Fly A Kite

by John Riggio

Every year starting in 1999, Plank Road Publishing has held an event called "Flood Fest" to commemorate our survival of the great flood of 1998. And while this event has hosted all manner of family-friendly entertainment over the years, the Flood Fest of 2012 had a new twist to it – kites! Our MOO (that's Manager Of Operations for you non-acronym types) decided that since it was a windy day, it might be cool to pick up a few cheap kites for folks to enjoy during the event. John picked out one of the inexpensive delta kites, and it flew without effort. He had so much fun with it, his wife bought him a high quality kite, and not long after that, some family members bought him yet another high quality kite for his birthday. As it turns out, April is National Kite Month, and John had plenty of inspiration for it, as you can hear in this uplifting tune.

The vocal line is straight forward, nothing too difficult, especially if you use the recording as a guide. The mezzo forte at measure 5 occurs the first time only, and it's forte every time thereafter. Part 2 is optional, and singers should stagger breathe to keep the continuity of sound.

On the recording, we used wind sound effects and wind chimes (mark tree) to simulate the conditions for kite flying. (Trying to fly a kite when it's not windy can be a lame experience.) As usual, our studio musicians did an excellent job on this tune, especially Sandy Williams, who plays a fantastic guitar solo over the D.S.

In live performance, kites could be used as props. Be sure to have different colors and styles of kites for a stunning visual effect. If you want to take it further, consider adding movement. Our choreographer, Melissa Schott, has created movement ideas that you can use or adapt for your own students. The free video is available on our web site for downloading. (See details on page 65.)

Note: Kite flying was also the inspiration for the cover of this issue, as you probably noticed. Artist Jennifer Vulpas captures the essence of a windy day and the joyful soaring high above the ground.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.