Old English Nursery Rhymes were a way to teach language skills to the very young in an age when the vast majority of people were illiterate.  These little rhymes toyed with alliteration, modulation and rhythm and educated by putting daily life situations into easy to remember verse. Most of the rhymes were light-hearted and comical and some even made serious or even gruesome situations comical.  (Think of "Ring-a-ring a Rosie" that was actually about the realities of dealing with the Black Death.)

          As an Opener for "The Adventures of Dick Whittington,"  I wanted to include the entire cast in singing authentic Nursery Rhymes of the Elizabethan period.  The children are drawn out onto the stage by the Narrators who introduce them.  They come on in four small groups each singing a separate Nursery rhyme.  Group 1 dances on singing "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush."  They sing and do the actions twice through.  Group 2 enters a few bars later singing and dancing to "Do You Know the Muffin Man."  Then a few bars later, Group 3 enters singing and dancing to "London Bridge is Falling Down."  Finally, the last group of boys comes on singing "Adam Had Seven Sons."  Each group sings their song through twice, and then sits down, leaving Group 4 singing alone to finish.

          Singing four unrelated songs at the same time is called a Quodlibet.  This is an ancient form of what we would label "Partner Songs" nowadays.  The songs work together because they are sung in the same key, have similar length and follow a similar chordal structure.  They may or may not have the same meter however.  For example, "Mulberry Bush" is 6/8 where the other rhymes are 2/4, but because the heavy beats in each rhyme are duple, the patterns work well together.

          The children in the cast are having fun working out the timing of this number.  It is a lot of movement for the audience to keep track of, but it goes by so quickly I hope they find it energetic and delightful.  The kids think it is pure FUN!  They are having a great time.  That's what I am going for!

         While doing research to begin writing "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," I knew I needed to write an authentic sounding sea chanty for the sailors to sing.  I came across the most charming description of what a sea chanty really was and knew in an instant that was what I wanted to recreate.  The article stated that in the heyday of merchant sailing (1600-1800's), one of the most important skills a sailor had to posses was a ready singing ability.  The sailors used songs to help them in their labors aboard ship.  The tempo and rhythms of the songs kept the routine hoisting and pulling chores synchronized and safe.  The caller would sing out the verses and the crew would answer with the refrains.  The verses could literally go on endlessly.  

          Now the topics of the authentic sea chanties I researched were definitely not appropriate for use with Elementary Schoolers.  So I endeavored to come up with a topic that was G-rated and understandable to my young actors.  I also learned that the sea chanties could be either in triple meter or duple meter.  I elected to have the boys sing about sailing over the briny sea in 6/8 time.  In the story, the ship is setting sail from England about 1600 to go trading in Morocco.  I even tried to use some authentic nautical terminology.  (Not easy to enunciate quickly in rhythm.)  It is fun to hear the boys continue singing the song going down the hallway after rehearsal.  They must enjoy singing it.

          The boys have been learning a little dance combination, too.  All variations of walking, hopping, and changing directions.  So far, so good.  The movements seem simple enough that even the less coordinated look good doing it.  Soon we will add the costumes and then we'll be in business.

          Enjoy this Learning Tracks performance of the Sea Chanty "Over the Briny Sea" from the new Bailey Kids Musical "The Adventures of Dick Whittington."