èßäAV

Learning Goals

• You’ll make connections between music and storytelling, or how songs can tell stories and create characters.
• You’ll explore cultural aspects of music by listening to and recognizing seasonal songs.
• You’ll analyze music by recognizing basic contrasts in music, including fast/slow and loud/soft.
• You’ll express personal feelings evoked by a musical experience.

Storytelling Through Music

How can music tell an exciting story? Music can make us feel different moods or emotions that help us connect to a story, place, or character. In addition to the lyrics, or the words that are sung, musicians can use tools like dynamics (how loud or soft the music is), tempo (how fast or slow the music is), and different scales (the notes used in a particular song) to show all kinds of emotional and storytelling ideas.

Some other music elements that help tell the stories in the concert are:

• Arrangement: An adaptation of a piece of music for performance in a different way, especially on different instruments for which it was originally composed (like for the song “Mysterious Mose”) 
• Call and response: A musical approach in which a melodic or rhythmic phrase is exchanged between two parts; also called “question/statement” or “answer/solution” (listen for this in “My Mommy is a Mummy”)
• Rhythm: A repeated pattern of strong and weak beats; they may make you want to tap your foot or clap when you hear the music

About the Concert’s Music

Here are the songs performed in this video, along with tips for what you can listen for during each song.

1. “It’s Halloween” - From a narrator’s perspective, this song captures the anticipation and excitement felt as Halloween draws closer. Listen for...lyrics that create a musical story of familiar creatures coming alive (“Zombies wake, ogres shake, werewolves dance on moonlit lakes...”).
2. “Haunting Days of Halloween” - This song is from the creatures’ perspectives, ready to celebrate with calls of the supernatural wild. Listen for...a style that blends jazz, hip hop, and classical music.
3. “Flick of My Wrist” - This is a story of a young witch who gets carried away by her own powers, having grandiose ideas without thinking of the consequences. She's in for a big surprise! Listen for...the way the music changes when the witch realizes she’s made a mistake!
4. “Mysterious Mose” - This is a classic cover of a 1930 song about a ghost, originally written by Walter Doyle. Listen for...a siren whistle that weaves through the song when Mysterious Mose is near!
5. “Howl to the Moon” - This is the story of a lonely werewolf who longs for the full moon each month so that he can get together with his friends and dance the tango. Listen for...the way the dynamics change from soft (when the werewolf is lonely) to loud (when the werewolf is howling).
6. “My Mommy Is a Mummy” - A mysterious storm rolls through and the next morning, mommy wakes up as a mummy! But the mummy mommy continues her daily routine as if everything is normal, making for a very bizarre day. Listen for...a steady beat. Can you tap along?
7. “It’s Halloween (Reprise)” - This closing piece returns to the final choruses of the first song. Listen for...the familiar melody from the first song. Hum or sing along if you remember it!

Setting the Seasonal Mood 

Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats share stories about all kinds of Halloween creatures. How can we tell that the music feels right for the Halloween season?

Watch and listen for:

• Spooky sound effects: growling, howling, music that sounds like tiptoeing steps, music that sneakily slides around, and more! When do the musicians use their instruments and when do they use their voices to create these sounds.
• Use of the minor scale. While there are several kinds of scales, two of the most common are major and minor. Songs that use major scales use a set of notes that usually sound happy together. Songs that use minor scales often sound sad or scary. Learn more about what makes music sound spooky through Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills.
• Different dynamics and tempos. Quiet, soft music can sound like someone is sneaking around or calming down; while fast, loud music can sound like a playful exchange between characters or a big, exciting moment. How do these things work with the stories of each song?

Jazz as an Artform

Jazz music is a type of American music loved throughout the world, known for its captivating rhythm and for allowing musicians to add their own unique ideas each time they play. It began about 100 years ago in America when African American musicians combined ideas from all different kinds of music to create something new and exciting. Jazz music can be made with all different types of ensembles groups of musicians who play together—but it often includes drums, a keyboard or guitar, a low instrument like a string bass, and other instruments like trumpets, trombones, and clarinets. Jazz groups, especially those with singers, will often write their own music as well as do their own versions of well-known songs. Some famous jazz musicians include Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tito Puente. You can explore more about the artform through our Jazz & Blues Collection. 

Here are some fun things to do and think about before, during, and after watching the video:

• Jazz music is full of fun rhythms. If you find yourself tapping your toes, you’ve probably found the song’s steady beat. How many ways can you show the beat  with your body?
• These songs feature a story about a witch, a werewolf, a ghost, and a mummy. Based on the story and the song, what do you think these characters look like? Draw out your ideas! If you could make a costume for one of the characters based on things you have at home, what would you create?

• What other magical or spooky character might be out and about around Halloween? If they had a song, what would it be like? Fast? Slow? Loud? Soft? Would you use a happy-sounding major scale, a spooky-sounding minor scale, or something different? Would you have any sound effects like spooky or magical noises? How would you choose music that would help people understand your creature? Share your ideas with family or friends.

• Take some time to listen to music from other holidays to see how they might be different from the eeriness or creepiness of Halloween songs. For example, a winter song, like “Sleigh Ride,” might use a happy-sounding major scale and bell sounds that make you think of sleigh rides or snowflakes. A song for Independence Day, like “Stars and Stripes Forever,” might use a march-like beat and brass instruments to make you think of military parades. What about the music from Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats makes it fit for Halloween? Can you find what makes other Halloween favorites from different types of music, like pop songs and classical orchestra pieces, sound spooky? Learn more about matching music to a seasonal mood through Soundtrack to the Seasons. 

Starting front-center, then left to right: Lucy Kalantari, Larry Cook, Linus Wyrsch, and Rich Kulsar. Photo by Roman Kalantari.

To learn more about Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats, visit their official website, . 

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Lucy Kalantari is a Grammy® Award-winning songwriter, composer, and producer. Lucy grew up in a bilingual household, having been born in the United States to Latinx parents (Dominican mother and Puerto Rican father). While she writes primarily in English, her music includes bilingual representation. Lucy studied composition and production at the Purchase Conservatory of Music and was the first female Chief Engineer that ran multiple studios on campus. While she has made music across different genres, including industrial rock, it was her introduction to the ukulele by a colleague that inspired her writing to lean into sounds of the jazz age. Lucy writes kids independent music that has won multiple awards, including her album, All the Sounds, that won a Grammy for Best Children’s Album in the 61st Grammy® Awards.

Lucy is the frontwoman and bandleader of the group Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats. In the video, you’ll see her sing and perform on the ukulele and keyboard. The Jazz Cats include Linus Wyrsch (clarinet), Larry Cook (bass), and Rich Kulsar (drums).

This video concert also features two talented young people as guest performers: Darius Kalantari (cello—and Lucy’s son!) and Alex Nam (violin). At seven years old, it is clear to all who know Darius that he has a special connection with the cello; and he has not stopped playing since he picked it up at the age of 3, except for homework and LEGOs. Alex Nam, a 16-year-old musician from Brooklyn, New York, is currently studying chamber music and conducting, and is the concertmaster of the Brooklyn Youth Music Project’s advanced orchestra. Alex is passionate about chamber music, basketball, and his dog named Kimchi.

Kennedy Center Education

The Vice President of Education is generously endowed by the

Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.