Taratabong: The World of the Meloditties

We’re in Taratabong, where the Meloditties live, getting to know the main characters. They include two brothers: Trumpee the trumpet and Snaree the snare drum, along with their parents: Drumba the bass drum and Bone, the trombone. Then there’s Pino the piano and his father Grando, the grand piano. The Meloditties play one after the other, then all together.

Trumpee and Snaree meet the Xilo brothers for the first time. They are eight parts of a xylophone. They become firm friends after having helped them find a relative who went missing in a cave where there are lots of marvellous musical stalactites.

While Grando and Pino are playing a very romantic piece and dancing ballet steps, two of their keys get damaged: they end up off key! Pino is a little worried, but Grando reassures him. All they have to do is go find Maestro Nomo, the metronome, who should be able to tune them again.

Trumpee and Snaree are running late for their class at Maestro Nomo’s music school and decide to take a short-cut. After all sorts of incredible adventures, and with the help of the other Meloditties, they manage to arrive in time for their lesson.

Trumpee and Snaree set off to explore the world. They come across a long railway track. The two Meloditties don’t know what it is and think it's an enormous xylophone, but the Xilo brothers are sure they're wrong. After a while, they hear a whistle blow, then there's a rumbling sound, and a train arrives. The Meloditties then do the locomotion, led by Maestro Nomo, with appropriate music playing in the background.

It’s bath day, but Trumpee and Snaree don’t want to know. They run off through the woods, but come across Maestro Nomo, who is swimming around in a big bathtub with a tap flowing, having lots of fun. They end up really enjoying their bath and playing in time to the drips falling from the tap.

While they are playing hide-and-go-seek, Trumpee, Snaree, Pino and the Xilo brothers end up in a cardboard box. It’s very dark inside, and there’s a funny echo. They are scared, but run off to Maestro Nomo’s house, and he reassures them. It’s just the sound waves bouncing around inside the box. The Meloditties go back inside the box and have fun making echoes.

Trumpee, Snaree and Pino find some old sheet music and discover that music can be written down just like words. Grando knows how to read it. the music is an old waltz which Aunt Accordia, the accordeon, used to play to Drumba when she was small. Today, it’s Drumba’s birthday, and the Meloditties decide to invite Aunt Accordia over to give her a nice surprise.

Maestro Nomo leads the Meloditties on a walk through Taratabong. They arrive in a field full of holes. They make up a new game: jumping in and out of the holes as they play music. It’s a tuneful game based on the sounds and silences of all the different instruments.

The four Sax brothers arrive in Taratabong, swimming like ducks on the pond. Their music helps the Meloditties forget all their little worries. They all head over to Maestro Nomo’s music school to watch the saxophone’s acrobatic show.

Trumpee and Snaree meet a young flute called Fluto, who is very shy by nature. Little by little, she starts to play with them and gets to know the rest of the Meloditties. In the end, she's happy to play with everyone and even gives a little solo with lots of trills.

It’s winter and Taratabong is covered in snow, which falls in a magical silence. The Meloditties have a fun throwing snowballs at each other and skating on the frozen pond. Trumpee gets a cold and starts to sneeze with a muted sound. Then Bone catches his cold and starts sounding funny too. The Meloditties then plays a muted piece of music…

Trumpee and Snaree are taking a big soapy bath in the pond. There are lots of bubbles and they play with them. The bubbles pop, making a sweet little sound. Once they are out of the pond, the Meloditties find lots of colorful balloons. They look like the bubbles, but they make a much louder noise when they pop. They start to play with the sound of the bubbles and the balloons bursting.

It’s windy today and the Meloditties are having fun with some leaves when a sudden gust blows off Bone's moustache. Snaree, Trumpee and Pino chase all through Taratabong after the moustache and make a new friend. It's Panee, a little Pan pipe.

While they are playing by the pond, the Meloditties have fun changing their voices, either using water, or pebbles, or bamboo shoots. Their masked voices give everything a carnival atmosphere!

After finding a big leaf which has fallen onto the ground, the little Meloditties have fun sliding around on it as their parents watch over them. A new arrival interrupts their game: It’s Iolin, the violin. He’s a little uppity at first, but he soon ends up playing with the others.

Trumpee and Snaree make a new friend, Trebass, a double bass who is always tired. Maestro Nomo invites him to play with them, but Trebass always ends up dropping off. The Meloditties try to play with him, but they choose a slow piece and it sends him into a snooze. They manage to wake him up with a more boisterous choice!

The Meloditties meet Tarrita, a guitar with a broken string. They all look for something to replace it: a blade of grass, a length of wool, a piece of spider’s web, a rubber band – but it’s no good. Maestro Nomo ends up replacing the broken guitar string with a new one.

The Meloditties meet the Tchikapoom family, a big group of percussion instruments led by the Bon and Go brothers, who are drums. They help Snaree and Drumba enrich their basic 'boom boom chak' rhythm.

The Meloditties are walking around Taratabong when they come across something new: a little theater. At first, they are wary, but they soon start having fun up on stage with their individual sounds. They act out several little scenes: sleeping, laughing, exploring poetry, feeling fear or joy. They end up playing all together.

Grando the grand piano agrees to play horse while the Meloditties all climb onto his back. It’s a very fun game and they keep it going, even though they are playing more and more off-key. Maestro Nomo stops the music and teaches the Meloditties using a 'taking turns' game that they must all listen to each other and give each other room.

The Meloditties meet Robo, a synthesizer, and get to know him. They are amazed by his unbelievable technique. They find out that because he's a computerized machine, he can play faster and louder than they can, and make more sounds. But in the end, the Meloditties have to teach him how to play more calmly.

The Meloditties have a new friend: Barello the barrel organ. While they are playing together, they spot a strange light coming from the top of a hill. They decide to go and find out what it is and discover a silent carousel with no lights on. There’s something missing: they ask the barrel organ to play some appropriate music and all get on the carousel for a ride.

The Meloditties set off for a walk through Taratabong in single file. Trumpee suggests they make the game more fun by jumping. They all jump up and down as Maestro Nomo directs them.

Tarrita the guitar is sad, as she is missing her cousins Jo the banjo, Electra the electric guitar, and Andolino the mandoline. They live in a different part of Taratabong. The Meloditties decide to go there with her. They travel down the river which runs through Taratabong.

The Meloditties family goes on a ‘botanic’ excursion down the path which leads to the top of bell hill. They can see different species of plants: from berry-bells to pumpkin-bells. When they finally reach the top of the hill they find an enormous bell tower with a big bell inside.

Fluto the piccolo and Trebass the bass are playing the same melody together accompanied by Grando. Maestro Nomo arrives followed by Trumpee and Snaree. After having carefully listened to Fluto, Trebass and Grando, Maestro Nomo invites them to play the song in a different way, by exploiting the peculiarities of their own sound and possible extension. Nomo begins to direct them in two different arrangements: When Fluto is the soloist (with the help of Trumpee and Snaree) the song is joyful and delightful, and when the same song is played by Trebass (with Grando) the song is dark and mysterious.

In front of their house, Trumpee and Snaree are getting ready to go to the Mandolins' village. Lolin and Tarrita, the violin and the guitar, join them, and they leave together to go to the camping. Bone and Drumba say goodbye to them and recommend to the quartet to be careful. Reaching the village of mandolins, the Meloditties meet Tarrita's cousins: there is Jo the banjo, and Andolino the mandolin. This is a good opportunity to tell music stories and play together! Snaree brought a telescope with him and explains to the others how to use it to watch the stars. Meanwhile a meteor shower starts and the Meloditties play a tune dedicated to the stars, alternating pizzicato to symbolize the brightness of stars with long notes to symbolize the path of the meteor.

Trumpee, Snaree, Pino and the Xilos are playing tag. The Xilos are playing and flying, one of them perches on what appears to be the edge of a large vase surpassing from a bush. The Meloditties are surprised and intrigued by their own voice echoing in there. We must investigate it ! Trumpee armed with a long leaf tries to tickle the bottom of the mysterious object. Suddenly, the whole bush begins to tremble and shake and we can hear some powerful grunts coming from it. The meloditties are terrified and leave. The large vase is out but it is not a vase: it is actually Grandpa Tuba, the tuba, who was having a nap and finding himself awaken by surprise, he started to roar. The Meloditties fly back to ask for explanations from Bone, who reveals that he is a Grandfather who comes from far away, then Bone takes the small Meloditties to Tuba so they can apologize and learn to know him. In this way, the story presents another member of the brass family, which already had Trumpee and Bone.

Trumpee, Snaree and Pino, interrupt their game, and climb on top of a hill, followed by Maestro Nomo and Bone. Up there, they meet two saxophones from The Sax brothers. They are currently observing a mysterious object. This is a big mirror, consisting of several panels and folded like an accordion. They make many efforts and they manage to set it up and open it. It is so much fun to make faces in the mirror ! Maestro Nomo has an idea: he places the Meloditties in front of the mirrors. Suddenly, the Meloditties are multiplied by their reflections and they now form a big band; they start to play a song (Dixieland?).