Transform your classroom with music from around the world, arranged for Jumbie Jam, ukulele, and Djembe.
The Octopus Band invites you to journey with us from Portugal to Hawaii, exploring music for steel drum, ukulele, and djembe. The arrangements in this book are designed as a starting point for a classroom ensemble preK-8, but we hope that you will be inspired to incorporate these ideas into your classroom or small group setting in different ways. The Jumbie Jam, the Octopus Ukulele, and the Slap Djembe would like you to know that “we play nice together”, but we also “play nice” with others in any musical setting.
The Octopus Band Teacher’s Resource guide was inspired by an imagined journey from Portugal to Hawaii, and contains 10 tunes from different countries along the way. Each arrangement includes the score for the melody with chord symbols, chord diagrams for Jumbie Jam and ukulele, and two suggested strum patterns and drum rhythms to accompany the melody. There is also a map showing the country/region from which each tune originated, some background information, and performance notes.
Color printing in large, clear, easy to read chord symbols are included for both ukulele and Jumbie Jam. The marked notes on the JJ surface match the note shapes and names on the Jumbie Jam itself.
Free downloadable audio tracks available.
Music educators in the pre-K and elementary arena already know the benefits of music in the classroom, and ensemble playing adds to these by teaching students to keep time, to combine and balance sounds and rhythms, and to pay close attention to detail as they learn to perform together. The Octopus Band resource guide is intended to get you started with your classroom planning and show you how much fun you and your students can have with a simple combination of three instruments. Consider adding Orff and other instruments too!
