Teamwork

by John Riggio

Two heads are better than one. Many hands make light work. In union there is strength. Or as Andrew Carnegie put it, "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision… It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." To those of us who've been around a while, the need for teamwork may seem like a no-brainer, but it's a great thing to teach and reinforce with your students. And as it happens, this topic was a request. So, here you go! This song can be used anytime you want to emphasize teamwork, be it for sports, musical ensembles, a class project, school unity, and so on.

The song begins with a four-on-the-floor kick and synth bass stabs, while the verses change up to a more traditional rock sound. Electric guitar plays the melody line to add stability for your singers. This can come in handy in more challenging spots, like the syncopation starting at bar 17, or the melody line in the coda. (These were places we had to work on a little more with our younger singers in the studio.) Also, pay attention to the road map. Bar 9 is sung three times over the course of the tune.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.