapot)

They are made of strings and hollow wood.

Say hello to the string family.

Violin viola cello bass

Don’t forget the lovely harp.

Push and pull a bow across the strings

To make long sound vibrations

Or you can use your fingers pluck pluck pluck

Pizzicato pizzicato pizzicato

Music Credit:

String Family Song: Clap for Classics original by Kathryn Lieppman (based on the tune: “I’m a Little Teapot”)

Violin: Caleb Nixon (age 9) playing an excerpt from Bach's Gavotte in D Major.

Viola: Lizzy and Lorenzo Golofeev playing an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers.

Cello: Jennifer Humphreys playing an excerpt from Bach's Courante from G Major Suite for Cello Solo No. 1 BWV 1007

Double Bass: Jory Herman playing the melody from Saint-Saëns' Elephant, from the Carnival of the Animals.

Harp: Héloïse Carlean-Jones playing an excerpt from Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.

String family example: Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Classical recordings licensed to us by Classical.com.

6. Black History Month: a musical celebration Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

It is February, and it is Black History Month! Today we’re sharing music we love by black artists of the 20th century.

1. Hello, by Ella Jenkins

Hello hello hello and how are you

I’m fine I’m fine and I hope that you are too

Sing this song with any variation you can think of, soft, loud, humming, whistling, la la la-ing!

Ella Jenkins has been dubbed the “The First Lady of the Children's Folk Song.” Here is a playlist of some of our favorites, but be sure to check her out with your kids, we think you’ll love her music as much as we do.

To watch a mini class where Ms. Elizabeth and her 5 kids share 3 Ella Jenkins songs click here.

2. This Little Light of Mine

This little light of mine (tap knees), I’m gonna let it shine, (arms: up down up down)

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. (dance in a circle)

This iconic American gospel song has been energizing and uniting diverse groups of people for nearly a century. It’s impossible to sing this song without moving your body and feeling a spark of excitement and purpose. It is a great song to sing with kids because the words are so repetitive, and the message is so positive! We’ve added some simple actions to each verse, and suggested a flashlight activity for the second time through -- kids and flashlights always seem to be drawn to each other, right?

Don’t miss these incredible renditions of this song by these famous black artists.

Aretha Franklin

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Fannie Lou Hamer

3. Maple Leaf Rag, Scott Joplin

Performed by Stefano Ligoratti. Recording used with permission.

You don’t want to miss this recording of Scott Joplin performing this piece himself!

Join our All Access Membership for access to activities like the ones found on this podcast.

The membership includes: Over 250 engaging and educational music lesson videos with new content added regularly.

Comprehensive music courses organized by theme, for example: "Carnival of the Animals", "Peter and the Wolf," "Rhymes and Games," etc.

Printable resources, including lesson plan ideas, parent programs, instrument and animal puppet printables, coloring pages, and more!

Extensive "Notes to the Grown-ups" for each lesson, so that you can see exactly what your child is learning, with ideas on how to adapt and extend the lessons.

Downloadable audio tracks of the classical music as well as the activities, so that you can listen off screen.

Get signed up at: www.clapforclassics.com/join

5. Love Songs for Little Ones Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

This is an episode with love songs for our little ones. We include one folk song, one Clap for Classics! original song, and the beautiful Waltz from Tchaikovsky's ballet, Sleeping Beauty.

Love Somebody

This is an Appalachian folk song, originally a fiddle tune.

Love somebody yes I do,

Love somebody but I won’t say who.

Love my mommy yes I do,

Love my mommy and she loves me too!

The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66- Valse Allegro, Tchaikovsky.

Watch a video of Elizabeth and Charlotte teaching and dancing to the sleeping beauty waltz: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/sleeping-beauty-waltz

If you’d like to purchase our Fairy Tale Course where we tell even more of the story of Sleeping Beauty as well as incorporate other fairy tales and wonderful music, you can find it in our Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes bundle, or inside our All Access Membership.

Find all the details at www.clapforclassics.com/store

Will you waltz with me,

Will you be my partner please?

If you will, I’ll spin you around And round,

then give you a squeeze

Pretty please will you waltz with me

Will you be my partner please?

Waltzing is my favorite thing in the world!

Many thanks to Classical.com for licensing the classical music for us to use in the podcast and in our courses.

Let’s Sing a Song About Hugs.

Written by Kathryn Lieppman, it is a Clap for Classics! original and features Kathryn Lieppman and Elizabeth Nixon on ukulele and vocals, and Imogene Lieppman (age 4) on vocals and desk bells.

You can watch this video on our youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKolRJchIg

Let’s sing a song about hugs!

Chorus:

Some are tight

And some are gentle

Some are short

And some are long and sentimental

A hug can help you feel okay

If you get a little boo boo

Or you’re having a rough tough day

Try and hug it all away

Chorus

A hug can help you share some love

With a very special grownup

Taking care of you

So hug ‘em all day through

Chorus

A hug can help you cheer a friend

When she seems a little sad

You can bend her frown back to a smile

Just hug her for a while

Chorus

A hug can help you feel so great

But sometimes we just need some personal space

(And that’s ok, too!)

Join our All Access Membership for access to activities like the ones found on this podcast. The membership includes:

Over 250 engaging and educational music lesson videos with new content added regularly.
Comprehensive music courses organized by theme, for example: "Carnival of the Animals", "Peter and the Wolf," "Rhymes and Games," etc.
Printable resources, including lesson plan ideas, parent programs, instrument and animal puppet printables, coloring pages, and more!
Extensive "Notes to the Grown-ups" for each lesson, so that you can see exactly what your child is learning, with ideas on how to adapt and extend the lessons.
Downloadable audio tracks of the classical music as well as the activities, so that you can listen off screen.

Get signed up at: www.clapforclassics.com/join

4. Nursery Rhymes with Presto and Adagio Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Join Ms. Elizabeth and Forte the Lion while they share two favorite nursery rhyme activities and two movements from Bizet’s Jeux D’Enfants or Children’s Games.

We begin by practicing steady beat and learning 1,2, Buckle My Shoe with rhythm sticks.

We meet Presto the Wild Donkey and Adagio the Tortoise and learn the musical concepts of presto and adagio while singing a favorite nursery rhyme, Wind the Bobbin Up.

We finish up by listening to The Doll and The March, by Bizet and moving our bodies in different ways. We listen for the different meters and move accordingly.

Teaching and sharing Nursery Rhymes with young kids has so many benefits. We’ve got a list of some of our favorite nursery rhymes, it’s in two sections, ones you probably know, and some that you might not know but are worth checking out. If you’d like the printable, click here: www.clapforclassics.com/episode4

Watch a video of Charlotte and I, Presto, and Adagio sharing Wind the Bobbin up here: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/bobbin

We share a few of the benefits of nursery rhymes in this article as well as a video of 2 more nursery rhymes: Hey Diddle Diddle and Little Boy Blue. https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/language

Do you have a little one between the ages of 0-2, we’ve got something just for the sweet little ones! In our Nursery Rhyme Baby Time course we share nursery rhyme activities as well as Bizet’s Children’s Games. We give you lots of tips and ideas on how to enjoy music-making and nursery rhymes with your baby. Check out the details at www.clapforclassics.com/baby

Join our All Access Membership for access to a growing library of musical content for little ones ages 2-6 at www.clapforclassics.com/join. Be sure to use the coupon code "LION" at checkout to get 50% off your first month!

Classical music played on this podcast is licensed to us by classical.com

3. What Kind of Bird are You?: A Peter and the Wolf Sneak Peek Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Today we’re sharing a tiny peek into one of our very favorite classical pieces, Peter and the Wolf! We will meet the bird and the duck and learn about the flute and the oboe (the instruments that represent those animals in Peter and the Wolf.

We’ve got a free printable to accompany this episode, grab it here: www.clapforclassics.com/episode3

From Up in My Tree: This is a song about a bird, inspired by the bird from Peter and the Wolf. From up in my tree tree tree (ring ring)

Oh what do I see see see? (Ring Ring)

I see a squirrel squirrel squirrel (ring ring)

It makes me go tweet tweet tweet

How to extend/adapt this activity: Talk more about the bird’s perspective from up high in the tree. Sing this song with other ideas of what the bird might be seeing. Talk about the concept of high and low - make high tweeting/chirping bird sounds, then talk about which animals make low sounds.

What your child is learning: Impulse control, active listening, observation, musical concept of pitch (high and low)

Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack

Quack quack quack quack (quack or clap hands with a partner)

Waddle waddle waddle

Quack quack quack quack

Waddle to the pond

Quack quack quack quack

Dive into the water

Quack quack quack quack

Paddle all day long

Quack quack quack quack

Paddle very quickly

Quack quack quack quack

Paddle very slowly

Quack quack quack quack

Now I’m getting hungry

Quack quack quack quack

Dive down for a treat

Quack quack quack quack

Nibble nibble nibble

Quack quack quack quack

Now I’ll go to sleep

How to extend/adapt: Have your child move around the room a bit more -- start outside the “pond”, then dive in. Hop out of the pond at the end to snuggle up on the shore for bedtime. For babies: use the “quack quack quack quack” refrain to clap their hands together on your lap, or their feet if they are lying down on their back. Paddle their legs, and give them a tickle or a raspberry on their belly when it’s time to “nibble”

What your child is learning: Motor skills, concept of fast and slow, sequencing

After meeting the bird and duck and singing songs about them, we listen to the part in Peter and the Wolf where the two animals meet and tease each other. We enjoy identifying the different instruments and then sing a simple little song pretending to be either the bird or the duck.

What kind of bird are you if you can’t fly?

Said the bird to the swimming duck.

What kind of bird are you if you can’t swim?

Said the duck as she dived in the pond!

How to extend/adapt: Discuss the concept of teasing -- when is it ok, when is it not ok? How should you handle it if someone teases you? How should we treat others whose abilities are different from ours? Do some pretend play with your child -- one of you pretends to be the bird, and the other pretends to be the duck, possibly using puppets. What happens next, after the song is over? Role play the way you’d like to handle “teasing” in your family. Discuss and categorize other birds that fly, birds that swim, and birds that do both. Learn about the special features swimming birds have, that flying birds do not have.

Here’s a nice YouTube video by FreeSchool introducing many birds, and basic facts: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/

Check out the National Geographic Kids page on birds: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/

Print, cut and prepare the bird and duck images and instrument images from the free printable found here: www.clapforclassics.com/episode3

What your child is learning: Instrument identification, communication, kindness

To watch a little introduction to Peter and the Wolf video that includes the “From Up in My Tree,” go to www.clapforclassics.com/blog/peter

If you’d like to see all of our Peter and the Wolf songs and activities for little ones ages 2-6, you can purchase our Peter and the Wolf course bundle. Find it at www.clapforclassics.com/store

OR, join our All Access Membership for access to ALL of the musical content we’ve ever created for little ones at www.clapforclassics.com/join

Special thanks to classical.com for licensing the classical music that we use on this podcast.

2. The Cuckoo and a Quiet Cat Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

FIRST! We’ve got a free printable that you might want to grab for your little one to use to play with while listening to this episode. There are images of the two instruments we’ll be listening to as well as a visual representation of forte and piano and will help your little one understand this musical concept even better. Go to www.clapforclassics.com/episode2 to grab it.

In today’s episode we’ll be meeting a new friend, Piano the Cat. She will help us understand the words piano, that means the opposite of orte, which we learned in the last episode.

We’ll sing a familiar song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star both quietly and loudly to solidify the concept of forte and piano.

Next we’ll introduce the quiet sounds of The Cuckoo from Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. We’ll identify the different sounds of the piano and the clarinet in this piece. Then we’ll contrast the quiet Cuckoo with the forte Royal March of the Lion, from the same piece, which we introduced in the previous podcast episode.

Forte and Piano are musical concepts that are fun to practice and reinforce at home. Try making forte and piano sounds with your voices and your body. This is a fun way to teach inside and outside voices!

If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to see a video of Charlotte and I enjoying The Cuckoo, you can watch that here: www.clapforclassics.com/blog/cuckoo

Check out this song about a cuckoo clock, with lots of ideas on how to listen and play with the song for babies and bigger kids. https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/ticktock

If you’d like to see all of our Carnival of the Animals songs and activities for little ones ages 2-6, you can purchase our Carnival of the Animals course bundle. Find it at www.clapforclassics.com/store

OR, join our All Access Membership for access to ALL of the musical content we’ve ever created for little ones at www.clapforclassics.com/join

Want to know about Carnival of the Animals and how to enjoy this music with your young kids? Check out this article: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/carnival

Special thanks to Classical.com for licensing the music for us to use on this podcast and inside our courses!

1. Let's Make Forte Sounds Together! Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Forte the Lion takes center stage in this episode while we learn about the musical term of Forte.

We’ll also practice keeping a steady beat, so be sure to grab something to drum on if you can, you can also just tap your legs or clap to the beat as well.

First we’ll listen to “The Royal March of the Lion” from Saint- Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Clear some space if you can so you can march like a regal lion, or crawl around and ROAR while you listen to this music. We’ll listen for the low notes of the piano (or lion roars). Count how many roars you hear in this piece.

Next we will learn a new song, “Listen to the Lion” song. Grab an instrument, or clap or tap to the beat while we sing this song in a beautiful forte voice. The melody comes from the piece we just listened to, Saint-Saëns’ “Royal March of the Lion.”

Lyrics:

Listen to the lion roaring

Roaring very loud like this (ROAR!)

Lion makes a forte sound

You can hear the roar for miles

Let’s make forte sounds together

Loud and strong and brave you see

Listen to the lion roaring

Roaring very loud like this (ROAR!)

Lion makes a forte sound

You can hear the roar for miles

Let’s make forte sounds together

Loud and strong and brave you see

Listen to the lion Listen to the lion

Listen to the lion roar!

Music in this episode is licensed to us by Classical.com

To see a video of one of the activities in this episode check it out at https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/fortethelion

Want to join us in our All Access Membership for access to all of our engaging and educational activities? Check out all the details at www.clapforclassics.com/join. Be sure to use the coupon code "LION" at checkout for 50% off your first month of the membership.

Purchase our Carnival of the Animals bundle that includes an in-depth exploration of the fanciful classical music work by Saint-Saëns. Musical concepts such as high and low, presto and adagio, and rhythm and beat will be introduced. Children will use their imaginations, learn sign language, sing in spanish, do yoga, play instruments and more! Purchase it at www.clapforclassics.com/store

For tips on how to nurture your child's inner musician check out this article: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/innermusician

Want to know about Carnival of the Animals and how to enjoy this music with your young kids? Check out this article: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/carnival

Here's a 18 minute mini class where I teach the concepts of forte and piano: https://www.clapforclassics.com/blog/forte

Special thanks to classical.com for licensing the classical music that we use on this podcast.

0. Introducing.... a brand new music podcast for young kids! Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Join Ms. Elizabeth and her sidekick Forte the Lion as they share what to expect from this podcast!

Here you'll find engaging and educational music activities for young kids ages 2-6.

During each episode you and your toddler, preschooler, or kindergartener will sing songs, move your bodies, and listen and engage with great classical music.

We hope you'll subscribe and tune in each week. Listen at home, during mealtime, bathtime, in the car, or anywhere!

Clap for Classics! helps parents foster a love of music in their young children by providing high-quality music education that teaches foundational music concepts through playful, engaging lessons.

Classical music is a central part of our students’ curriculum, inspiring children and their caretakers alike, along with folk songs, nursery rhymes, original music, instrument play, movement and more.

Clap for Classics! is perfect for parents who want their children to receive an early music education but don’t want to have one more thing to plan. You get to be the cheerleader, supporter, and playmate with your child while you spend quality time bonding and learning together.

Would you like more information on the courses and membership offers that we have?

Check out our website at www.clapforclassics.com

Join our email list at www.clapforclassics.com/email so you don’t miss any of our new episodes, events, coupons, and other great resources for bringing music into your home with your little one!

Special thanks to classical.com for licensing the classical music that we use on this podcast.

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