Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times

Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times

by Jim Gill

Jim Gill continues his tradition of original play songs, created to get little ones moving, interacting, and most importantly, having fun in this American Library Association's Notable Children's Recording. Gill's songs have influences of jazz, blues, bluegrass, and swing, but are all his own playful rhymes and sound effects. He utilizes a broad instrument selection including acoustic and electric bass and guitar, clarinet and bass clarinet, alto flute, tenor and baritone saxophone, trombone, piano, organ, harmonica, melodic, jaw harp, mandolin, fiddle electric mandolin, banjo, drums, and percussion.

Jim Gill's message inside the CD states, "No adult or child will ever look back and regret the moments they spent playing together." And his songs certainly follow this motto providing mental and physical stimulation, also known as 'playing'. One way that Gill plays with his listeners is through an array of silly and/or new sounds. Tromboning is an excellent example of this, as the trombone is heard with a variety of different mutes, creating multiple sounds from the same instrument throughout the song. Sound is toyed with again in the bluesy song Delay on the Freeway when the guitar is used to imitate the sound of a flat tire, a rocking chair, a freight train, and a woman. He expresses all the different sounds you can make in your own house in Drumming The House when he uses drums sticks to create sound on a table, chair, sink, floor, ceiling, stairs, door, tub, toilet, wall, and more! Another tactic Gill uses to play with his audience is to include rhyme, which is found in all of his songs, since it helps with association to learn and remember the song faster. California is a bluegrass sounding song that rhymes 'California' with all types of new words by changing the ending to each vowel; Californee-ay, californee-ee, Californee-I, Californee-o, and Californee-u. Humor is usually an effective and welcomed tool while playing, and Gill has plenty of it. You will be giggling a number of times before the recording is through. Guaranteed. I particularly appreciated his self-depreciating humor in the song notes of Strollin' Down the Road, where he states in the chorus line about 'taking one step forward and two steps back' is featured in a musical about this life that hasn't been written yet.

Perhaps Gill's most effective way of playing is through his strong encouragement of movement. In many songs, Gill will simply tell you what to do. Rhythm In My Fingers is a call-and-response song, where Gill also asks the children responding (including your little one) to snap, clap and stamp along with him to the beat. The lyrics in Jump Up, Turn Around directs listeners through a repeating chorus to "Jump up, turn around, clap your hands, stamp the ground." Gill also challenges listeners to do it with their eyes closed and holding their breath. Swing Your Partner is a country swing dance, where you "Swing your partner 'round and 'round/Skippin' and stampin' on the ground." Children can get silly miming the lyrics of Face the Facts, which sings about swimming arms, scissor legs, driving hands, binocular eyes, and jumping jacks. Your little one will have the time of their life if you participate with them, creating an active bonding experience. Gill provides additional game ideas for some of the songs in the cover booklet, but you and your child can make up your own as well. You can try to identify the different instruments, make up new words to a familiar tune, change Gill's rhymes in a song to personalize it more for your family, or just make up your own silly dance.

I listened to this with my three-year-old friend, Sam. He was giggling and wiggling throughout the whole CD! His favorite was Family Goodbyes, a cute song about a family who waves goodbye with different body parts; they wave goodbye with their foot, hair, thumb, nose, toe, lips, wrist, knee, tongue, ear, and brow! Sam had so much fun trying to figure out how to 'wave' each of the body parts. He waved with his lips by making a fish face, with his nose by shaking his head, and with his knees by doing what looked like a chicken dance. We've actually returned to the idea of this song and spent afternoons coming up with new ways to wave goodbye.

--Audra

Jim Gill is a musician, author, and trained child development specialist with a Master's degree from the Erikson Institute of Chicago.Gill's focus is on promoting active play between adults and children. He developed his unique approach of combining word play and movement opportunities into songs through the twenty years spent directing weekly programs in music play for families with children with special needs in the Chicago area. He now presents "concerts of music and play" to children and families throughout the country at theaters, libraries and schools. Jim also speaks to early childhood educators and children's librarians about the many benefits of play in young children's lives.

Jim has produced five recordings of music play activities that have received awards from both the American Library Association and the Parents' Choice Foundation. He has also created a program of "Symphonic Music Play," new works for children accompanied by a full symphony orchestra. Jim's work with symphony orchestras inspired his latest picture book for children, A Soup Opera. Jim is also the author of May There Always Be Sunshine, a picture book that received the 2002 Book Award from the Philadelphia Children's Museum.

Hello, I must Be Going

Swing Your Partner

Tromboning

Jump Up, Turn Around

Face The Facts

Jim Gill's Groove

California

Sliding, Rolling and Jumping

Rhythm In My Fingers

Strollin' Down the Road

Delay On the Freeway

Drumming The House

Backwards Day

Family Goodbyes

Introduction to Crazy Shoes Theme

Crazy Shoes Theme