There are many fun ways for students to practice syncopation, and each one focuses on a different aspect to help them internalize the concept and be able to transfer their knowledge to a variety of repertoire. A few ideas include: Sing the song or target phrase with lyrics. Sing the…
Tag: rhythm
Folk Songs 
18 more rhythm examples for ’18
As we close out 2018, here’s a gift of eighteen more folk song rhythm examples. Simply click on the individual titles to see the music and save them, or go to the Rhythm page to see an alphabetical list of all the folk song rhythm examples available and save the…
Differentiation part 2
Several years ago I wrote a post titled Differentiation in the Elementary Music Classroom. It was one of my first experiences providing leveled worksheets for my students that would be appropriate for their varying levels. Today’s post takes this a step further. Each time my students complete a worksheet in class, a few…
Post Office Rhythm Game
It’s the beginning of another school year and time to review, review, review! All those previous concepts must be reinforced before preparing new ones. I put a new spin on a game Lamar Robertson taught in Kodály training called Post Office. There are three free sets for download: quarter and eighth…
Drumming
Yesterday two groups of music education students from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor visited my elementary music classes to observe drumming lessons and they were great! In my district, we teach twelve 25-minute classes on Fridays and see half the school. I like to use these class times to reinforce…
Who’s That Tapping at the Window
It’s been several months since I wrote a blog post, so I’ll write about a favorite song that I just posted under Resources for Teachers, Solfége and Rhythm examples. Who’s That Tapping at the Window is a folk song with amazing potential. The source listed in my song collection is…
Teaching meter
It’s so exciting to teach meter to first graders. They’re curious about everything, and when I tell them that the “big kids” know something, they want to learn it even more. One of the most helpful songs for teaching meter is “Bounce High, Bounce Low.” The students form loose circles…