Popular songs are frequent themes for concert improvisations, usually giving rise to a set of theme and variations, though occasionally being used in other forms. As the melody is usually very familiar to the audience (i.e. popular), it is generally easier for the people to follow and understand the development of the theme when well presented.
Example songs:
- Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman
- Frère Jacques
- Happy Birthday!
- La Marseillaise
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Oh Shenandoah!
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- Star-Spangled Banner
- Teddy Bears’ Picnic
- Three Blind Mice
- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
- Yankee Doodle
Recordings:
Franz Lehrndorfer
Theme & Variations, Vol. 1: Improvisations on Children’s Songs
Videos:
Olivier Latry – Improvisation on The Simpsons Theme – Toronto
Pierre Pincemaille – Theme and Variations on a popular tune – St Martin de Dudelange – Luxembourg
Olivier Latry, Vincent Dubois, Paolo Oreni and Michael Bottenhorn – Happy Birthday – St. Joseph, Bonn Beuel