Gwren ni seni piano! gans Sam Sender
Ow ragdres, Gwren ni seni piano! (Let’s play piano!), a wra gul ha kevrenna folennow ilow diwyethek yn Kernewek ha Sowsnek rag studhyoryon piano.
About: My project, Gwren ni seni piano! (Let’s play piano!), creates and shares bilingual sheet music in Cornish (Kernewek) and English for piano students. I teach piano students in seven schools as an employee of Cornwall Music Service Trust, and after I started Kernewek evening classes, I wanted to explore introducing more Kernewek to my lessons. I started with some 'bread and butter' scores that everyone wants to learn, Jingle Bells and Happy Birthday. I was overwhelmed by how the students loved speaking Kernewek! Most of the 60 or so students said that speaking Kernewek was their favourite part of the lesson. I had been nervous about the reaction, but this left me energised and sure that other music teachers will also have success with these resources. It is well known that from our school language classes we often remember the songs most clearly - many of us can relate to that and bring a song to mind - meaning that this project can potentially be very effective. I have the luxury of being able to 'road test' my scores on my students, which is hugely useful for improving the quality of the scores. At this stage of the Kernewek revival, I believe in bringing easy basic phrases to a wide audience, so I use phonetic spelling that removes a barrier both for students and teachers. Accurate Cornish spelling is always shown too. Because my scores are specific to the needs of piano students, you may notice some differences from what you expect. They are simple, short versions of songs, often with simplified rhythms and melodies - bitesize challenges that allow students to succeed. So readers may notice that the lyrics are different to what we’re used to singing in Kernewek, for example. Some existing Kernewek translations are relatively literal, and I believe their complexity limits their popularity. Instead, my arrangements use simple language and lots of rhymes. Students often comment about word order in Kernewek, observing ‘Birthday happy’ or ‘Christmas merry’, so it can be an early introduction to other languages.
Ow ragdres, Gwren ni seni piano! (Let’s play piano!), a wra gul ha kevrenna folennow ilow diwyethek yn Kernewek ha Sowsnek rag studhyoryon piano.
About: My project, Gwren ni seni piano! (Let’s play piano!), creates and shares bilingual sheet music in Cornish (Kernewek) and English for piano students. I teach piano students in seven schools as an employee of Cornwall Music Service Trust, and after I started Kernewek evening classes, I wanted to explore introducing more Kernewek to my lessons. I started with some 'bread and butter' scores that everyone wants to learn, Jingle Bells and Happy Birthday. I was overwhelmed by how the students loved speaking Kernewek! Most of the 60 or so students said that speaking Kernewek was their favourite part of the lesson. I had been nervous about the reaction, but this left me energised and sure that other music teachers will also have success with these resources. It is well known that from our school language classes we often remember the songs most clearly - many of us can relate to that and bring a song to mind - meaning that this project can potentially be very effective. I have the luxury of being able to 'road test' my scores on my students, which is hugely useful for improving the quality of the scores. At this stage of the Kernewek revival, I believe in bringing easy basic phrases to a wide audience, so I use phonetic spelling that removes a barrier both for students and teachers. Accurate Cornish spelling is always shown too. Because my scores are specific to the needs of piano students, you may notice some differences from what you expect. They are simple, short versions of songs, often with simplified rhythms and melodies - bitesize challenges that allow students to succeed. So readers may notice that the lyrics are different to what we’re used to singing in Kernewek, for example. Some existing Kernewek translations are relatively literal, and I believe their complexity limits their popularity. Instead, my arrangements use simple language and lots of rhymes. Students often comment about word order in Kernewek, observing ‘Birthday happy’ or ‘Christmas merry’, so it can be an early introduction to other languages.