Ostinato


Cowboys and Indians

This activity was suggested at a piano teachers' conference at Carson-Newman College in Jeffersonville, TN.
"Cowboys" is played by improvising on the black keys over this ostinato:

while "Indians" is played by improvising on the black keys over this ostinato:



Circus Waltz



I don't remember where I got this.

Frogs' Chorus



learned from a class at Anderson College, now Anderson University, in Anderson, IN

Tick Tock



Wyzga c 1982, vol. 3: 44.
Don't let your watch run down



Hinton 1962: 14


unpitched

  • We-ye-le (South African folk song)
    (Marais & Marais 1964: 63-64)

do re mi so

  • Dame, get up and bake your pies (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 15)
  • Rondo (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 62-64)

do re mi so la

  • Sleep, baby, sleep! (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 14)
  • Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 16)
  • Lady bird, lady bird (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 21)
  • The spider and the fly (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 24-25)
  • Sing, said the mother (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 26-27)
  • First steps in ensemble playing, #36 (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 48)

do mi so la do

  • Higglety, piggelty pop! (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 20)
  • First steps in ensemble playing, #37 (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 48)
  • First steps in ensemble playing, #44 (Keetman, Regner & Orff 1982: 53)

la do re mi so la do

  • Little wheel a-turning in my heart (Nichols 1983, vol. 1: 28-29)

For further examples, see the pages on Afro-American and Native American songs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

de Sutter, I. 1967. Concertino pentatonico: Voor klavier en Orff-instrumenten. Amsterdam: New Sound.
A single movement in sonata form, with the first theme in C major and the second theme in F major. Besides the piano, the recorder and glockenspiel parts are somewhat advanced. The metallophone, xylophone, and kettledrum parts are easy ostinato parts. In the absence of Orff instruments, the parts can easily be assigned to traditional instruments.

Dee, M. 1953. Jolly jingles: Up to the minute piano stories. Pittsburgh, PA: Volkwein Brothers, Inc.
"Trudging up the hill" is all on black keys. The left hand plays an ostinato while the right hand plays an ascending melody.

Hall, D. 1963. Orff-Schulwerk: Singing games and songs. New York: Associated Music Publishers.

Keetman, G.; Regner, H.; & Orff, C. 1982. Music for children: Based on Carl Orff-Gunild Keetman Musik fur Kinder. New York: Schott Music Corp.

Miller, C. C. 2001. Pentatonic partners: Songs and activities for the music classroom. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp.
Contains 9 folk songs and 1 original song, each with an Orff arrangement, a piano accompaniment, lesson plans, and game instructions.
The book also provides is a song sheet which the copyright owner permits the user to copy. The 1 original song is in two contrapuntal treble parts.
For each of the 9 folk songs, the book also provides song sheets for songs which could fit as quodlibets.
It is a good idea, but the price is a little steep.

Nichols, E. 1983. Orff instrument source book. Melville, NY: Belwin Mills.

Robertson, T. 2000. Lullaby. For unspecified ostinato instrument and piano.
Available in pdf format here.

_____. 2007. A bag of Korean songs. For recorder class and piano.
Arrangements of very easy Korean songs playable on the recorder with only the fingers of the left hand.
Most of the songs are repeated over a piano accompaniment.
Most of the repeated figures are no more than four measures long.
Available in pdf format here.

_____. 2010. Spoken Intonation Suite. For voice and piano.
"Doctor Livingston, I presume," "Why are you mad at me?" "I was just kidding," "Kevin has a girlfriend," and "That's what you think" are repeated as ostinato over a piano accompaniment.
Available in pdf format here.


Saliba, K. 1996. Austinato: An ostinato jamboree. Lakeland, TN: Memphis Musicraft.
A set of original compositions, most of which use Orff instruments. Some are spoken, some are pentatonic, some are diatonic.

Tcherepnin, A. 1959. Exploring the piano: 12 duets for beginner and teacher-pianist. New York: C. F. Peters.
The child plays an ostinato while the adult plays something more complicated. Children love this book.

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