FREE Songbook from Debbie and Friends
Hi Everyone,
In the spirit of giving and making music together, I’d like to offer you a free copy of the sheet music to all 11 Debbie and Friends songs from our first CD, Story Songs and Sing Alongs. Please download the PDF using the widget below.
The songbook contains chords, lyrics and the melodies for our songs, and lots of fun coloring pages.
Enjoy!
Debbie
Filed under Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, lyrics | Comment (0)Becca Plays the Bass - A Grandparent’s Day Tribute
In honor of Grandparent’s Day, I’m presenting our new cartoon music video “Becca Plays the Bass.”
The song was inspired by my 14-year old niece, Becca, who is an amazing musician and great bass player. The cartoon pays tribute to my grandfather (Becca’s GREAT grandfather) Marty Gold. He is the reason I became a musician.
Marty Gold, Musician and Debbie’s Grandfather
The cartoon includes a special cameo of Grandpa Gold (He’s the band leader at the beginning and in the middle of the piece). Happy Grandparent’s Day everyone!
Filed under Cartoon, Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education | Comment (0)Berklee’s Early Childhood Symposium
What an honor it was for Debbie and Friends to participate in Berklee’s Early Childhood Symposium on April 9, 2012. The symposium was sponsored by Berklee’s Music Education Dept, under the leadership of Dr. Cecil Adderley, and included presentations and performances by Paul Reisler, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, and Debbie and Friends. It was a very special day with Berklee students, faculty, staff, and lots of families from the greater Boston area all focused on making music together.
Here’s a picture of Berklee’s Music Ed Majors on stage with Debbie and Friends having a great time with the kids and families in attendance. This was particularly special to me being an alumna of that program.
Debbie and Friends with Berklee’s Music Ed Majors
Berklee constantly strives to be a great place to learn, teach, and work. Events like the Early Childhood Symposium are just one more example of this.
Filed under Children's Music, Concerts, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, Parenting | Comment (0)DVD Concert Memories
What a fun crowd filled with friends at the Regent Theatre!
Thank you to everyone who came to our show at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA on Saturday, March 26, to celebrate the release of our new DVD, STORY SONGS & SING ALONGS and to sing along with our special guests and good friends, Bob McGrath from Sesame Street and Darcel Wilson.
Here are some pictures from our fun time together! (Thanks to Beth Oram Photography for “capturing happy”!)
Debbie and Bob McGrath singing “Sing a Song” with everyone.
Darcel Wilson, Mike Carrera and Debbie Cavalier
Our fans and friends!
Our own Eric Saulnier on guitar!
Our dancing band!
Having fun!
Bob McGrath!
Story Songs & Sing Alongs DVD.
Our new DVD is available on our Web site .
http://debbieandfriends.net/music.php
Thanks again, everyone! I hope to see you at another D&F concert soon!
-Debbie
Filed under Concerts, DVD, Debbie and Friends, Music, Music Education, News, Parenting, Videos | Comment (0)Learning to Play Piano - FREE book
Happy Holidays!
I’m pleased to share a piano method booklet for children that I developed with my Grandfather, Marty Gold. Marty is a wonderful musician who has enjoyed an amazing career in music. In fact, he’s the reason I became a musician. Recently, he told me about a piano “tent” he created to help kids learn the names of notes on a music staff. The story goes that Nabisco was going to put one in every cereal box back in the 1950s, and then pulled the project for fear there were not enough pianos in US homes. We decided to do the project together and make it available to friends of “Debbie and Friends.”
The following widget has a download link for a free copy of the Learning to Play Piano book and piano tent PDF files. A printed version of the book will be available soon. In the meantime, please let me know how the tent and method book are for your children!
Special thanks to Robert Heath of Barkley Studios for designing the keyboard tent, Greg David of Planet Sunday for the cover art image, and Shawn Girsberger for the book layout and design. What a dream team!!!
-Debbie
Filed under Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, Parenting | Comment (0)Hap Palmer Talks to BAM! Radio
Hap Palmer
I’m thrilled to tell you about a wonderful educational resource for families and education professionals called BAM Radio Network.
Bam’s co-founder and renowned educator, Rae Pica, recently invited to be part of an interview on Bam with legendary music educator Hap Palmer. Hap is an innovator in the use of music and movement to teach skills and encourage the use of imagination for kids. His music has received numerous honors. Hap’s music was always a big part of my work as an elementary music educator years ago, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with him and the host of the show, Maryann Harmon!
Here’s a link to the show. I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you, from Debbie and Friends
This is a special thank-you video to all of our fantastic fan families who have been so supportive of Debbie and Friends! Thank you for the wonderful memories. There are lots more to be made!
I hope you enjoy it!
-Debbie
Opposite - A cartoon in development
Here’s a sneak preview of our new animated music video in the works. It’s based on one of our favorite songs, “Opposite.” Check out how well the guys in the band can dance!
This is a pre-production teaser, and features the amazing animation work of Greg David and Goichi Hirata from Planet Sunday. It also features the wonderful character design work of Robert Heath of Barkley Studios. The final version should be out by the end of the summer.
The band and I hope you enjoy it!
-Debbie
Filed under Cartoon, Children's Music, Concerts, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, Parenting, Videos | Comment (0)March 27, CD Release Concert!
The Debbie and Friends Band
Dear Friends,
What’s better than a Debbie & Friends Concert at the Regent Theatre?
A Debbie & Friends CD Release Concert at the Regent Theatre!
Please join us this Saturday, March 27th at 10:30am. The Regent Theatre is located at 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA.
We have a great show in store that you won’t want to miss! In addition to our fantastic band, we have lots of surprises:
- Darcel Wilson joins us on vocals
- Sue Lindsay joins us on sax and flute
- We’ll perform with one of our cartoon music videos
- And, we’ll be raffling off copies of the new CD (signed by everyone in the band!), t-shirts, and more!
Don’t wait! Call for tickets 781-646-4849, or order online here.
I hope to see you at the show!
Debbie
Filed under Cartoon, Children's Music, Concerts, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, News, Parenting, Videos | Comment (0)In the Recording Studio with Debbie and Friends
In the Recording Studio with Debbie and Friends!
Debbie and Friends’ second CD, More Story Songs and Sing Alongs is going to be released in January 2010, and we’re having so much fun recording the songs. Many of you have asked about the recording process, and so I thought I’d share how we constructed our new song, “So, So Happy,” in the studio.
First, let’s listen to the whole song. Then we’ll listen to the individual parts (or tracks) we recorded.
So So Happy - in production by Debbie and Friends
With our producer Mike Carrera guiding the way, we recorded the rhythm section tracks for “So, So, Happy.” The rhythm section includes Drums, Bass, Guitar, and Piano.
Let’s listen to each individual rhythm section instrument we recorded for “So, So, Happy,” and meet the players.
Drums with Bill D’Agostino.
Bill D’Agostino on drums.
Drums - So, So Happy by Debbie and Friends
Bass with Danny “Mo” Morris.
Danno Mo on bass.
Bass - “So, So Happy” by Debbie and Friends
Guitar with Kevin Belz.
Kevin Belz on guitar.
Guitar - “So, So Happy” by Debbie and Friends
Keyboard with Dave Limina.
Dave Limina on piano (also plays organ).
Keyboard - “So, So Happy” by Debbie and Friends
Kids: My nephews and niece had a lot of fun making cheering, clapping, and shouting sounds for the chorus parts of the song.
My superstars!
Even though we captured each instrument on its own track, the parts were recorded at the same time, as a band. That’s why, when you listen really closely to the drum track above, you can hear a hint of guitar coming through the drum mics.
Now that you’ve heard the different parts, listen to the full song again and see if you and your family can pick out the individual instrument parts when they are all mixed together. It’s fun to do this with other recordings you listen to as well!
For an added challenge, click on the individual instrument tracks in this post, one at a time, and take turns guessing which instruments you are hearing: either drums, bass, guitar or piano.
Have any of you had any experience recording music? Please post your comments, or questions, below!
Filed under Children's Music, Debbie and Friends, Family Activities, Music, Music Education, Recording | Comment (0)
