"Hello, Somebody" is a traditional greeting song that appears in Jump Right In  Grade 3 General Music Series. I've been using it for several years, singing the song and engaging students in improvising on a woodblock between verses.  Listening and Improvising: Rhythm Focus  This week I decided to try something new. Instead of singing the entire verse before demonstrating improvisation, I broke each verse into phrases, and modeled improvising 4-macrobeat (two-measure) rhythm patterns on a woodblock after each phrase. I also transposed it to D-major to make it more accessible for developing voices (usually between D and A). VERSE 1: IMPROVISE ON THE WOODBLOCK ( two measures) IMPROVISE ON THE WOODBLOCK ( two measures ) VERSE 2: Hello, somebody, hello.  Somebody wants to know your name  (Improvise) Hello, somebody, hello.  Somebody wants to know your name  (Improvise) After I modeled the sequence--alternating singing and ...

Students are naturally curious about other languages Over the years of interacting with my students, I have noticed their natural curiosity whenever we discuss cultures, traditions, and languages. My students love learning new ways to say things. Their eyes light up when I introduce simple vocabulary in other languages: greetings , numbers, movement verbs, body parts, etc. My students get especially excited when I engage in an audible conversation in my native language: Russian.  Greeting songs One of the most accessible ways to incorporate other languages in the music room is exploring various greetings.  Hello and Goodbye songs  are a staple in most elementary classrooms. As students become familiar with the songs, change “hello” to “ hola ”, ”ciao”, or   “bonjour”. With a little creativity and good musicianship, any greeting song can be modified to include other languages.   A peek into my classroom:  “Hello, Everyone” Song Review...