Narbert The 'Narly Narwhal

Let's face it, narwhals are cool, fun, real life unicorns of the sea. And since the topic of our revue this year is awesome animals, we thought that these unique creatures would be a great subject for a song for your beginning recorder players.

The Narwhal - This elusive whale, also known as the narwhale, is only at home in the cold Arctic waters of the north, bordering Canada, Greenland, and Russia. They are most distinguished by their long tusk protruding from an interior canine tooth. Narwhals have been known since the 1700s as they were featured in illustrated publications by the 1750s. Of course, early on they were considered freaks of nature, not unlike the oddities found in circus sideshows.

Today we know that they are one of the smaller whales, that they are mammals, like other whales, and that they are hunters who live off of cod and halibut. Sadly, they are also hunted, mainly for their tusks, just like elephants. This practice now finds them in the "Near Threatened" category according to conservation groups. And since they are hunted in rather isolated waters, it has been hard to discourage hunters from taking them just for the ivory.

If your students would like to learn more about narwhals, the information is just a Google search away. The National Geographic and NOAA sites are good places to start. The narwhal picture and Narbert's illustration are also available as free downloads, along with the condensed piano/recorder score for this song.

Narbert's theme song - The basic tune is a minor rock tune in a roughly blues form, but it's much more than that. Working beside the great rock band is a full orchestra, sort of giving Narbert a sound track for his own little movie. Let the students hear the accompaniment tracks, listening to what the strings, brass, and woodwinds are doing. What actions might be going on in the "movie" while each part of the tune goes by? At the end of the song, the students will hear actual narwhal sounds, and, if you like, your students can join in, imitating the whales with their voices and their instruments.

The tune only uses the pitches A and C, but the tempo and variety of movement still provide a nice challenge for young players.