Of Monsters and Men - Dirty Paws
Background
The band is from Reykjavík in Iceland.
They are a folk-pop band who make commercial music rooted in the folklore of Iceland.
Dirty paws was released in on the 12 of April in 2012.
Objective 1 - Sing the vocals
Quick Information
Vocabulary
A scale is a selection of notes that work well together. Songs are created from scales.
Lyrics - Part 1
VERSE 1
Jumping up and down the floor
My head is an animal
And once there was an animal
It had a son that mowed the lawn
The son was an okay guy
They had a pet dragonfly
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say
INTERLUDE 1
HEY!
VERSE 2
Her dirty paws and furry coat
She ran down the forest slope
The forest of talking trees
They used to sing about the birds and the bees
The bees had declared a war
The sky wasn't big enough for them all
The birds, they got help from below
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow
Lyrics - Part 2
BRIDGE 1
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
INTERLUDE 2
HEY!
VERSE 3
So for a while, things were cold
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws
Lyrics - Part 3
BRIDGE 2
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
La la la
La la la la
INTERLUDE 3
HEY!
Oo oo
Oo oo
Oo oo oo oo
Oo oo
Oo oo
Oo oo oo oo
Objective 2 - Play the verse chords using a keyboard
Quick Information
Vocabulary
A chord is a collection of 2 or more notes heard or played at the same time.
A triad is a 3 note chord. Each of the three notes should be a different pitch class. A C E is a triad but A C A is not.
Watch the Objective
Play chord 1 - C minor
Play chord 2 - Eb major
Play chord 3 - Eb major again!
Play chord 4 - Ab major
Creative Extension Activities
Try altering the notes of each chord using other notes from the C minor scale.
Try altering the rhythm of the chord progression in different ways.
Try adding notes that are outside of the C minor scale to make new chords.
Try adding a melodic idea to the existing chords.
Objective 3 - Play the verse chords using barre chords on a ukulele
Quick Information
Vocabulary
A chord is a collection of 2 or more notes heard or played at the same time.
A barre chord is a chord played on a fretted string instrument in which 1 finger covers the frets on multiple strings.
Watch the Objective
Play the following chords: C minor, Eb major, Eb major, Ab major. You can play one per bar or vary the rhythm.
Creative Extension Activities
Try adding a new barre chord of your own to the progression. You could also replace an existing chord.
Search for other ukulele chords then add one or two to the progression.
Try adding some melodic ideas using the C minor scale.
Objective 4 - Play the verse riff using a keyboard
Quick Information
Vocabulary
A riff is a short, repeated part that is usually melodic. The word riff is commonly used in a band context.
A melody is a series of individual notes with carefully selected pitches and rhythms. It's also known as the tune.
Watch the Objective
Watch the Rhythmic Note Map
Read the Notes - b = flat notes. Arrows mean change octave.
Creative Extension Activities
Try altering the notes of the riff using other notes from the C minor scale.
Try altering the rhythm of the riff.
Try adding notes that are outside of the C minor scale.
Objective 5 - Play the interlude melody using a guitar
Quick Information
Vocabulary
A riff is a short, repeated part that is usually melodic. The word riff is commonly used in a band context.
A melody is a series of individual notes with carefully selected pitches and rhythms. It's also known as the tune.
Watch the Objective
Play twice
then play this
Finish with this part
Creative Extension Activities
Create a new melody using the notes from the existing melody.
Try altering the rhythm of the melody or repeat some notes.
Try adding your own notes to the melody.