A Kiwi Kidsongs album was sent to schools every year for nearly 20 years, until 2010. The songs – written and performed by New Zealanders – became part of the cultural fabric of New Zealand primary schools. The collection included many styles popular with students, with all songs recorded to the highest industry standard by the best people in the field.
50 favourites from the classic series, including many songs in te reo, are now available online as video karaoke tracks . For ease of use, there are also separate collections of waiata and Pacific songs .
For each song, there is:
- a video karaoke track of the complete song (i.e., with vocals)
- a video karaoke track without vocals, for use once students know the song well
- a set of teaching suggestions
- a full musical score.
Given the popularity of ukulele and guitar in schools, we have added chords to the karaoke tracks so that students and teachers can play along with the songs while singing.
Teachers can bookmark their favourite songs, and all songs can be downloaded to ensure trouble-free singing if broadband access is an issue.
We hope this collection will inspire a new generation of teachers to make music with their students.
Copyright and public performances
This resource is designed for primary schools with classes from years 1–8. Although the collection as a whole, including the teachers’ notes and musical scores, is Crown copyright, the composers retain their own copyright in their songs unless stated otherwise.
Copyright clearance has been gained for the use of these songs in your school, and teachers may download the videos for educational purposes. If you intend to use any of the songs in a school concert for which you charge an entry fee, you will need to seek permission from the composer of each song. This can be done through your school’s APRA licence. For more information, go to APRA or NZSTA .