Community Song Project

Mission

To create a comprehensive, consensus-driven collection of traditional songs that will be taught to Crescendo students of all ages and proficiency levels, complete with thorough instructional materials. The primary objective is to support effective instruction and establish a shared body of work that can be performed collaboratively on a monthly basis.

The Collections

We have curated the following four lists with some degree of overlap, each of which embodies one of the four types of songs we aim to showcase through this project.

Tiny Songs

Tiny songs are brief, musically simple pieces that offer a limited range of notes, making them enjoyable for novice musicians to play along with an accompaniment.

Mi So

Do Re

Do Re Mi

Children’s Favorites

Children’s favorites are songs that elementary-aged students adore singing, but typically demand intermediate-level instrumentalists to provide accompaniment.

  • Crawdad Song
  • I’ve Been Working on the Railroad
  • Mary Had a Little Lamb
  • Sing a Song of Sixpence

Traditionals

Traditional songs refer to a collection of widely recognized and popular songs in the United States, spanning various genres including those from the Great American Songbook, Broadway, jazz, folk, and pop. They are songs that most people are familiar with and can sing at least a portion of.

  1. 500 Miles
  2. All Through the Night performed by the Laurie Berkner Band
  3. Amazing Grace performed by Judy Collins
  4. Bad Moon Rising
  5. Banana Fo Fanna
  6. Battle Hymn of the Republic performed by US Military Bands
  7. The Battle of New Orleans by Jimmie Driftwood
  8. The Big Rock Candy Mountain performed by Pete Seeger
  9. Blowing in the Wind
  10. Blue Moon of Kentucky performed by Patsy Cline
  11. Bye Bye Blackbird
  12. Danny Boy
  13. Down by the Riverside performed by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
  14. Down to the River to Pray performed by Alison Krauss
  15. Edelweiss performed by Aaron Espe
  16. Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten
  17. Go Tell It On the Mountain performed by James Taylor
  18. Going Home performed by SZABO MUSIC
  19. Greensleeves
  20. Home on the Range
  21. House of the Rising Sun performed by Doc Watson, Richard Watson
  22. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow performed by the Soggy Bottom Boys
  23. I Saw the Light by Hank Williams, Drifting Cowboys
  24. If I Had a Hammer by Pete Seeger
  25. I’ll Fly Away performed by Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss
  26. I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover
  27. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
  28. Jimmy Crack Corn
  29. Keep On the Sunny Side performed by The Whites
  30. Long Black Veil
  31. Morningtown Ride
  32. Nobody’s Fault But Mine performed by Beth Rowley
  33. The Parting Glass
  34. Proud Mary
  35. Puff the Magic Dragon
  36. Scarborough Fair/Canticle performed by Simon & Garfunkel
  37. Shenandoah performed by Celtic Woman
  38. Shenandoah Valley performed by Steep Canyon Rangers
  39. Stand By Me
  40. Swing Low Sweet Chariot
  41. Tennessee Waltz
  42. This Land is Your Land
  43. Up on the Roof
  44. Wayfaring Stranger performed by Emmylou Harris
  45. When The Saints Go Marching In
  46. Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Performed by Pete Seeger
  47. Will the Circle Be Unbroken performed by the Carter Family, Johnny Cash
  48. Will You Love Me Tomorrow
  49. You Are My Sunshine performed by Elizabeth Mitchell

Local Standards

Local Standards refer to songs that are widely recognized and frequently performed by musicians in public venues along the Connecticut Shoreline, often to the extent that they can be played and sung from memory.