Reindeer Shouldn't Waltz

by Karl Hitzemann

This song is just plain silly. I mean really, reindeer shouldn't waltz? Why not?! Reindeer are wonderful hoofers! But for the purposes of this silly piece, they shouldn't. This song would be a lot of fun for a winter concert. For starters, have a few singers dress up as reindeer, which could be as simple as having them wear furry antlers (we have some available at MusicK8.com). Then, during the "waltzing" section (beginning at measure 21) they could start waltzing and carefully bumping into each other. This should be a very choreographed and staged event - we don't want any of your reindeer to get hurt! As they lightly bump into each other they can say the words that go throughout the section - "pardon," "ouch," "sorry," etc. Of course, you can alter these as needed, or not have them say anything, if you prefer. If you have a Santa costume at your disposal (or even just a Santa hat), it would be neat to have him enter the second time at measure 35 for a big "Ho, Ho, OUCH!" But that is optional, of course.

When you listen to the the performance track for this song, notice that each time the "Oh my!" happens at measure 15, it is performed a little differently. The first time it's sung as written. The second time it's half sung/half spoken. The third time it should be an exaggerated, spoken "OH MY!" You'll hear a great example on the recording.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.