How to play this song on a piano?

Cafe Society
1

tl;dr: I want my kid to learn five or six bars of Stodola Pumpabecause I am feeling particularly masochistic today. But though I can find the basic tune and sheet music, not being a piano player I don’t know how the notes correspond to the keys.

…

So I taught my five year old to play Mary had a Little Lamb and Frère Jacques. He kind of figured out the Imperial March by ear pretty much on his own. He’s very enthusiastic and now day in and day out that’s what we hear. over. and. over. again. (Our office is in the house, the parlour has an upright and he has a mini-piano.) He’s all set up with a teacher in the neighbourhood to start basic music lessons, but because of travel plans they won’t start for another week or two.

In the meantime, I remember this tune from learning the recorder and then the trumpet in grade school. My mom really liked it (in the way that I ‘really’ like MhaLL). Over time it became somewhat archetypical of learning a new instrument. So to add bit of variety to the day, I want to teach him to plunk out the main bit of the song: Stodala, stodala, stodola pumpa, stodola pumpa, pum pum pum…
So can someone help me out?

2

Does something like thishelp? Without being in the same room as you and your son, and without knowing which version of the sheet music you’re looking at, that’s probably the best way to go about it. Used in conjunction with this, if you don’t know where the notes on the page are either, you should be able to piece it together.

3

Rhythmdvl, do you know the names of the different keys on the piano? Because if you know the key names, you could do this:

EE E DD D CC C GC
BB B AB CC C G C
EE E DD D CC C GC
BB B AB C C C

I’ve never heard the song before, and now it’s stuck in my head. Thanks :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Ah, this is perfect, thanks. I have no idea why I didn’t start with DooWahDiddy’s suggestion and just figure out what notes were what and map them accordingly. And with EmilyG’s help, I don’t have to sit and figure out if Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge or a poke in the FACE.

And yes, I am masochistic (and since there are others in the house, somewhat sadistic). This is a bit like those neverending songs, that can get stuck in your head for loooong periods of time. I can’t believe I’m about to teach him. If anyone can give me a few short notes to the main chorus of Fire on the Mountain I’ll be much obliged!

5

EmilyG’s version changes key (just so you know, at least the key of the first couple versions I saw), but it’s still the same melody line, just in C instead of Bb. It’ll be the same melody. If you want it to play it in the key as written, just take it down a whole step (two half steps, or two adjacent notes, whether white or black.)

6

Do I have this right: the images of sheet music have a couple flat signs by the clef, so the piece is written in B-flat. That would normally entail using both black and white keys (every note on the same line as a flat marker at the beginning is also flat, therefore a half-step down). But to keep it simple (thanks!) she transposed (is that the word?) it to C so that it’s played entirely on the white keys.

7

Yes. The notes are D, C, Bb in the sheet music instead of E, D, C, but those notes are just just transposed to the key of C. If you want to play it in the key notated, take EmilyG’s notes, and bring them down two half steps.

8

I saw the sheet music in B-flat, but I posted my version in C because I figured it’d be easier for a young kid to learn.

9

Ouch. As one of the Dead’s LEAST melodic songs, “Fire on the Mountain” makes a supremely unsatisfying piano experience.

Your home note is D sharp. Just keep banging it while you sing “Fire…fire on the…” and “…mountain” is a simple E to D sharp to C sharp triplet.

You’re much better off pianizing something like “Mountains of the Moon” or “Uncle John’s Band” or “Loser” or “Might As Well” or “So Many Roads.”

10

Heh. UJB was the first Dead song he learned to sing at two and a half/three. I’d worked out the feeling of FotM to our drum circle a while back and it moved up to his favourite Dead tune. The part I evoked is actually Phil’s foundational start: doo do do, do-do do do-do-do, doooo doo do-dooooooo [da/da/da/da/da] …
Sorry I can’t notate it any better. I can speak classical/formal djembe, but barely remember western music. I think I’ll take lessons along side him.

11

You can very easily accompany him in FotM by grooving on a low B and then switching a whole step down to A on “mountain”. Yeah one of the Dead’s least interesting melodic AND harmonic songs. Very easy to jam to though even for a beginner.