Elephants on the Web
As The Music Class teachers, we all have our favorite TMC songs. This Song of the Week is “Elephants on The Web,” and it is a favorite of our Atlanta teacher Ms. Janelle for the SWEETEST reason. Check out the video below to see why.
That adorable child is Ms. Janelle’s kid, Blitz. This video is from the moment Ms. Janelle caught him playing with The Music Class songbook and singing a recognizable song ALL BY HIMSELF! Janelle said she was cooking Mac and Cheese, looked over to see what he was doing, and then ran out of the room to go grab her phone and hit record. Blitz was about 2 years old at the time, and it wasn’t until years later that Janelle realized he started singing the song ON THE CORRECT PITCH! What a superstar.
That might have been the first sign that Blitz was going to develop perfect pitch, or the ability to recognize a note like it’s a letter in the alphabet. You can say, “Sing a G” and he’ll nail it without hearing any reference note at all! Isn’t that amazing?! YES. Is it all insanely lucky genetics?! Yes and no. We are all born with a range of musical aptitudes, but the music education that we are exposed to early on (specifically before the age of nine) has a huge impact on our abilities as an adult. Ms. Janelle herself does not have perfect pitch, probably because she didn't go to The Music Class when she was little!!
It's all in the family at The Music Class! Ms. Janelle and Blitz!
So, what can we do to encourage our kids to reach their highest musical potential? Sing and dance, then sing and dance, then sing and dance, and then sing and dance a couple more times. Play The Music Class collections until your whole family hears the songs in their sleep! Expose your kids to as many different kinds of music as possible, as often as possible, in as many different fun ways as possible. With music as an integral part of your daily routine, we can all hope to grow up to be like Blitz one day!
We have to end today’s blog with 9-year-old Blitz's rendition of “Elephants on the Web.” He's mimicking his TMC-teacher-mom’s dramatic singing of the song: starting soft and then getting louder and louder with each verse! Watch till the end, it’s awesome.
PS – This song is based on a traditional counting rhyme from Latin America. Here is a version of the song called “Elefantitos” from Nick Jr. in Spanish! Every other version of this tune that I could find is in a major key, but The Music Class’s version is in minor to provide that super important musical variety that will help our kids reach their highest potential!