Toyland - Gloria Parker



We've all done it at one point in our lives. Running our finger around the rim of a crystal glass in order to make that annoying high pitch ring. You know what I'm talking about. Well, that isn't just immature restaurant behaviour, people can actually make music doing that, and it actually sounds good too!

Our last stop on Unconventional Instrument Week is the glass harp, also known as singing glasses, a series of crystal glasses all lined up and filled with different amounts of water. The amount of water dictates the pitch of the ring. Less water means a lower pitch and more water means a higher pitch.

The creation of the glass harp dates back to 1741 by Richard Pockrich. He was the first in a long line of glass harp virtuosos over the past 300 years.

More recently GLORIA PARKER, a musical virtuoso, has mastered the glass harp which was taught to her by her grandfather. Parker has mastered eight different instruments, her most famous being the marimba (singing glasses are a close second). In the 80s, she released A TOAST TO CHRISTMAS which features many different Christmas songs, lovingly played on the glass harp. This is where you will find her cover of Toyland from the operetta Babes in Toyland that was later made into a Disney movie in 1961.

Parker's amazing abilities don't stop with her instruments. She is an expert songwriter, bandleader, conductor, actress and author! Wow!

Here is an interesting Disney connection for you: Under the pen name Patricia Smith, Gloria Parker wrote a song called Supercalafajalistickespeealadojus (The Super Song) in 1951, thirteen years before the release of Mary Poppins! The song was recorded by Alan Holmes and his Orchestra and was released on Columbia records.

Parker filed a lawsuit after the release of Mary Poppins claiming copyright infringement. I'm no lawyer, but it looks pretty clear to me who copied whom. But the Disney lawyers won claiming that versions of that word existed before 1949. Really? Can anyone show me an example of this?

Labels: babes in toyland, gloria parker, toast to christmas, toyland

  ¶ 10:51 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  When You Wish Upon a Star - Gheorghe Zamfir



Continuing Unconventional Instrument Week, today's featured instrument is the pan flute, also known as the pan pipes. And who better to feature playing the fan flute than the undisputed "Master of the Pan Flute", GHEORGHE ZAMFIR.

The pan flute is a series of tubes, usually bamboo, of different length. The tubes are closed at one end and are played by blowing air over the open hole. The different lengths of tubing determine the note. The pan flute is a very old instrument, dating back as early as Ancient Greece. In fact, the instrument is called a pan flute because it was often played by the Greek god, Pan.

Zamfir first started playing the pan flute at the age of 14 in his home country of Romania. He was brought to America in 1972 when a Romanian folk music historian heard him playing. Since then, he has had a remarkable career recording and performing a variety of different genres, all incorporating his instrument. In addition to his over 200 albums, Zamfir has also been featured on the soundtracks to many popular movies, including Kill Bill, The Karate Kid and Once Upon a Time in America.

This version of When You Wish Upon a Star can be found on a few different albums, including THE FEELING OF CHRISTMAS.

Labels: feeling of christmas, gheorghe zamfir, pinocchio, when you wish upon a star

  ¶ 10:49 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  You've Got a Friend in Me - Music Box Collection



Hey everyone! Jamie from Fong Songs with another Disney cover to share with you. The wikipedia article on music boxes explains "that the tone of a musical box is unlike that of any musical instrument," which works perfectly for Unconventional Instrument Week. I chose this music box cover of You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story as recorded by MUSIC BOX COLLECTION, though I'm not sure whether that's one artist per se or some company that churns them out along the lines of those Rock-a-Bye Baby compilations. Apparently in Japan, cover albums in the music box or "orgel" style are their very own popular (or at least prolific) subgenre of music. This cover comes from the descriptively named HOSHINI NEGAIWO ITSUKA OUJISAMAGA ORGEL COLLECTION. The same people even put out music box cover albums of songs from Hayao Miyazaki films.

The music box as a genre somewhat fascinates and baffles me. As I understand it, one doesn't exactly "play" the music box as an instrument since in its most basic form it consists of a prefabricated metal disc or cylinder with bumps that "pluck" the notes of a sort of metal comb as they rotate. So I imagine the arrangement of such a song would be quite the involved and complex process unless they have some sort of automated process that facilitates the conversion of written music to mechanical discs. The abundance of music box recordings seems to suggest as much, though I couldn't really satisfy my curiosity regarding modern day music box recording techniques despite some obsessive googling and I suspect its less complicated than I'm making it out to be. Though I do find this particular recording quite charming, perhaps such covers are more mechanical than artistic in nature. I mean, this isn't even the only music box cover of You've Got a Friend in Me I have in my collection!

Labels: disney orgel, music box collection, toy story, you've got a friend in me

  ¶ 8:16 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  A Spoonful of Sugar - Trinidad and Tobago Showboat Orchestra



All of the week we are listening to covers that use instruments that are not often found in popular music. This is Unconventional Instrument Week. Today's unconventional instrument is one that is actually pretty conventional in Trinidad and Tobago, in fact it is their national instrument! I'm talking about the steelpan.

The steelpan is also known as the steel drum, referring to the fact that the original steelpans were made out of steel oil drums used for shipping large quantities of oil. The instrument is actually called a steelPAN as it does not fall into the drum/percussion family of instruments.

Each steelpan can carry a different tone depending on its size. The larger and longer the barrel, the lower the tone. Different notes can be played on one steelpan depending on where on the playing surface the mallets strike.

Although they are not often heard in popular music, steelpans are used on occasion, the first instance being Carrie Anne by the Hollies in 1967. Steelbands have grown significantly in number since the formation of the first steelbands in the late 30s, and now there is even the World Steelband Music Festival that has been held in Trinidad every year since 1964, the largest steelband gathering in the world!

Take a listen to the excellent steelband style of the TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO SHOWBOAT ORCHESTRA as they play Mary Poppins' A Spoonful of Sugar, which can be found on BEAUTY AND THE BEAT: FAVORITE DISNEY TUNES IN STEELBAND STYLE.

Labels: beauty and the beat, mary poppins, spoonful of sugar, trinidad and tobago showboat orchestra

  ¶ 10:17 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Go the Distance - Kinjo Gakuin University Handbell Choir



This week is Unconventional Instrument Week at Covering the Mouse and we will be listening to Disney covers that are done on instruments that aren't normally heard in popular music. Today's cover is Go the Distance by the KINJO GAKUIN UNIVERSITY HANDBELL CHOIR from Nagoya, Japan.

In a handbell choir, every musician is responsible for one or two English Handbells. Each handbell is a different size which allows it to carry a different note of the chromatic scale. The musician's job is to carefully pay attention to the music and ring the bell every time it is time to play their note. Sound simple? Not quite. Timing is everything and the entire choir has to be perfectly in synch otherwise it may throw off their fellow ringers. Two or more handbells can be rung at the same time to make a chord, and tapping it on the table or clapping it with your hand can produce other sounds for percussive effect.

If you are in the right circles, handbell choirs are quite popular. There are scores of them throughout the world and many competitions and seminars revolving around them.

If you have never seen a handbell choir in action, this version of Go the Distance may not seem like a big deal. So I have included the following youtube video for you to see. The song being performed is the classic jazz standard Sing, Sing, Sing.


If you want to hear more Disney songs rung by a handbell choir, check out DISNEY HANDBELL FANTASY or if you would like to try being a part of a handbell choir, check out Wii Music. There are some great mini-games in which you play a role as a musician in a handbell choir, using the remote and nunchuck as handbells. It isn't as easy as you think!

Labels: disney handbell fantasy, go the distance, hercules, kinjo gakuin university handbell choir

  ¶ 10:44 AM 5 Comments Links to this post