Old Songs (Musical Mnemonics)
Jan Wolitzky
The New York City Public School system, back in the 1930s or
thereabouts, used to teach these mnemonic devices to their students as
part of their music appreciation program (this was back when the NYC
school system used to teach things). The technique seems to have
worked quite well; my in-laws can reel off title and composer (and
mnemonic!) of scores (pun intended) of the more "well-known" classical
pieces. I'd love to collect any of these that anyone out in net-land
may know. Mail them to me, and I'll post the collection if and when
it gets large enough.
Meanwhile, other samples that come to mind:
Morning is dawning,
And Peer Gynt is yawning;
That's Peer Gynt by Grieg,
The Norwiegian composer.
(Only in New York does "morning" rhyme with "dawning"!)
Or, from the same piece:
In the Hall of the Mountain King,
Mountain King, Mountain King,
In the Hall of the Mountain King,
From Peer Gynt Suite by Grieg.
How about:
Ei-ne Klei-ne Nachtmusik das ist.
Writ-ten by Herr Mozart, not by Liszt.
You get the idea.
Jan Wolitzky, AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ, ...rabbit!wolit
Paul Summers
Sung to the recuring theme of Haydn's "Surprise Symphony":
Papa Haydn's dead and gone,
But his mem'ry lingers on.
Paul Summers
(...ios!wjvax!paul)
--
Paul Summers
(...ios!wjvax!paul)
Jeff Winslow
consequent of the theme, I think.
Papa Haydn's dead and gone,
But his mem'ry lingers on.
When he had to take a p**s,
(sung much faster:)
He wrote jumpy tunes like this!
ain't it profound?
Jeff Winslow