the name game (1964)
Shirley Ellis & Lincoln Chase. Motown, USA.
key: C blues (major)
mode: C blues — C Eb F F# G Bb
melody: D S L TA d me m s l
form: chorus – a a'; verse – different every time
meter: duple
English function names: tonic subdominant
Tagg (modified): home counterpoise (away)
Riemann: T7 S7
Scale degrees: I7 IV7
Chords: C7 F7intro:
C7
|/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |
chorus:
C7 F7 C7
|/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / | (sometimes lingering on C7)
verse:
C7
|/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |
F7 C7
|/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / |/ / / / | [repeat on verse 3, start here on verse 4, then all of the verse]This is one of those songs that you learn as a kid, even though it was a regular pop song at the time, and it sticks with you. It's silly, it's fun. I mean, if you don't like playing with words and the sounds of words, I'm not sure we should be associating with each other. I think of more "adult" songs like Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and Diana Ross' "Upside Down" that have these very basic, very catchy rhymes that appeal to children (and the right kind of adults). As a kid listening to these songs on AM radio in the 1970s, I had no clue what they were about, but was happy to sing along with the goofy rhymes. They are Sesame-Street-sophisticated, and that is not an insult. The Name Game is perhaps thematically less sophisticated, but it's still a good time. You can get away with using this song even with 6th graders (possibly older!).
The form is tricky because there are three verses in a row and the third one isn't quite the same as the first and so on. If people are having a hard time following the slash notation, they are going to have to have good ears to follow along with the notation. Often times I implore my students to move their finger along the page as I play (they have a more complete version of the slash notation that what I have put here), so they can show their eyes where to go. It's a simple way to embody what you are supposed to just do with your brain, not unlike counting with your fingers. I feel that actually doing the motions gives your brain more support, if it's challenging to follow the flow of abstract symbols with eyes alone. Doing the motions gives your brain a proprioceptive memory to use later. Many people find this babyish or that at some point (like middle school…) that you shouldn't need such things. I disagree; if it helps, why not do what helps?
The other issue with this song is that there's always some name that does not work so well because it makes some sort of word that may be a word we prefer to avoid in school. And of course you never figure that out ahead of time, because that would be too easy… But you might want to test it out at home with the names of kids in your class and come up with some alternate versions of initial letters.
Lovingly transcribed lead-sheets: C instruments Viola Bb instruments, high Bb instruments, low Eb instruments F instruments Bass clef instruments