An easy way to learn intervals by ear and what they sound like is to link them with songs you know. Here's a list to start working from.

Class Openers for Elementary Music. Organized Chaos. Fun ways to establish a routine for the beginning of each elementary general music class as a warm-up and allow student leadership as well.

The Yellow Brick Road Blog is a website dedicated to providing music teachers with fun education resources for serious music literacy.

Vocal warm-ups are an important part of singing, but they offer many other benefits in a choral setting. Choral warm-ups are an important and powerful tool to get your group singing together with a good tone, resonance, and proper breath support ( source ). Plus, there are many ways to include pedag

Hi all! This is Amy from Music a la Abbott. I hope you all enjoyed the previous two posts from Karla and Kate: I love Karla's ideas for surviving the end of the school year (proud to say, I'm one week into summer vacation) and Kate's ideas for reflecting on the year and looking forward. I debated many different things to blog about today. Some of my ideas were on pacing, transitions, engagement rates, scaffolding but like I said, I'm on summer vacation! So, I decided to focus on something…

If you go to the grocery store or the park or Target, you’re likely to hear it - the sound of a small child singing a song they know by heart (often looping through a favorite section over and over). “The impulse to move, speak, sing, and play rhythmically is a natural and vital part of being human” (source). But, if it’s not encouraged and nurtured from an early age, children can “forget how to sing.” How do you help them rediscover their singing voices? How do you develop it and…

Contraption 1: The Boomwhacker String Let me start by saying that this is the most wow-worthy Boomwhacker lesson plan and contraption I’ve ever come up with. I don’t say that lightly – literally every age class and student absolutely LOVES this activity. Parents and teachers are constantly wowed by this string, though there’s not really much … Boomwhacker Contraptions You’ll Love (Part I) Read More »

Remember those clapping games we used to play as kids? Between the silly (or nonsense) lyrics and the fast-paced sequence of claps, taps, snaps, and crosses, clapping games provided hours of entertainment. It might seem like just fun and games, but there's actually more to it than that. Clapping games can be beneficial to children's development.Dr. Idit Sulkin has conducted research on the topic of children's hand-clapping games, noting:"These activities serve as a developmental platform to…

Christmas bells to tune of Jingle Bells

Looking for a quick "back to school" themed game for your music lessons? Try this snappy game that reinforces their understanding of 4/4 time, quarter notes, half notes, and quarter rests. To play, two players start with their tokens at the bottom of each row. To move forward, the two players play ...

A new, easy-to-sing, modern Christmas song, If I Were There, is designed to stick with kids beyond the walls of the church. Great for worship or performance.

17 Cumulative Songs for Children's Choir - cumulative songs for elementary music, how to teach a cumulative song, singing games for children's choir, movement songs for children, silly songs, songs with repetition, call and response | @ashleydanyew

Looking for a fun way to reinforce rhythm and steady beat, play melodies, and introduce harmony to your children’s choir? Let me introduce you to Boomwhackers. Boomwhackers are great for older elementary choirs, though they can be used in certain circumstances with younger elementary &

Looking for a fun way to reinforce rhythm and steady beat, play melodies, and introduce harmony to your children’s choir? Let me introduce you to Boomwhackers. Boomwhackers are great for older elementary choirs, though they can be used in certain circumstances with younger elementary &