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Reading, memorizing, singing 1

Reading, memorizing, singing and keeping silent

Question

This is a melody to sing. Study it, memorize it and sing the notes. While doing that, keep the beat with hand movements according to the time signature. There are also some questions about the music notation which are related to the theory studied so far.

Part 1: Over the Rainbow: score + sound + video

gif accordion

Over the rainbow is a ballad created by Harold Arlen in 1939 for the fantasy film The Wizard of OZ. It was sung by Judy Garland, the star of the film in the role of Dorothy. The plot tells the story of Dorothy and her dog, Toto, who are blown away to Oz by a tornado. She then seeks the Wizard to help her return home. On the way to find him, she meets a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Lion. Together they face dangers and adventures till she finally realises home was nearer than she thought.
The song was a landmark in Judy Garland's career, reflecting her dreams and her trials to overcome difficulties. She often performed it in concerts. In 1940, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Over the Rainbow score


Now pay attention to the sound file. Were you singing properly?

Finally, whether you would like to check sound and see the notes or receive extra help, here's the video score. This is the real tempo of the piece. Try to gradually increase the speed to see if you can play it just as fast.

Lorena Varela. Over the Rainbow Arrangement (CC BY-SA)

Part 2: Over the Rainbow: silent bars

gif guitarNow the same but with some silent bars. Sing the notes even in the silent bars, trying to keep the beat and paying attention to notes and other score markings.

  Over the rainbow silent bars

Here you have got the sound file with the silent bars. You may use it to help you know if you are singing it correctly.

Part 3: Over the Rainbow: accompaniment

gif Spanish guitarThe next step is singing the whole song by only listening to the accompaniment. This is a new stage. By now you should be able to sing all the bars if you have rehearsed enough part 1 (listening to the complete melody) and part 2 (listening to the melody but with some silent bars).

Over the rainbow accompaniment

Finally, here you have got the sound file corresponding to the accompaniment.

And now, let's see how much you know about the score.

1. Which is the structure of this piece?

Answers

 A-A-B-A

 A- B- A

A-B-A-B-C

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Question

2. The interval in the first bar is....

Answers

Major 6th.

Minor 7th. 

Perfect Octave.

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Question

3. What's the symbol placed above the stave on bar sixteen?

Answers

An accent.

A fermata.

A dynamic indication.

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Question

4. Look through bars three and five. Which are the intervals in these bars?

Answers

6th and 6th.

5th and 7th.

7th and 8th.

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5. Which of these options is true?

Answers

Harold Arden was the actor who performed the Tin Man in the film The Wizard of Oz.

Judy Garland starred Dorothy in the film The Wizard of Oz.

Over the Rainbow was sung by Judy Garland only in the film.

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