Top Teacher Picks
Featured on Monday 29 January, 2018
As music teachers, we really are spoilt for choice. There are just so many excellent songs out there. But there will always be those that rise to the top. We reached out to the My Song File community to find out their top picks.
So, what makes a top pick? It might be a song that’s great for learning a variety of musical elements, or perfect for just one aspect. It might be a song that’s ideal to fill in a couple of odd minutes or a superb example of an action song – energetic and fun. Regardless, a top pick is always catchy and inclusive.
Little Sally Waters is a fantastic, simple action song that is perfect for filling in some of those odd minutes that crop up in a day.
— Zandra, Primary School Music Teacher
Pourquoi (also known as 'Oh Said the Blackbird') is exceptional for improvisation. Sing it to your students and make up melodic ostinato for the beginning. It's also very nice on the xylophone.
— Susie, Primary and Secondary School Music Teacher
Four White Horses. A double-partner clapping game that is just tricky enough to bring some laughter to the classroom! Great for doing beat with upper primary through to middle secondary students, as well as right and left brain cross overs.
— Katherine, Primary School Music Teacher
Land of the Silver Birch. Great for everything: ostinato, canon, rhythmic elements (syncopa) and solfa (lah pentatonic).
— Tess, Primary School Music Teacher
I've Got a Car its Made of Tin is notable for inner hearing – use it to check if students have:
- internalised a steady beat - do they get faster in the sections where words have been taken out?
- internalised pitch - do they sing in tune when they come in after sections where words have been taken out?
— Miriam, Primary School Music Teacher
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