How to Improve Sight-Reading Skills
How to improve sight-reading skills An Introduction to Sight-Reading What exactly is sight-reading? Sight-reading is the ability to look at a sheet music chart and sing it for the first
Here’s what is intended to be a brief introductory history of the song “Smile”. The song was originally written and orchestrated by Charlie Chaplin for his film Modern Times. The song as presented in Modern Times in 1936 was instrumental and therefore had no words. Words were added later by other arrangers. Another little known fact is the song’s name did not originate with Charlie Chaplin.
If you’re interested in reading more details about the history of the song “Smile”, you can do so in our full article on the subject, “The History of the Song Smile”.
As discussed in our history article, the film was released during the period of the Great Depression.
The Little Tramp struggles in the new modernized industrial world. First he meets a cast of characters that experience hardship and financial woes as he goes. After that, the Tramp finds and conveys inspiration throughout the tale. The context of the film as well as the scene that features the instrumental itself is important.
this is where Turner and Parsons first found the inspiration for the lyrics and song title. In conclusion, the history of the song “Smile” is one where the tramp is trying to get The Gamin to cheer up and smile. A more detailed explanation of how this conclusion is reached can be found below.
The 1954 version with the “Smile” instrument music featuring the new title and lyrics is the one that Nat King Cole recorded. It reached number 2 on the UK Singles chart and number 10 on the Billboard charts. It was recorded and placed in the charts by two other artists, also in 1954: Sunny Gale and David Whitfield. It’s popularity caught the attention of several major stars including Tony Bennett (1959), Judy Garland who sang it on The Ed Sullivan Show (1963), Jimmie Durante (1965), and Sammy Davis, Jr. (1965).
This song is one that has continued to maintain it’s relevancy in the world. The message of hope and optimism continues to be an important theme as history continues to repeat itself. We as human beings need the constant reminder that there’s still a reason to smile. This is the exact reason why it continues to be a Tidelanders favorite.
The song Smile was recorded with instrumentals by Michael Jackson in 1993 for his album HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book 1. According to an article on michaeljackson.com, it was one of the artists favorite songs. There were plans for a music video and a single – both were cancelled, leaving limited promo copies in circulation. Michael Jackson also recreated The Little Tramp in some promotional photo shoots.
It’s also made appearances in films including My Girl 2 (1994) and Jimmy Durante’s version is in the popular movie The Joker (2019).
Most recently, Scarlett Estevez sang it in the Fox series Lucifer on Season 5, Episode 10 “Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam” which along with all of the other Season 5 episodes, aired on May 28, 2021. The episode in question is a musical episode that features God on Earth. His presence alone causes the humans around him to burst into spontaneous song and dance.
Judy Garland’s version of the song has was featured in the Disney movie Cruella released May 2021. Smile was a favorite song of the Hollywood actress.
How to improve sight-reading skills An Introduction to Sight-Reading What exactly is sight-reading? Sight-reading is the ability to look at a sheet music chart and sing it for the first
Generally in most years, the SWD sponsors an annual Chorus and Quartet competition. The exception is the pandemic year we experienced due to Covid-19. There was no competition during the pandemic. The BHS recent resumed chorus competitions in 2022.
The Tidelanders excitedly sponsored our first singing competition. We promoted the contest to over 200 high schools in Harris and Fort Bend counties in Texas. We announced two winners (Men’s and Women’s) mid-April. We are looking forward to planning a bigger contest next year.
The Houston Tidelanders Chorus is pleased that we were able to perform for Clear Lake audiences once again! We’ve been performing in the Clear Lake area for about 25 years and it’s one of favorite shows.
“Smile” continues to be considered timeless. Meaning the message always seems to be relevant. As long as it continues to be popular, artists will continue to cover and interpret it’s meaning in order to continue to have it resonate with audiences. Modern artists like Michael Jackson have arranged and performed it.