BOUNTIFUL -- Those musical little lambs have never gotten such a workout. Jerald M. Simon, musician and author of the Music Motivation book series, is coming to Bountiful Music on Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. to show how children and adults alike can learn the fundamentals of composition and improvisation by creating their own variants of the classic children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb." The presentation is free and everyone is welcome. "It's an easy song everyone knows, which makes it a good way to understand the principles of changing a song," said Simon, who wrote a book based on the concept titled "Variations on Mary Had a Little Lamb." "After that, kids can use those same principles on pretty much any song."

Simon, who played the piano for several years at The Roof restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, had his love of improvisation first inspired by his father, a professional musician who performed as one of The Six Tenors.

When a young Simon attempted to show his father that he had learned how to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb," his father promptly insisted that his son expand his horizons.

"He asked me to figure out what it would sound like if Mary took her little lamb to China, then come back and play that for him," said Simon.

Though Mary's original trip to China has long since been lost to history, plenty of Simon's musical adventures have made it into the book: "Mary Took Her Lamb to a Swingin' Jazz Club," "Mary's Lamb Had the Blues," "Mary Took Her Lamb to a 50s Rock Concert," "Mary and Her Lamb Live With Indians," "Mary's Lamb Starred in a Western," "Mary Took Her Lamb to a Funeral," "Mary and Her Lamb Dance the Waltz," and "Mary and Her Lamb Meet Mozart."

From there, the only limitation is the musician's imagination.

"I want students to be motivated to play the piano not just because their parents and teachers want them to, but because they've fallen in love with music themselves," said Simon. "This way, they're not just prisoners of the music. They're in charge of what they're doing."

For more information, please call Bountiful Music at 292-1804.



jwardell@davisclipper.com