5 General Music Games for Distance, In-Person, or Hybrid Learning
“What could support look like for you this year?”
“I could use games and chants that bring the FUN back to my music classroom.”
When I asked colleagues what support they could use this year, one of the concerns involved making music fun again.
We’re teaching in a time of restrictions, and that can make it hard to focus on what we can do.
What Support Could You Use this Year?
I’d love to hear your experience teaching right now, and what kind of support you wish you had. Use the form below to share your thoughts.
Singing Games When You Have Singing Restrictions
Singing is not permissible in every classroom situation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy these games! Consider these adjustments to singing games if singing is not permitted in your situation:
Since we have many different voices we use in music, students can speak, whisper, or shout the text instead.
Students can still play the games while listening to a recording of the song.
Students can inner hear (sing the song in their heads) and play the game as normal.
There are many pathways to musicianship! Singing is one that we love to use, but it is not the only pathway.
As we discussed in this post, restrictions on music class do not mean that music class goals cannot be met - we’re just adjusting the delivery.
In-person, virtual, and hybrid
These activities work in an in-person setting, a virtual setting, or a hybrid setting.
By adjusting the games one time to fit all scenarios, we save ourselves tremendous amounts of planning time - which is one of the other things teachers say they need support in.
These are some of the games we’re using inside The Planning Binder this year.
The long-range plans inside The Planning Binder are designed to work with in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning scenarios.
Apple Tree
Apple Tree is a classroom favorite in so many music rooms!
How to Play (Traditional)
There are many ways to play this popular game. Some educators play it as a counting out game, where students sit in a circle and pass an object to the steady beat. The person on whom the last beat lands is out.
My preferred way is for students to sing and walk in a circle, keeping the steady beat. Two students (the “apple tree”) hold their hands above heads, creating an arch for students to walk under. On the word "out" the apple tree quickly lowers its branches and traps an apple. That caught student becomes a new apple tree with the teacher and the game continues - catching more apples, creating more trees, until there is only one apple left.
How to Play (Adapted)
We can reimagine this game by placing small objects on the floor (anything works - post it notes, markers, puzzle pieces, etc.).
Students step on the objects in a steady beat. The object on which the last beat lands gets removed from the circle.
Continue jumping over the empty spaces until only one piece is left.
I recently shared this idea and process on my instagram stories. You can still find it in the highlights under “Process Videos.”
Obwasimisa
Ɔboɔ asi me nsa is a stone-passing game from the Akan people in Ghana. This is a popular singing game notated in many places. One version is notated in Let Your Voice Be Heard, compiled by Abraham Adzenyah, Judith Cook Tucker, and Dumisani Maraire.
Translation: The rock crushed my hand, Grandma
Games are used in Ghana both as “playtime,” and as a training ground for cultural values and life skills. The source notes that this game expresses the comfort that can come from turning to a caregiver in times of hurt. Ɔboɔ asi me nsa and other games highlight cooperation over individual competition because the precision of passing impacts everyone involved. If a student passes the rock incorrectly, both the passer and the receiver are out.
It may also be helpful to note that many variations of this song exist. In Akan musical culture, songs such as Ɔboɔ asi me nsa would include improvisations and alterations, so two people may not sing the song the same way.
How to Play (Traditional Version)
Students sit in a circle and pass a rocks around on the ground. The game may be played with one rock passed around the circle, or with each student passing their own rock simultaneously.
If a student messes up the pattern or receives the rock incorrectly from a neighbor, both the passer and the receiver are out.
The tempo may be increased, or other passing patterns may be invented with variations of grabbing, tapping, and passing.
How to Play (Adapted Version)
Students place a small object (eraser, pebble, puzzle piece, etc.) on their open palms. With younger students, consider using a scarf or tissue.
Students bounce the object in their palm while singing the song.
If you drop the object, you’re out!
This adapted version of the game is used in The Planning Binder.
Karen Baren
Karen Baren is a name game from Denmark.
This game is sourced from the incredible site, nordicsounds.info. I’ve shared on my instagram often about my love for this website. You can also find a process teaching video for this rhyme in my highlights.
Denmark has a musical history of humorous rhymes and games that use vocables (sometimes called “nonsense syllables”). This is an example of games used to train children in the parameters of playful teasing.
Karen Baren kattevatte Varen
Kattevatte vekop tekop Taren
How to play:
Use the names of different friends and create variations on their names.
Here’s an example with Anna:
Anna Banna kattevatte Vanna
Katte vatte vekop tekop Tanna
Nathan:
Nathan Bathan katte vatte Vathan
Katte vatte vekop tekop Tathan
Variations:
Students can make an ostinato with the name of four friends or family members.
This game functions well in a socially-distant, distance learning, or hybrid setting! Another bonus of this rhyme is that it uses a speaking voice, making it fully accessible to situations where singing is restricted.
Pala Palita
Pala Palita is a traditional Spanish-language children’s game. This is sourced from Vamos a Cantar, which I also mention in this post about looking for classroom songs.
When a song is labeled as “traditional Spanish-language,” that generally means that it is played and loved in many Spanish-speaking countries. Spanish is spoken across the globe, including Latin America, South America, Africa, and Europe. In The United States, about 41 million people speak Spanish.
How to Play (Traditional)
Make a “seesaw” structure by balancing a long flat object like a stick across a smaller object. On one side of the stick, balance a few small coins or other small objects.
One player calls either “heads” or “tails” and hits the empty end of the stick so the coins fly forward. When they land, the player collects all the pieces that landed with the player’s guess of heads or tails.
Continue giving other students a turn until all the pieces are collected.
How to Play (Adapted Version)
This traditional game can be easily tweaked for distance learning or in-person learning!
To adapt it, use one coin instead of the several used in the traditional version. Students silently make their guess of heads or tails by placing their hands on their heads or their hips.
One student comes to the front to hit the empty end of the stick. If the coin lands on heads, everyone with their hands on their heads wins. If the coin lands on tails, everyone with their hands on their hips wins. The player at the front of the room chooses a new student and the game begins again.
In distance learning, students can play along with their hands on their heads or hips as the teacher demonstrates the game. In later lessons, students can look for two sticks and a coin to play the game themselves.
Kirisu Chon
Kirisu Chon is a song from Japan about a grasshopper. Grasshoppers are used in Japanese art, including stories, songs, and visual arts. The grasshopper is a symbol of good luck, and is sometimes kept as a pet. Here’s a woodblock painting of a grasshopper and flowers created by the artist famous for his well-known work, The Great Wave.
Translation: Grasshopper, hop! Grasshopper, hop! Keep hopping until you get to me
How to Play (Traditional)
Students sing the song while walking in a circle.
One student (grasshopper) hops around the inside of the circle in the opposite direction. At the end of the song, the grasshopper taps one student from the circle.
That student hops behind the grasshopper and the game begins again. The student who was just chosen taps the next student to join the inside circle.
How to Play (Adapted)
Sing the song and jump in the rests. The first jump is small, the next is medium, the last is large.
Students should be in the air during the beat of silence and land on the downbeat.
In an in-person classroom, this might be turned into a jumping competition.
To say that music class looks different this year is an understatement.
However, we still have opportunities for active musicking, no matter what the lesson delivery looks like.
These games are part of The Planning Binder, which helps teachers develop grounded teaching strategies that can be used in in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning scenarios. You can learn more here.
