So-me and the Princess

The So-Me series is written by Stuart Manins, a retired professor of Music Education from Auckland, New Zealand. His set of 12 sound stories and accompanying CD feature the character So-me, and his friends La-me, and La-so-me. These stories are charming, have really cute illustrations, and are full of musical teaching concepts. I used the concepts in the stories as the basis of my kindergarten music classes but they were equally loved by my students in Grade 1, 2 and 3. The stories will enhance both Orff and Kodaly based programs and help to teach many curriculum concepts.


Story No. 12, So-me and the Princess identifies visually the descending minor third between doh and the lower la heard in the previous story. The tonic chord (d m s) is reinforced by singing it upwards. Ray is slipped in almost incidentally right at the end of the story between mi and do where it is so often found in melodies. Compound time rhythmic patterns qrr and q e  are introduced.