I am an Official Kazoo Enthusiast!

Though by no means a virtuoso, I LOVE to include kazoo solos in my Sing Books with Emily gatherings and cabaret performances whenever I get the chance!

A repeated chorus of a song or a familiar verse are perfect places to pull out the kazoo and toot your way to novelty heaven!

Kazoos are cheap and they are fun!  Give it a try and see if you don’t make someone smile (even if that someone is just YOU!).

Here’s an official link:
http://www.nationalkazooday.com/

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Songs in which I kazoo, include:

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All God’s Critters
Words and Music by Bill Staines
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2009
ISBN 987-0-689-86959-4

When I developed the arrangement for singing “All God’s “All God’s Critters,” I asked that the music repeat the chorus 3 times at the end to make room for a kazoo solo during the second repeat.  I’m like a kid in a candy shop getting to kazoo along and the look of delight on faces is so wonderful!  Nobody ever really expects a kazoo and a little unexpected whimsy is always good to bring a little joy into someone’s day.

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The Marvelous Toy
Words and Music by Tom Paxton
Illustrated by Steve Cox

The Marvelous Toy comes packaged with a vocal and instrumental CD, so you can sing along and it just happens to be in a perfect sing-along key and exactly matches the book’s lyrics.  The track includes an instrumental break, however, and to fill the time, I play the kazoo.   It’s so much fun!  The kids can bop their heads and tap their knees and I get to do a little kazoo solo improv.

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Teddy Bear’s Picnic
Words by Jimmy Kennedy
Music by John W. Bratton
Illustrated by Alexandra Day
Published by Scholastic Inc., New York, NY, 1983
ISBN 0-439-39622-0

One thing I’ve learned singing to kids is that one must fill empty space.  If you don’t keep things moving (literally moving), you are sunk.  Teddy Bear’s Picnic is always a favorite song.  The music is just so evocative and spooky, all Calliope and carousel, and perfect for its purpose.  But the music naturally includes an instrumental break.  I tried taking the break out, but alas, the songs misses that music.  But fill that break with kazooing and you’ve got yourself a picnic!