Imagine
Albert Einstein wrote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Developing children’s imaginations helps them grow and develop their mental skills. Whimsical Animal Tales encourages children to fantasize about animals while stretching their imaginations as they listen, read, sing, discuss, and speculate about how animals acquired their unusual attributes. As a bonus, the songs are fun to read and sing.
Socialize
Singing with others is fun and strengthens relationships among the singers. Sing these songs with your friends or family as you gather around a piano, sit around a campfire, or travel together in a car.
Sing along to demos of some of these creative songs on YouTube. Lyrics will appear on the screen as the music plays. Sing the lyrics along with the music. The names of chords appear above the lyrics. Play these chords on your piano keyboard, guitar, or ukulele as the music plays. Enjoy singing and playing with friends and family members.
Download and Print
The sheet music for each of the Whimiscal Animal Tales songs can be downloaded and printed from Sheet Music Direct.
Be creative by making your own changes to a song such as:
1. Change the tempo of the song. Speed up or slow down.
2. Change the “key” of the song. Some believe that raising the key makes the song sound more feminine. Lowering the key may make the song more masculine.
3. Change the lyrics. Replace nouns by other nouns (e.g., replace “elephant” by “Robert”) or replace verbs by other verbs (e.g., “tug” by “push”).
4. Change instruments (e.g., replace the piano by an accordion or replace the a bass guitar by a tuba). Some electronic keyboards have multiple “voices” that change the sound produced when pressing keys.
5. Change the mode (e.g. use notes from the C minor scale in place of the corresponding notes of the C major scale). This will change the “mood” of the song.
6. Change the rhythm. E.g., replace a marching rhythm and a “swing” rhythm.”
7. Change the melody. E.g., move upward or downward on the scale for selected notes.
8. Add harmony. Replace single notes in a melody by a triad (three notes) by adding instruments or singers.
Experiment with these and other variations to hear various musical interpretations. Make the song your personal song by addling your creative changes.
Hints to keyboard players
Having trouble using both hands when playing a song? Try some of these ideas:
- Play using your right hand only until you can play it smoothly:
2. For each measure, play a single note with your left. Play a note with the same name as the chord shown above the treble clef:
3. For each measure, play a three note-chord with your left hand:
4′ For each measure, play several three-note chords with your left hand. This style the style of a “march.”
5. Play a bass line with your left hand. The base line can be played by a tuba, an upright bass, or a bass guitar:
6′ Mix various styles of playing with your left hand. Experiment with different rhythms. Play what sounds good to you.
Have fun.
Song titles and their characteristics
The following illustrates large range of songs and genre of the Whimsical Animal Tales songs:
| Song | Key | Time signature | Genre |
| Why Bats Sleep Hanging Upside Down | C Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Birds Are Colorful | G Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Camels Have Humps | C Phrygia dominate | 4/4 | |
| What Happened to the Dinosaurs | C Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Dog Shakes Its Tail | C Mixolydian | 4/4 | |
| Why Fireflies Glow | C Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Giraffes Have Log Necks | C Lydian/G Lydian | 4/4 | African beat |
| Why Kangaroos Hop | C Major | 3/4 | Australian |
| Why Leopards Have Spots | G Major | 4/4 | Arabic |
| Why Moose Have Antlers | C Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Pandas Have Black Patches | F Major | 4/4 | Pseudo Chinese |
| Why Racoons Wear Masks | C Major | 4/4 | Ragtime |
| Why Roosters Crow | F Major | 4/4 | American Indian Legend |
| What Sheep Do With Their Fleece | D Major | 4/4 | Irish Gig |
| Why Skunks are Stinky | C Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Snakes Slither | 4/4 | ||
| Why Tigers Have Stripes | C Major | 4/4 | |
| Why Turtles Live in Shells | E Major | 4/4 | |
| How Unicorn Saved Her Trunk | C Major | 3/4 | Poka |
| Why Zebras have Stripes | G Major | 3/4 | AFrican beat |