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Instrumental arrangements of rhythmical hand jives based on traditional American street games, extending from single unison speech/instrument parts to more complex song adaptations. The pieces vary in style from the traditional street game sound to a jazz/blues improvisational piece, a rock arrangement and a country folk tune.
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Children of all ages seem to enjoy the rhythmical hand jives associated with Street Games. Realizing their love of these movement activities, it seemed appropriate to me to combine these games with the instrumentarium. Thus evolved 'Street Games'. The arrangements vary in difficulty from simple unison speech/instrument parts as found in 'Ickabocker Boo' and 'Do the Jive' to more complex A/B section chord changes as found in 'Swing a Lady'. The styles of the arrangements also vary. 'Old Woman from Ware' is a more complicated jazz/blues improvisational piece. 'Down, Down, Baby' and 'My Landlord' are to be played with a rock feeling. 'Down, Down, Baby' and 'My Landlord' also contain intentional parallel octaves to enhance today's rock style. 'Jelly in a Dish' a game as well as a hand jive, was intended to be transferred to Hand Drums in a later lesson and performed as a Hand Drum Canon. 'Swing a Lady' and 'The Wind Blew East' would need to be categorized as dances rather than street games; and yet, are very characteristic of American folklore. 'Swing a Lady' incorporates several traditional folk instruments such as a Washboard, Spoons, and a Gut Bucket (a one-string bass constructed from a tea chest, a broom and a piece of sturdy string or wire). I should like to give a special 'Thank you' to my husband Alan for his dedicated assistance. I should also like to thank all the students who have helped me to love Street Games as much as they do. Gloria Fuoco-Lawson |
