How to explore ideas with your child: Alana on "What is a song?"

Good morning, Alana. How are you?

I'm good. How are you?

I'm very well, thank you. Are you still doing okay with staying in, staying at home most of the time?

Uh, yeah.

Okay. So I was thinking about songs and what counts as a song. What do you think a song is?

Maybe when you use your voice and you make it into a really good note, maybe melody, or maybe a beat or a verse.

Use your voice, melody, a beat, or a verse. Okay. Are you singing right now?

No.

What's the difference between ordinary conversation on the one hand and singing on the other? What makes the difference?

For ordinary conversations, you're like talking, like, "Hello, how are you?" Blah, blah, blah. And singing, maybe you're just singing to yourself and you're using a voice from deep down in your belly. That's very special.

Deep down in your belly, that's very what? I missed the last word.

Special.

Special. Okay, that makes sense. So suppose you are at the other end of the house and your parents say, "Alana, where are you?" Is that singing?

Um, I would think, I was, I would say just ordinary talking, but it does have like a sound of like singing in it, but they're just asking, "Where are you?" Okay.

What if they started— how about this? What if I said I wanted to sing and see if Alana thinks that this conversation is like a song? Does that become a song or not quite?

I think it's a song because you're like making up words and then turning into like a sound.

Okay, and so a special sound. Okay, that makes sense. So I'm trying to kind of figure out what's the difference between music and not music. So if your parents just say something that sounds like, uh, so if they say, "Alana, where are you?" that's not a song. But if I start singing when I talk to Alana, then that does count as a song. Is that true?

Um, yeah, like you're making up words to say in that, and you're also mixing it with a tune or a sound.

Okay, so you would say a melody or a beat. Um, what if I do not have a melody but I have a beat? Is that— was that a little bit of a song or not yet?

I think it's pretty much song.

Okay. Um, so melody or beat. Do you remember you had a third one and I forgot? Do you remember what your third criteria was? A verse. A verse. Okay. So yeah, a verse. Here's something. Um, let's see. This is from an ancient English, uh, poem. Wan the Apryl with his sharres sloote, the droght of March hath persed to the roote, and bathed every veine of swiche licour, of which vertu engendred is the floure. So first, you probably don't understand a word of that, right? Okay. That's, that's called middle, that's called Middle English. So English changed over many centuries. So that's very Old English. But would you say that, that, did it sound like a verse?

Uh, yeah.

So was that a song?

Um, it sounded like a song. It's like a poem, but it's a song pretty much.

So what's the difference between a poem— it is a poem, by the way, for sure. It's definitely a poem. What's the difference between a poem and a song, or are they the same?

Um, Well, sometimes songs don't rhyme.

Okay, but would you say all poems are songs?

Um, kind of.

Do you know any poems?

No, I don't really. I can't really remember. I don't, um, really come across any. Not much.

How about "Roses are red, violets are blue"?

Oh yeah. Yeah.

You've heard that?

Yeah.

Is that a song?

Yeah, I have. Um, well, kind of.

Okay. So it sounds like, um, so verse is a verse the same as melody or what's the difference between a verse and a melody? So you'd say melody, beat, or verse?

Excuse me?

You said melody, beat, or verse are the three things that make something into a song.

I'm sure there's also more. I just can't remember what they are.

I think those three are pretty, a pretty interesting combination. And so I'm thinking, so melody, I'm trying to figure out how to explain melody. How could you explain melody? If somebody didn't know what a melody was, how would you explain it to them?

I don't know.

Do you, do you, do you play music or does anybody in your family play music like the guitar or anything?

Um, well, my dad plays ukulele, um, but he doesn't really do it much because he has like business and stuff.

So ukulele is— do you know, have you tried to learn how to play ukulele?

A couple times, yep.

Okay, so I'm thinking with a melody, there are different sounds. I mean, and so if I go, you know, "Alana, Alana," is that a song? Is that a melody?

Well, probably is a melody, but it's not really a song because you're just like a Alana, Alana, where are you?

Okay. So what would make it into a melody?

Maybe if you were like, maybe you have to write a song for an assignment for school, but it has to be different. Like maybe you could maybe do it off a poem, like roses are red, violets are blue, I want to sing my tune to you or something. And then mix that with sound.

Okay. So that's the verse part, but I thought you said that even without the sound, the verse part is already a song, right?

Kind of, like you have the words ready and you just need, really need to add like a sound or your special sound or really anything.

So it sounds like you're saying there's a way in which a verse is a song, but it's more of a song if it's a verse plus melody?

Um, yeah.

Okay, okay. Do you like songs and music?

I do.

Do you sing at all?

Um, I don't really sing much.

Okay. Are you interested in learning to play an instrument or learning to sing more?

Um, Yeah.

I think, I think they're great things to learn. So maybe, I bet if you started, if you wanted to play the ukulele, I bet your dad would find a little bit of time to teach you the ukulele. Are your fingers big enough? Because sometimes there are kids' instruments and adults' instruments.

Yeah, sometimes you can get them like, like kid, like kiddo ukuleles.

Yeah.

And they're like, size.

Yeah. Okay. Well, I think I personally, I wish I kind of learned to play an instrument when I was a kid, but not very well. And I regret it. I wish that I had really learned to play an instrument. And so I think, you know, if you are interested, it'd be just really cool because then you can play music wherever you go. And that's kind of a cool ability. Would you agree? Yeah. All right, well, what are you gonna do today?

I'm gonna decorate some eggs.

Oh wow, that sounds like fun. Are you excited about that?

Yeah.

I haven't done that for a long time, but when I was a kid, that was one of my favorite things to do is decorate eggs. It's—

I've never done it.

Oh, you've never done it? Wow, but you get to be creative and you get to think of all sorts of different colors and things. And different designs. So sounds like a lot of fun. I'm gonna let you have a fun day decorating eggs, and maybe we'll talk next week. Okay.

Okay.

Bye-bye.