A. What is a pick up note?
- Pick up notes are the notes that precede the first full measure of the song.
- Pick up notes serve to kick-start the music.
- Pick up notes help establish tempo.
- When there are an odd number of pick-up notes, we usually start with an Up Bow.
- When there is an even number of pick-up notes, we usually start with a Down Bow.
- Here is an example of pick-up notes:
B. Let’s learn about “When the Saints Go Marching In”
• So well known that it is often referred to merely as The Saints, this song is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. It is more likely to be encountered in a jazz session than in church.
• Its most traditional use is as a funeral march. While accompanying the coffin to the cemetery, a band would play the tune as the Blues. On the way back from the interment, it would switch to the familiar upbeat Dixieland style.
• It is known as "The Monster" by some Jazz musicians, as it seems to be the only tune many people know to request when seeing a Dixieland band, and some musicians dread being asked to play it several times a
night. The musicians at Preservation Hall in New Orleans got so tired of playing it that the sign announcing the fee schedule ran $1 for standard requests, $2 for unusual requests, and $5 for The Saints.
C. Let’s play When the Saints Go Marching In
- This song is in 4/4 and in the key of D major: 2 sharps, F# and C#
- A motif featuring thee pick-up notes (“Oh When The”) occurs over and over again.
- You must be sure to observe the first beat rest in these measures.
- Have fun and make sure this tune swings.
