Old Folks At Home (Way Down Upon The Swanee River)

This traditional American Folk Song can be used to:

  • Practise the rhythmic element 'tim-ka' (dotted quaver, semiquaver / dotted eighth note, sixteenth note).
  • Discover the form (without the repeat, it's A, A variant, B, A variant).
  • Discover the descending tonic arpeggio (d'-s-m-d)

Also great for working with singers for:

  • Intonation - particulary correctly pitching an ascending octave and an ascending Major 7th.
  • legato singing with extended phrases.
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Kodály Analysis:

Old Folks At Home (Way Down Upon The Swanee River) Theme: Family Games:
Partner: Form: Verse & Chorus Song Type:
Scale: Major CSP: D - E Age: Lower Secondary - Upper Secondary
Tones: d finalis r m f s l ti d high r high Rhythm: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  
Melodic:
Prac:

 

Origin: Traditional American Stephen Foster (1826-1864) Arr. M. McLatchey
Source: World's Greatest Songs

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