Little Turtle

School Radio > Music > Join in with Music

A tune from the Caribbean where the swimming of a little turtle mingles with the gentle rhythm of lapping waves.

The video

Little Turtle

This tune from the Caribbean is often sung to words about a donkey (tingalayo) but here it has a watery feel, with the swimming of a little turtle mingling with the gentle rhythm of lapping waves.

The music features steel pans and the accompaniment for chord instruments has chords that are very suitable for ukuleles. There’s a gentle repeating rhythm to try on body percussion and quiet hand percussion, which can keep going right through the song.

Any melody instruments that can find the notes of a C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C) can join in and there are blobs to help show the general shape of the tune, with shorter notes as circles and longer notes as ovals, with the note names appearing beneath.

After the introduction sets the gentle pace, glockenspiels can play the chorus, while body percussion and hand drums - such as bongos - pat along gently and pupils can sing the words or hum the tune.

In the verse, the tune could be played by xylophones and other tuned percussion - perhaps with keyboards and pizzicato violins joining in some of the notes - helped by light touches on cymbals and tambourines to evoke the splashing sea.

The chorus then returns and the piece ends with steel pans again, with sea sounds getting quieter and with everyone whispering ‘shhhhh…’

Resources

School Radio > Music > Join in with Music