Here’s a 1970 Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage CD (or download) that collects field recordings of children in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Ecuador playing and singing various games and songs. Some of the material will be familiar.

The music was collected and annotated by the late ethnomusicologist Henrietta Yurchenko, a “song-catcher,” scholar, and author of the biography Woody Guthrie: A Mighty Hard Road.

The Folkways collection costs $17 on CD or cassette but just $9 as a download. Click on the cover art for more information.

This is a 27-page pdf file of another colorful and beautifully-designed DOE document that teachers and administrators and others can use to reflect on the practice of teaching and learning music in their schools (click the picture to download it). This link is to the Music Reflection Tool for elementary schools, but there are equivalents for upper grades as well.

It’s organized into four areas:

1. Organizational Practice: School Environment: including the school’s physical resources/space, staff/instructional time, teacher support, arts data use
2. Instructional Practice: curriculum, teaching and learning
3. Student Outcomes: student engagement, demonstrated arts skills, knowledge and understanding
4. Arts & Cultural Service Providers: school’s use of in-school residencies, exhibitions and performances

The Music Reflection Tool is made available for your download and perusal from the Office of Arts & Special Projects webpages, where you can also download the Blueprint for Teaching & Learning in Music, and learn about upcoming professional development events.

Teaching of music in NYC schools is supported and directed citywide by the The Office of the Arts and Special Projects, in the Department of Education’s headquarters in Tweed Courthouse on Chambers Street. Dr. Barbara Murray is the Director of Music Education.

The Office of the Arts and Special Projects is set up to support and enhance instructional programs in art, music, dance and theater, in grades preK-12. Each school receives a budget line for arts education based on pupil enrollment. How these funds are spent is determined by the school’s principal, in accordance with established guidelines. During the reorganization of the Department of Education, budgeting is a far more transparent process than it was in the past, and a great deal of information about how schools spend money is available publicly, on-line.

The OASP site is an on-line source for several critically-important documents:

the curriculum guide Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts (it’s a PDF file, heavy in color and graphics: not practical for downloading and printing). Note: The Blueprint “strands” on Music Education are also available in a more practical poster format (available only by purchase; see below).

Getting the Blueprint:
the school’s principal can order it through FAMIS: E-Catalog:Internal Services. Use the following item numbers:
TLAR10032- Music Blueprint Book- $7
TLAR10033- Music Blueprint Poster- $3
Include specific contact information on the purchase order for the delivery of materials. The necessary funds should be scheduled in Object Code 0998.

The DOE’s brief Benchmarks for Music Learning can be examined online — a series of general statements that summarize expectations for children’s learning and abilities in grades 2, 5, 8 and 12.

In addition, the OASP page offers much valuable information on ArtsCount. This is the Department of Education’s program to ensure that arts education is not overlooked in the drive toward accountability in city schools (see post below). Components of this program include the Annual Arts in Schools Report, the Learning Environment Surveys, and Annual Compliance Review. Some of this information can be accessed on each school’s DOE-hosted website, if you click on the link to “Statistics” on the left column.

The OASP site offers links to many other valuable resources including grant sources and activities for students. The Keys to Achievement Grant offers 85% of the cost of an elaborate keyboard lab for elementary schools (click on the word “grant” to see the guidelines).

Learning Support Organizations

Each school is associated with one of the Learning Support Organizations (LSO). Music teachers should seek to contact the arts coordinator for their school’s LSO, and to be aware of any workshops or other LSO initiatives to promote arts education.

Public schools and principals have widely-varying budgets and priorities for spending on arts education. Children’s own voices, hands, and feet are the primary materials in early childhood music. If the school has no space devoted to music learning, it may not make sense to purchase a fleet of keyboards or a full collection of Orff instruments.

But if space and funds are available from year to year, each teacher needs to make choices between spending on a permanent collection of band or percussion instruments, or on concert tickets or visiting artists, or on instruments that the children can take home to learn on, such as soprano recorders.

FAMIS

FAMIS is the online purchasing system used by NYC Department of Education staff to purchase goods and services for their schools. It replaces an older, more awkward system called Fastrack and like Fastrack, it was designed mainly to provide streamlining and greater accountability. Choices are somewhat limited, and sometimes the prices are actually higher than what you would pay for the same product from a mail-order supply catalog, or on a web-site.

The FAMIS system is not for teachers’ out-of-pocket spending, or for using Teachers Choice funds. However, FAMIS is useful when the school is the purchaser: a teacher can shop in the “E-Catalog” and then provide his or her supervisor with a list of FAMIS item numbers and quantities. The ordering is then done electronically.

Since FAMIS is designed for on-line purchasing, the web-site or “portal” is accessed by a user-ID and a password. Teachers (who will not be approving purchases or actually placing orders) can request access for Inquiry Only, which lets you research items and prices without actually completing a purchase order. To do so, fill out and submit a request for a FAMIS User-ID, signed by your supervisor.

You can also do limited searches in the FAMIS E-Catalog by clicking the icon on the left and then simply entering your Board of Education e-mail address (no User-ID or password).

Using FAMIS

At first, the E-Catalog is a little tricky to navigate. The best way to use it is if you already know what you need. Armed with a product description or brand name, a user can search among the several commodity categories: Textbooks, Computer Software, AudioVisual Media, or General Supplies.

Users can search through the items in the commodity by selecting among the options in a “dropdown” list that includes:

• Item number
• Description
• Vendor number
• Vendor name
• ISBN number (for books)
• Vendor Catalog number
• Manufacturer Name
• Manufacturer’s item number
• Brand / Model,
• Contract number.

After choosing one these descriptors, you type in the specification, and click on the Search button. For some examples see the post about “Finding Things on FAMIS.”

The DOE Office of Purchasing webpage hosts a well-made training module for first time FAMIS users.

Please note: This section will be expanded to include elementary band instruments, guitars and other instruments. At the moment, it includes soprano recorders and keyboards.

Soprano recorders and keyboard labs are often the instrument of choice for teaching music literacy and performance in schools that do not provide a regular strings, band, or orchestra program. Below are some links to on-line resources for these instruments.

Keyboards:

Soundtree is a division of the Korg keyboard manufacturer that designs and supports keyboard labs for purchase by schools. The Soundtree website includes a collection of lesson plans which can be downloaded and used even if your school doesn’t purchase a lab.

Suzuki offers inexpensive keyboard labs. Their whole catalog is available online.

Soprano Recorder:

• Recorder Karate from MusicK8 is a popular teaching program, but most people rely on a mix of resources and materials.

• Do It! Play Recorder is a well-produced student book, with CD available (and extensive teachers’ edition) from GIA Publications.

• Various fingering charts are available: one British site has an interactive diagram some 3rd to 5th graders would find fun.

• Rockin’ Recorders, by teacher Kay Greenhaw, has transparencies you can print out and use in class.

• Recorder Homepage, by Nicholas Lander, is an enormous collection of resources.

• Dolmetsch Recorder pages are also enormous.

• Carnegie Hall offers two outreach programs, Music Explorers and LinkUp!, both of which involve whole class instruction in soprano recorder, and include a valuable prepared curriculum, and a culminating visit to Carnegie Hall.

Collaborative Inquiry for Effective Music Teaching: Asking Questions and Finding Answers to Improve Student Achievement in Music

The 2009-10 school year once again offers a series of three professional development events for music teachers in New York City public schools. As with last year’s series, this must be paid for by the school at the pleasure of the principal, and participants must register on-line using the Pro-Traxx website, for which you’ll need to register, and then log in.

The cost of the series is $300 per participant for the full workshop series (3 days) to be paid by the school.
The workshops will take place at Long Island City High School in Queens on November 3, 2009, and Monday, February 1 and Thursday, June 10, 2010,  from 8:30 AM — 3:00 PM.

This series of workshops proposes to “examine our strategies for teaching music and the results we subsequently get. Working in small collaborative groups based on level, specialty area, and experience, we will draw upon our own experiences and talents to determine lines of inquiry for teaching music and improving student mastery. Building on the assessment work we did last year, small cohorts will establish areas of inquiry or need, share what works, provide evidence of how they know it works, exchange strategies, and support each other to improve outcomes for all our students.”

Types of questions expected to arise may include:

• How can I better meet the needs of my students in a particular area of music study?
• Which students aren’t I reaching and what might I be doing to reach them?
• Why isn’t a teaching technique working?
• How can I improve my students’ retention so they progress toward Music Blueprint benchmarks?
• What issues of classroom management do I want to address and improve upon?

Participants register for one series only and are expected to attend all three workshop days. Registration must be submitted by the teacher via the ProTraxx system, by following this link: http://pd.nycoit.org, and doing a Quick Search for “Office of Arts  & Special Projects” (for a sample screen, click the More button at the bottom of this post) .  The workshop series will be listed with all necessary information. The registration deadline for this workshop series is Tuesday, October 20, 2009.

Once registration has been completed, schools must submit payment via the FAMIS system. The teacher’s enrollment in the workshop series will be confirmed once the school’s payment has been approved. Payments will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis. The payment deadline for these workshop series is Thursday, October 22, 2009. (In past years, participants were permitted to attend even when payment had not been completed, as long as they could provide a signed note from the principal indicating an intention to pay.)

Principals will need to purchase the workshop on your behalf as a FAMIS item, so it’s important to discuss the date and your plans, in advance of the registration deadline.

As of October 18, 108 of the 200 available seats were pre-registered.

Following are lyrics for many of the traditional standards for teaching music in early childhood:

Many thanks to the compiler, Walter Paul, who teaches music at P.S. 42 in Manhattan. He has provided brief a cappella MP3 files for melodies of any unfamiliar pieces, at      http://drop.io/songsandrhymeslevel1

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SONGS:
1. GREETING/GOODBYE CHANT
Good day, boys and girls,
Good day, [Mr. Paul].

2. CAN YOU MAKE A CIRCLE?
Can you make a circle, a circle, a circle?
Can you make a circle? Show me how.
We can make a circle, a circle, a circle.

We can make a circle; this is how.

FINGER PLAYS:
3. FIVE LITTLE SOLDIERS
Five little soldiers standing in a row.
Three stood straight and two stood so.
Along came the captain, and what do you think?
They all stood straight as quick as a wink!
4. THIS LITTLE PIGGY
This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
And this little piggy had none.
But this little piggy cried, “Wee, wee, wee”
all the way home!

5. FROM HERE TO THERE
From here to there to Madison Square,
When I get there, I’ll pull your hair!

6. HERE’S THE CHURCH
Here’s the church,
Here’s the steeple,
Open the doors,
And see all the people!
Open the doors and hear them pray,
Close the doors, they all walk away.

7. TWO LITTLE DICKY BIRDS
Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall,
One named Peter, one named Paul.
Fly away Peter, fly away, Paul,
Come back Peter, come back Paul.

8. THE EENCY WEENCY SPIDER
Oh, the eency weency spider climbed up the
water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
And the eency weency spider climbed up the spout again.

FOR PRACTICING BEAT:
9. ACKA BACKA
Acka backa soda cracka, acka backa boo.
Acka backa soda cracka, out goes you!

10. PEASE PORRIDGE
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old.
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in a pot nine days old.

11. BOUNCE HIGH
Bounce high, bounce low,
Bounce the ball to Shiloh.

12. SNAIL, SNAIL
Snail, snail, snail, snail,
Go around and ‘round and ‘round.

13. TOUCH YOUR SHOULDERS
Touch your shoulders, touch your knees.
Raise your arms, and drop them, please.
Touch your ankles, touch your toes.
Pull your ears, and touch your nose.

FOR PRACTICING RHYTHM (“the way the words go”):

14. ONE, TWO, TIE MY SHOE
One, two, tie my shoe,
Three, four, shut the door,
Five, six, pick up sticks,
Seven, eight, lay them straight,
Nine, ten, a big fat hen,
Eleven, twelve, dig and delve.

15. TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT
Two, four, six, eight,
Meet me at the garden gate.
If I’m late, don’t wait.
Two, four, six, eight.

16. ENGINE, ENGINE NUMBER 9
Engine, engine number nine,
Going down Chicago line,
If the train goes off the track,
Do you want your money back?
Yes, no, maybe so!

ENGINE, ENGINE NUMBER 8 (by Walter Paul)
Engine, engine number eight,
Get on board, and don’t be late.
Sit right down, and pay your fare.
Very soon you will be there.

ENGINE, ENGINE NUMBER 3 (by Walter Paul)
Engine, engine number three,
This is where I like to be:
Sitting in the red caboose,
Eating pie and drinking juice.

17. THIS OLD MAN
This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my thumb.
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
[Two—shoe, Three—knee, Four—door,
Five—hive, Six—sticks, Seven—up in
heaven, Eight—gate, Nine—spine, Ten—hen (or “once again”)]

FOR PRACTICING HIGH/LOW:
18. RING AROUND THE ROSIE
Ring around the rosie,
Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

19. SEE-SAW
See-saw, up and down:
In the sky, and on the ground.

20. STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight,
Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.

21. HOT CROSS BUNS
Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns.
One a-penny, two a-penny
Hot cross buns.

22. HICKORY DICKORY DOCK
Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one, the mouse ran down,
Hickory dickory dock.

LULLABIES:

23. BYE, BABY BUNTING
Bye, baby bunting,
Daddy’s gone a-hunting
To catch a little rabbit skin
To wrap his baby bunting in.

24. HUSH, LITTLE BABY
Hush, little baby, don’t say a word.
Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.
If that mockingbird won’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.
If that diamond ring turns to brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass.
If that looking glass gets BROKE,
Papa’s gonna buy you a billy GOAT.
If that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull.
If that cart and bull turn over,
Papa’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
If that dog named Rover won’t bark,
Papa’s gonna buy you a horse and cart.
If that horse and cart fall dn,
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

25. LONDON BRIDGE
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with iron bars…
Shake him [her] up with pepper and salt…
Off to prison you must go…

INDIVIDUAL SINGING:
26. WHAT COLOR ARE YOU WEARING?
[girl] Snow is white, just like a pearl,
What color are you wearing my little girl?
[boy] Sky is blue, sun is yellow,
What color are your wearing my little fellow?

27. BEE, BEE
Bee, bee, bumblebee
Can you sing your name to me?

HEAD/SINGING/CHEST VOICES:
28. QUEENIE, QUEENIE CAROLINE
Queenie, Queenie Caroline
Washed her hair in turpentine,
Turpentine to make it shine,
Queenie, Queenie Caroline!

CALL AND RESPONSE GAME:
29. LEMONADE
Here we come.
Where from?
New York.
What’s your trade?
Lemonade.
Get to work and give us some, if you’re not afraid!

GAMES OF CHASE:
30. LUCY LOCKET
Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher found it.
Not a penny was there in it,
Only ribbon ‘round it.
31. CHARLIE OVER THE OCEAN
Charlie over the ocean,
Charlie over the sea,
Charlie caught a [big fish, lobster, tuna…]
Can’t catch me.

PARTNER CHOOSING GAMES:
32. LITTLE SALLY WATER
Little Sally Water, sitting in a saucer,
Rise, Sally, rise, Sally, wipe away your tears, Sally.
Turn to the east, Sally, turn to the west, Sally,
Turn to the one that you love the best, Sally.
33. HERE COMES A BLUEBIRD
Here comes a bluebird,
In through my window,
Hey, diddle-dum a day, day, day.
Take a little partner,
Hop in the garden,
Hey, diddle-dum a day, day, day.

34. BLUEBIRD
Bluebird, bluebird, in my window,
Bluebird, bluebird, in my window,
Bluebird, bluebird, in my window,
Oh, Johnny I am tired!
Take a little one, tap him on the shoulder,
Take a little one, hop in the garden,
Take a little one, tap him on the shoulder.
Oh, Johnny, I am tired!

35. ONE ELEPHANT
One elephant went out to play on a bright and sunny day.
He had such enormous fun, he asked another elephant to come.
One elephant, two elephants.
Two elephants went out to play…

TIMBRE RECOGNITION:
36. DOGGIE, DOGGIE
Doggie, doggie, where’s your bone?
Somebody stole it from my home.
Who stole the bone?
I stole the bone.

SKIPPING SONGS (6/8 METER):
37. SALLY GO ‘ROUND THE SUN
Sally go ‘round the sun,
Sally go ‘round the moon,
Sally go ‘round the chimney pot ev’ry afternoon.

38. HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

39. JACK AND JILL
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
and Jill came tumbling after.

40. KANGAROO
Kangaroo, skippy-roo,
Sitting in the noonday sun.
Comes a hunter, run, run, run!
Guess who caught you just for fun.

41. THE FARMER IN THE DELL
The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell,
Heigh ho the merry-o, the farmer in the dell.
The farmer takes a wife…
The wife takes a child…
The child takes a nurse…
The nurse takes a dog…
The dog takes a cat…
The cat takes a rat…
The rat takes the cheese…
The farmer runs away…
The wife runs away…
The child runs away…
The nurse runs away…
The dog runs away…
The cat runs away…
The rat runs away…
The cheese stands alone…
We all take a bite…
We clap for the cheese…
The cheese runs away…

42. LOOBY LOO
Here we go looby loo,
Here we go looby light,
Here we go looby loo,
All on a Saturday night.
You put your left hand in,
You take your left hand out,
You give your left hand a “shake, shake, shake”
and turn yourself about…

PHRASE:
43. MAI LONG SERA
Mai long sera,
Mai long sera,
Mah lah see see gah ray
See gah ree gah ray.

SEASONAL:
44. OLD WITCH
Old witch, couldn’t sew a stitch,
Picked up a penny and thought she was rich.
[First 2 times:] Are you my children? Yes, ma’am.
[Last time:] Are you my children? No, you
old witch!

45. TO FOOL SOME FOLKS…
To fool some folks on Halloween
I’ll tell you what I’ll do:
I’ll hide behind this pumpkin head,
And then I’ll shout, “Boo.” BOO!!!

“SING ALOUD”—ILLUSTRATED SONGBOOKS
46. MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
Mary had a little lamb…its fleece was white as snow.
Ev’rywhere that Mary went…the lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day…which was against the rule.
It made the children laugh and play…to see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out…but still it lingered near
And waited patiently about…’til Mary did appear.
“Why does the lamb love Mary so?”…the eager children cry.
“Why Mary loves the lamb, you know,”… the teacher did reply.

47. TEDDY BEAR, TEDDY BEAR
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, show your shoe,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, that will do!
Teddy bear, teddy bear, go upstairs,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say your prayers.
Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn off the light,
Teddy bear, teddy bear, say good night
(Good night!)

48. TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.

UNCLASSIFIED SONGS/RHYMES:
49. RAIN, RAIN
Rain, rain, go away;
Come again another day.
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go away.

50. IT’S RAINING
It’s raining, it’s pouring,
The old man is snoring.
He went to bed and bumped his head,
And he didn’t get up in the morning.

51. I WON’T GO TO MACY’S
Oh, I won’t go to Macy’s anymore, more, more,
There’s a big fat policeman at the door, door, door.
He’ll grab you by the collar
And make you pay a dollar.
No, I won’t go to Macy’s anymore, more, more!

52. SIX LITTLE DUCKS
Six little ducks that I once knew,
Fat ones, skinny ones, tall ones too.
But the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He led the others with his “quack, quack, quack.”
“Quack, quack, quack; quack, quack quack.”
He led the others with his “quack, quack, quack.”
Down to the river they would go,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, to and fro…
Home from the river they would come,
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, ho, hum, hum…

53. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE
One, two, three, four, five, I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, I let it go again.
Why did I let it go?
Because it bit my finger so, because it bit my finger so.
What finger did it bite?
The little one on the right, the little one on the right!

Music teachers with less than three years of experience can register now for the P-Credit course Effective Teaching Strategies for the Beginning Core/Instrumental Music Specialist. This course will focus upon effective methods for maximizing teacher-student communication, classroom management, unit/lesson planning, selecting appropriate repertoire, creating adaptive musical arrangements, acquiring instructional resources, and developing supports for one’s program.

Course Name: Effective Teaching Strategies for the Beginning Core/Instrumental Music Specialist
Instructor: Barry Stern
Eligibility: This course is open to assigned teachers of core and/or instrumental music for grades 3 through 12 with less than three years of experience teaching music in the DOE.
Dates:
Week I: Monday, Tuesday  & Thursday, October 5, 6, & 8,
Week II: Tuesday & Thursday, October 13 & 15,
Week III: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday, October 19, 20, & 22,
Week IV: Monday  & Tuesday, October 26-27,

Time: All sessions will meet from 4:00-7:00 pm
Location: All sessions will take place at Louis D. Brandeis High School (145 West 84th Street, Manhattan)
Course Fee: $100 due at time of enrollment (This is a reduced fee due to a generous grant from the Shubert Foundation.)
To Register: Participants must register online at http://schools.nyc.gov/teachers/aspdp/ by Tuesday, September 29. The ASPDP course code is P1-261F09.

The New York City After School Professional Development Program offers a selection of “P” In-Service courses that are designed to equip educators (teachers, secretaries, and other school-based personnel) with the skills and abilities to increase student achievement.  Course offerings are high quality, low-cost alternatives to traditionally offered college courses.  Available across all content areas, courses may be applied toward salary differential requirements and meet the New York State 175-hour Professional Development requirement. (ASPDP classes do not offer academic credits toward fulfillment of licensing requirements.)

Summer “P” course registration will begin on June 2nd after 4 PM.  Mark your calendar for the Fall 2009 registration which begins on August 4th after 4 PM. Fall courses begin meeting on Sept 21st. Visit the ASPDP website to view the catalog of courses. For additional information contact Helaine Schwartz, Director at 718-935-5753 or via e-mail at aspdp@schools.nyc.gov

Past offerings that may be of interest to music teachers included Using the Recorder in the Classroom, Composing with Garage Band, Technology Through Music and Other Arts, and The American Musicals Project – History, & Literature through the Arts.

(Click on the last title to see a description of the course.)

]]> http://brooklynmusic.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/p-courses/feed/ 0 brooklynmusic “P” course http://brooklynmusic.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/rhymes-chants-folk-songs-from-mexico/ http://brooklynmusic.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/rhymes-chants-folk-songs-from-mexico/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:25:48 +0000 P. Conrad http://brooklynmusic.wordpress.com/?p=439 ]]>

El Patio de Mi Casa: 41 Rhymes, Chants & Folk Songs from Mexico is a new collection published by GIA Publications. Gabriela Montoya-Stier has collected, translated, analyzed each piece with game directions, teaching suggestions and cultural background information.   An accompanying CD is available for an additional $15.