Want the Jaws Theme Song?Try Sharks!
Jaws theme song? Well, "Sharks" will remind your students of the scary movie theme. Perfect beginner piano music, they can learn this piece as soon as they can recognize Middle C and B.
This free kids' sheet music is usually the first piece I give my students for which they must actually read notes on the staff, instead of just using finger numbers (such as with "Mary Had a Little Lamb" or the black-key songs at the beginning of The Faber Piano Adventure Primer). When I introduce it, I like to play it very low on the piano, with lots of expression. It begins slowly with the ominous sound of a half-step, then picks up a little speed in line two. This definitely makes it sound like the Jaws theme song! When I get to the skip from C to A, I always give each A a bit of a push, to accentuate the unexpectedness of the melodic twist. Don't let THEM speed it up, though! At least not until the counting is well in hand. The metronome is very helpful with this piece, which can start to race and get out of control. Singing the words steadies the tempo, and if you sing along with it, your student will likely join in. Because this piece has some built-in emotional elements -- the scariness of the back-and-forth half-steps -- this song makes using dynamics seem natural. And guess what? They almost always LOVE this piece and make it a part of their repertoire. It has even been heard at recitals (only in a pinch, when I have a VERY VERY new student who wants to be in the recital). Encourage them to play it "down" a couple of octaves once they know it well. I always remind them that of course it is WRITTEN at Middle C, B and A, indicating that spot on the piano with a sweep of my hand over the piano company name (which is always painted on the fall-board) and down onto the keys just below the name, but that it is perfectly okay for us to play with the music to make it sound spooky, or just different.
With "Sharks," students only have to think about one hand -- the LH (the least-coordinated hand for most kids), and only three notes -- A, B, and MC. In fact, after the first week, when they SHOULD be feeling pretty confident with the Jaws theme song, I would likely make it a part of their assignment to SAY THE NOTE NAMES ALOUD as they play the piece. But I usually ask them to do that just 1x -- one time -- a day, and then play it normally after that, if they wish. The reason is that it can be very hard for beginners to do more than one thing at a time, particularly young boys, and I don't want them to be frustrated and avoid practising the piece altogether! One time is not too much to ask... eventually, saying and thinking note names will start to become more natural. Don't be too surprised if they come back the next week disappointed, having played it in the wrong location all week and thereby having been cheated of the ominous sounds of the Jaws theme song... This is very common and just means they need more reinforcement of piano key names. A good exercise is to have them "Dip Donuts" one time a day going up and down the piano on just one of the keys..."B", for example, every day all week. Then next week, make it a different key. Likely you have a favorite exercise which works well for you. For this little song to come easily, a student needs to have 3 things well in hand: the musical alphabet forwards and backwards ("A-B-C-D-E-F-G; G-F-E-D-C-B-A!"), a firm grasp of where the keys are ("B is the BACK DOOR of Grandma's house", for English speakers), an understanding and recognition of beginning notereading (B sits on top of the bass staff) -- oh, 4 things! They also need to count! So you see, there is a degree of sophistication necessary to conquer even to this simple piece. By the way, a much better, slower and creepier rendition of the Jaws theme song is the movie trailer, available at Youtube. The full creepiness of the song comes across, but I just couldn't bring myself to post it here, because the images are so disturbing (I'm pretty old-school when it comes to violence). Have fun with the Jaws theme stand-in, Sharks!
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THANK YOU! This website is a God-send! :D I took piano lessons as a kid, a little music theory, and now I'm a homeschooling mom hoping to pass on anything I can to my kids about music. It is such a gift, for so many reasons!
I have been slowly giving my oldest daughter whatever my memory can dredge up, scouring the internet for free music she can do, but your website with its instructions AND tips on how to teach pieces are going to help me SO much in this endeavor. I just wanted to tell you thank you. Really really! THANK YOU!
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I've just found your website and I think I've died and gone to heaven. I've just taken up the piano again after 35 years absence... buying sheet music was getting expensive/a luxury. The tips are great too. I also live in the middle of nowhere so buying from a shop is not really an option unless I fancy a 120 mile round trip for a piece of sheet music! Thank you for your wonderful site. I look forward to having a thorough look...
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I am grateful I found your website! My 7-yr-old and 9-yr-old sons will benefit from it continuously. They have been playing 1 and 4 years, respectively. You and your site are truly terrific. Thank you!
Kim in Washington:
My son is hooked...I've been introducing piano to my son on and off for a year or so, but he's not had much interest. Then I gave him "Monsters Everywhere". He loved playing it with the organ sound on our piano. He memorized it that week and I'm printing off the other Halloween songs to keep him going. I love the detailed instructions on teaching since he is my first student! Thanks so much.
Dana:That is so neat that your son has experienced the magic and mystery of music through this little song. That is so exciting to me. Thanks for writing, Kim!
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Thank you. Just wanted to say I found your website by mistake but what a blessing it has been. I am a missionary wife living in Spain (for many, many years) and I teach piano to Spanish children and adults. I have the barrier of very few usable things in Spanish, and can so identify with the need to write things suitable for the student...
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Marta:
Thank you for the free downloads! I'm a private teacher and I teach piano and beginner voice as well. :) I've been running my studio for about a year and I've come across the same issue; I don't want my students to have to purchase an entire supplemental book for only a couple of songs. So thank you for this site...some great downloads!!
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I used to teach piano lessons, and then did not for anumber of years. Now, suddenly, I have 3 beginning students and I am thrilled. I was looking for printable scales and found your wonderful website.
Thank you so much. I know this will be a big help to me and my students.
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AH!!!!! I am so happy to find a helpful site like this. I started to give piano lessons to one little girl from church and two girls requested voice lessons this spring. Since then, word got out and going into the fall I have 18 students. I am so excited, but I'm running out of materials that they can borrow, and I, like you hate telling the parents to buy morebooks. Because I have such a diverse group of students I spend SO much time making supplemental material and I feel like I have to pick through other websites, to only find one or two useful things. I am so thankful for the wealth of supplement that you have offered here! And it's all SO user friendly!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
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