The beat chants are a great way to welcome your students to music class or music time. Some music teachers teach more than a thousand students each week and it can be very difficult to remember the names. Starting your class with a name chant establishes a routine, introduces the term “beat” and will help the teacher remember all of the names.

Say the preschool chant, patting a steady beat as you speak. Say hello to four students, then say the chant again. Say hello to them using high and low voices, quiet and loud voices, fast and slow. Also use speaking, whispering, shouting or calling and singing voices. When singing hello use a variety of solfa patterns: so-mi
so-so-mi, so-la-so-mi-do or mi-re-do-do-do. In the chants where children say their own names, encourage them to use different voices.

Teaching procedures at the beginning of the year is important for all students, but especially for PreK! If this is your first class with students, discuss them all.

Practice distinguishing between speaking and singing voices by introducing a toy elephant named Melody. Melody the elephant will do what the children tell her, if they tell her in a “singing voice.” If they speak, she does nothing. Tell Melody to “jump up and down” using a speaking voice. Melody won’t move. Then sing to Melody to “jump up and down” and make your elephant jump. Invite the children to
sing to Melody what to do. This activity helps the students to learn the difference between singing and speaking voices. It’s also great to encourage solo singing. You can soon tell who is matching pitch and who you need to work with when they sing to Melody.

Melody became a requested part of every music class. If I forgot to bring Melody out, they asked for her. They all wanted to give Melody hugs after class, so we developed a routine where if they were sitting nicely in their places, Melody would come and give them a hug.

Copy the teacher in the video.

When you copy the teacher you are keeping a steady beat.

This is Ballettmusik by Mozart.

What instruments do you have in the music room? Do you have some of the instruments in the picture?

If you have class sets of instruments, choose one that you could give the students. (sticks or egg shakers are good)

Show them how it is held and played.

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Hand the instruments out. I like to have the students close their eyes while I hand out instruments as quickly as possible.
The second they open their eyes, play the instruments with the chant.
If you do this chant every time you hand out instruments, it not only manages behaviors and instantly engages kids, they get to explore the instrument right away.

Play along with the song "Play and Stop".

Play when the music plays.

Stop when you hear the word "stop!"

Play your instrument with music by Bach.

Learn the poem "One, Two, Three, Four".

Learn the movements and learn about types of voices by watching the kids demo.

Do the movements and say the poem with the teacher.

Try different types of voices with the interactive activity.

You'll do one kind of voice for every 2 lines of the poem.

Sing the ABCs.

Americans say Z "zee" - so, if you're from the USA, sing with this video!

(Canadians - you'll sing with the next video.)

Sing the ABCs.

Canadians - you'll sing with the this video!

(If you're from the USA, you sing with the previous video)

Review "Short Letter A".

Review the song "Alligator Alarm".

Review the song "Monkeys".

This song was written by April and Susan and celebrates one of our favorite animals that live in jungles and in zoos!

Can you make up movements to the song?

Sing our closing song "Skinnamarink".