Singable Picture Book-wise, it doesn’t get much better than this.  BEETHOVEN’S WIG combines humor, delightful illustration and classical music.  The text is saturated with robust vocabulary.  We are introduced to one of the great characters and composers ever to have lived.  We will all be enriched by spending some time traipsing around Beethoven’s wig…

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Beethoven’s Wig
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven (Symphony No. 5)
Words by Richard Perlmutter
Illustrated by Maria Rosetti

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Video for the song (matches the book exactly)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdRZl9g_5tw

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Beethoven Symphony Number 5 wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._5_(Beethoven)

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Website for the whole Beethoven’s Wig series:
http://www.beethovenswig.com/

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YouTube with full performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z4KK7RWjmk

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BEETHOVEN’S WIG
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Music based on Beethoven’s Sympony No. 5
Words by Richard Perlmutter

Beethoven’s Wig is very big.
Beethoven’s wig is long and curly and it’s white.
Beethoven takes his wig off when he sleeps at night.
Because it’s big.
It’s very big.
Beethoven’s wig is big.
It’s really big.

Beethoven’s wig is heavy when he takes a walk.
His wig is even bigger than the wig of Bach.
It is tremendous.
It is stupendous.
It is gigantic and titanic.
Monumental and colossal.
And enormous and humongous.
Cause it’s big.
It’s really big.
It’s very big.
It’s mighty big.

Beethoven’s Wig is oh so wide
You’ll need a guide
To see each side.
It’s really big.
It’s grandiose.
Don’t get too close you’ll overdose
Because it’s big. Big!
Beethoven’s Wig is big!

It’s stylish and it’s handsome.
It costs a small king’s ransom -
Five hundred bucks and then some.
But the hair’s so long and flowing
That the wig seems like it’s growing.
And it keeps his face from showing.
Poor Beethoven’s wig needs mowing.

Cause Beethoven’s wig is big.
Beethoven’s wig is very big.
It’s oh so big
It’s filled with goo,
It’s such a problem to shampoo.
It’s really very, very big.
Beethoven’s wig is very big.
It’s awful big.
It’s such a mess it even has it’s own address.

Beethoven’s wig is such a mop.
He should stop at the barber shop.
It’s way too big.
His mother called.
She said he would look better bald.
Because it’s big.
It’s very big.
Beethoven’s wig!

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THE SONG IS FUNNY BUT THERE WASN’T REALLY A WIG

This song is a terrific opportunity to have some fun with classical music and introduce children to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

Though Beethoven was painted with, and is frequently depicted as having, a large mane of wild hair
(As in Karl Stieler’s famous 1820 portrait of Beethoven)…

…and though this song is all about Beethoven’s wig, my research has revealed that Beethoven never wore a wig.  The notion of such makes for a funny song, but the kids should know the song’s wig  is for humor (and maybe can be thought of as a tribute to his wild hair, or just as a joke in the picture book) and that the great composer didn’t wear one.

There’s the lyric, “His wig is ever bigger than the wig of Bach,” extra funny because Johann Sebastian Bach (another great German composer who lived 1685-1750), see in this 1746 portrait by Elias Haussmann, really DID wear a wig:

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Visuals are always helpful!
So, to help explain to the kids how Beethoven did not actually wear a wig, but Bach did, I put this together (the portraits above plus a short Beethoven bio),

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Beethoven’s Wig (Beethoven and Bach) Composers Poster and Beethoven Bio
To view or print this packet, click here:
 beethoven’s wig poster

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1959 German Stamp depicting Liwig van Beethoven

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A little info on Beethoven, gathered mostly from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven
1770 -1827
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets. He also composed other chamber music, choral works, and songs.

Born in Bonn, Germany, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven displayed his musical talents at an early age. Beethoven moved to Vienna in 1792 and began studying with Haydn, quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. He lived in Vienna until his death. In about 1800 his hearing began to deteriorate, and by the last decade of his life he was almost totally deaf. He gave up conducting and performing in public but continued to compose; many of his most admired works come from this period.

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Related Posts

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EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
A list of SPBs with fun and sneakily educational content.  The kids won’t even know they’re learning!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/singable-picture-books-with-sneaky-educational-content/

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Beethoven’s Wig, Musical Parodies of Symphonies and Piano Classics