A Duck In The Dark

by John Riggio

This song is based on a true story. Seriously! See, John was pulling into the parking lot at Plank Road Publishing one evening, and was startled to see this duck just sitting there in the lawn next to our lot. It was quite suspicious. Have YOU ever seen a duck sitting on your lawn at night? Exactly. Anyway, he thought the scene made for a fun tune idea.

Because of the mystery of the incident, he decided to approach the tune as an intrigue with a spy/espionage motif (hence the familiar, tongue-in-cheek undercurrent in the tremolo strings). The lyrics tell the tale, which includes a probable outcome. (Though we'll never really know why she was sitting there...)

It would probably help your singers to hear the full performance version of the song on the CD to better understand how the intervals sound. Though there are some musical challenges, it is repetitive enough that they'll catch on after rehearsing it a few times. The range is fairly easy - D to B. More important, however, your students get to quack! Not on pitch, mind you. Just your basic duck impression. Let them be creative about this - our studio singers certainly were! (By the end of the tune, our duck is clearly annoyed with us, hence the heavy metal finale.)

Special thanks to Dane Clark who let us "borrow" his kick and snare sounds to enhance our rhythm mix on both this tune and "See You Later."

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.