Yo-yo
by John Riggio
The yo-yo (or yoyo) is an ancient toy, at least 2,500 years old. The ancient world could not have envisioned how popular the yo-yo has become, to say nothing of the amazing tricks people do with it! These days, yo-yos are specialized, made with different materials like wood, plastic, metal, and composite materials. Some are unresponsive, which makes it easy to sleep the yo-yo, and some have ball bearings. Yo-yos have come a long way!
"Yo-yo" is a list song that rattles off just a few of the tricks you can do on a yo-yo. (Yes, there is actually a trick called Grey Poupon.) John picked a hip-hop shuffle style to give the tune a fun lilt, and we think your students will enjoy it. They'll need to feel that triplet undercurrent of the shuffle, but once they do the song grooves nicely!
In performance, students could use yo-yos as props, though it might be difficult for some to sing and yo-yo at the same time. If you happen to have any gifted yo-yoers in the class, you could form a select non-singing group that would demonstrate simple throws during the song, like Gravity Throw, The Sleeper, and Walk the Dog. If they're able to do more advanced tricks, even better!
Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.