Wednesday, April 22, 2020

S for Sound of Music - My favourite things to counter COVID-19 stress

(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. I am writing this month on activities that keep me refreshed during these depressing days. It's Day 19 today.)

Both, literally the sound of music and the iconic movie, are great stress busters for me.

Do Re Mi takes me right back to my nursery school days. One of the memories is we, tiny tots, sitting around Muthanna teacher, who played songs, especially nursery rhymes, on the piano. The fact that Do Re Mi is etched so clearly in my mind still is, probably, an indication of the enduring beauty of the song.

The movie is 55 years old this year. First came the book, The Story of Trapp Family Singers, by Maria von Trapp, which came out in 1949, then came the stage musical in 1959, and then the Hollywood movie in 1965.

There is plenty of literature about the movie online, on how the movie is not exactly the life of the Von Trapp Family, how the film was shot, how 'unprepared' were those children, how 'Maria' had to actually do everything to infuse confidence in them while shooting, those memorable moments during the shooting, etc.

In 2008, to celebrate the 40th anniversary, ABC brought the family together on a TV show. Here is the YouTube clip of that.

COVID-19 ADAPTATION OF DO RE MI

Last month, Shirley Serban, the principal of Lake Brunner School, a primary and intermediate school of 50 children, in the town of Moana in New Zealand, created a parody of the famous Do Re Mi, and posted it on YouTube and Facebook. And she became an overnight sensation.

"The first Saturday after the country (New Zealand) went into lockdown, I decided to rewrite the song for a laugh and a creative outlet in the middle of all this weirdness," she told Newshub.

"I was looking at old footage as I wrote to ensure I got all the parts... [I decided to use] the footage as a backdrop to the song. I recorded all the voice parts separately over a music track. My poor husband ended up spending much of the day outside!"

Watch the adaptation on YouTube.

I liked the small note she has put up on YouTube regarding the video, that "the song is not intended to be taken seriously" ...  "No, wine is not a cure for the virus. ... No, they're not good at social distancing in the video - it was released in 1965."

A few days later, she did a rehash of My Favourite Things as well.

Here is Shirely Serban's website, which has a link to her YouTube and Facebook pages.

9 comments:

  1. All Broadway shows by Rodgers and Hammerstein were outstanding.

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  2. Hari Om
    I do enjoy a good musical! And there has been an outburst of immense talent online since the global lockdown. Fabulous to see. YAM xx

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  3. People can be so clever. Thank you for sharing. Be well.

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  4. Thank you for sharing these links Pradeep. Made me smile and they are so share-worthy.
    Sound of music is our family's favourite film. Brought back so many memories.

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  5. I do love that movie. It wasn't until college that I learned that solfege was a thing.

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  6. Hard to believe the movie is 55 years old! A great post and I loved the Do Re Mi Adaptation!

    T is for ...

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  7. Music can be a great stress-buster and the Sound of Music is one of my favourites. Hard to believe that it's been 55 years since it released.

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  8. Hi Pradeep - that was great fun ... take care - Hilary

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