When it comes to holiday music, Thanksgiving often seems to be overlooked. There are hundreds of well-known Christmas songs--yet how many songs can you think of that are associated with Thanksgiving?
Today's freebie features a classic tune whose lyrics were inspired by a Thanksgiving poem. In 1844, author Lydia Maria Child wrote a poem entitled "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day" inspired by her childhood memories of visiting her grandfather's house. This poem was later paired with a traditional tune to create the song we now know as "Over the River and Through the Woods," which is often sung during the holiday season.
Today I am sharing a lead sheet activity featuring this famous tune that gives your students a chance to practice their harmonizing skills! This tune can be harmonized using just the primary chords in the key of C major: I, IV, and V7. To complete this worksheet, students will play the given melody, then choose the primary chord that they think works best and write it on the lines provided above the staff. Each primary chord will be used more than once.
Once students have filled in their chosen chords, they can play the complete song and experiment with a variety of left hand accompaniment patterns, such as blocked, broken, or waltz-style chords. More advanced students might also enjoy the extra challenge of transposing this tune, along with their chosen primary chords, to a different key.
Click HERE or on the picture above to download your free copy of this Thanksgiving lead sheet!
What do you think? Will you be assigning any special activities for Thanksgiving this year? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
Today's freebie features a classic tune whose lyrics were inspired by a Thanksgiving poem. In 1844, author Lydia Maria Child wrote a poem entitled "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day" inspired by her childhood memories of visiting her grandfather's house. This poem was later paired with a traditional tune to create the song we now know as "Over the River and Through the Woods," which is often sung during the holiday season.
Today I am sharing a lead sheet activity featuring this famous tune that gives your students a chance to practice their harmonizing skills! This tune can be harmonized using just the primary chords in the key of C major: I, IV, and V7. To complete this worksheet, students will play the given melody, then choose the primary chord that they think works best and write it on the lines provided above the staff. Each primary chord will be used more than once.
Once students have filled in their chosen chords, they can play the complete song and experiment with a variety of left hand accompaniment patterns, such as blocked, broken, or waltz-style chords. More advanced students might also enjoy the extra challenge of transposing this tune, along with their chosen primary chords, to a different key.
Click HERE or on the picture above to download your free copy of this Thanksgiving lead sheet!
What do you think? Will you be assigning any special activities for Thanksgiving this year? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
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