instrumentation: Guitar
ISMN: 9790801507952
illustrations: Małgorzata Flis
editor: Jadwiga Kubieniec, Marcin Kowalczyk
number of pages: 20
contents:
1. We are Little Dwarfs
2. There's a Hare
3. Frère Jacques
4. A Black Ram
5. There was once a Little Frog
6. The Old Bear is Fast Asleep
7. Cuckoo
8. Old MacDonald
9. Sur le pont d'Avignon
10. Train is Coming
11. A Grey Cloud
12. Sparkle's Tale
13. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
14. There once was a King
15. Jingle Bells
16. Bad Winter
17. Kids are Going Down the Road
I play what I know is a set of the most popular Polish children's songs and a couple of melodies from other countries, which I prepared with beginner guitarists in mind. On a technical level, the material is related to a textbook First Class Guitar. I used basic guitar techniques (e.g. dyads, three-note chords, arpeggio, basic left-hand chords), thus making the songs accessible for all students after just a couple of weeks of practice. The illustrative character of the songs is stressed by the addition of intros and endings, such as harmonics in There was once a Little Frog, energetic scale runs in Train is Coming or a resounding bass section imitating bells in Frère Jacques. Fingering in each song has been carefully prepared with ease of play in mind. I hope that playing known melodies will bring students joy and encourage them to practice. I believe everyone will find their favourite song in this set.
Tatiana Stachak
