If you were present when the musical Wicked debuted, you likely remember how it captivated Broadway audiences. Although it didn't win the Tony Award that year for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, or Best Original Score (all of which went to Avenue Q), it has endured and continues to run at the Gershwin Theater, 21 years later.

Today marks the premiere of the film adaptation of the musical. Initially planned as a single movie, it became clear during production that it needed to be divided into two parts. Wicked Part 1 opens in theaters across the nation today. To celebrate the movie's release, I am introducing a rhythm play-along medley featuring three songs from Wicked, performed on the piano, ensuring that both the musical and the film are highlighted in the credits:

• Schwartz, Stephen: (2003). Wicked: a new musical: original Broadway cast recording. New York, NY: Decca Broadway

  • Master Keyz. (2023). Wicked - Defying Gravity - 2003

    [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQdLDMLrYIA

• Schwartz, Stephen: (2003). Wicked: a new musical: original Broadway cast recording. New York, NY: Decca Broadway

  • Sheet Music Boss. (2024). Popular (from Wicked) - Piano Tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGX0li1RttE

• Schwartz, Stephen: (2003). Wicked: a new musical: original Broadway cast recording. New York, NY: Decca Broadway

  • Brennan Wieland. (2020). One Short Day - From Wicked The Musical | Piano Cover by Brennan Wieland. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSSQXx3Nh1A

Rhythms Used

The rhythms used in this play-along would be best for upper elementary (or grades 2 and above). The rhythms and concepts are:

• Quarter note/crotchet and rest

• Eighth notes/quavers

• Dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note

• Half note/minim

• Dotted half note

• Whole note/semibreve

• Syncopation

• Dynamics

• Accents

Manipulatives

The manipulatives for this play-along can be found for free on my Buy Me a Coffee channel here: https://buymeacoffee.com/elmusedtech. They include each rhythm pattern to prepare and practice, as well as the video and a fun fact sheet about the movie.

Tips

This play-along can be a lot of fun, especially if you know the music well. However, it also can be challenging. Therefore, here are some tips to teach it:

• Use the manipulatives to prepare and practice for the play-along.

• Use YouTube’s settings to slow the tempo down if it is too fast.

• Use the Soundslice link (https://www.soundslice.com/slices/Pj-Cc/) to control the tempo more and other aspects such as the video presentation and the notation.

• Large class and too much sound? Split up the play-along so there are three groups, and one group plays per section.

• Most importantly, have fun, especially if you use this before a break!