Songbook

Purpose: Have fun, and along the way increase your familiarity with music notation.

Difficulty: Easy. You can choose songs for sing-along or listening, and you can try tapping any piano keys to "play" the songs. You can change the tempo, too (faster or slower), and you can change the instrument sounds used for the chords or the melody. You can also transpose the song to a different key, if it's too high or low for your voice! This is not scored for points.

How it works:

• Touch the "Choose song" button to see the song list. Touch a song name in the list and then touch the "Open" button to see it. The play button at the top of the screen will play the music, and if you want to try tapping it you can touch the "Tap it" button. When tapping a tune, the next note plays each time you touch any piano key - it doesn't matter which key you touch.

• To change the tempo, touch the metronome button at the right side of the screen. Move the tempo control toward the rabbit to speed up, toward the turtle to slow down. Or you can bump it up or down a little at a time with the + and - buttons.

• To transpose the music to a different key, touch the Transpose button - choose how many steps you want the music to move up or down, and press "Transpose now" when you've decided. Musica Touch will adjust the key signature, chords, and melody as appropriate, and you can keep doing it until it's just what you want.

• Hints for tapping a tune: Since the touch screen is very sensitive you'll want to use a certain playing technique. Lift your fingers high as you play, to avoid accidentally touching an unintended note - the screen will catch the slightest touch, deliberate or not. Be sure to treat the keyboard like a normal piano otherwise - that is, keep your finger on a note as long as you want it to keep sounding. Be aware that it is the touch of your fingertip that registers with the screen - your fingernail will not work! Play in the center of each key; hitting two notes at once will have the same effect as playing two notes quickly. You can use the "fat" one-octave keyboard if you like - touch the keyboard info button to change the piano size.

• You can turn off the chord sound if desired and you can change the volume and instruments for each voice. Instrument and volume changes are made by touching the blue information buttons at the left of the chords, the staff, and on the keyboard.

The free Songbook Sampler contains 3 songs to try out: Brahms' Lullaby, De Colores, and I've Been Working on the Railroad.

Songbook itself contains 36 traditional songs, complete with lyrics and chord accompaniment.

1. All Through the Night
2. Amazing Grace
3. America the Beautiful
4. Auld Lang Syne
5. Billy Boy
6. Brahms Lullaby (lyrics in German and English)
7. Cielito Lindo (lyrics in Spanish)
8. Cockles and Mussels
9. De Colores (lyrics in Spanish)
10. Every Little Wavelet
11. Frère Jacques (lyrics in French and English)
12. Get Along, Little Dogies
13. Home on the Range
14. It's Raining, It's Pouring
15. Lavender's Blue
16. Li'l Liza Jane
17. Loch Lomond
18. Muss i' Denn (lyrics in German and English)
19. Oh! Dear! What can the Matter Be?
20. Oh! Suzanna!
21. Pop! Goes the Weasel
22. Red River Valley
23. Scarborough Fair
24. She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain
25. Simple Gifts
26. Skip to my Lou
27. Sweet Betsy from Pike
28. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
29. The Ash Grove
30. The Blue-tail Fly
31. The Erie Canal
32. The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
33. This Old Man
34. Twenty Froggies
35. (I've been) Working on the Railroad
36. Yankee Doodle





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