Did You Hear That Sound?

Get out that box of unpitched percussion instruments! This simple song gives your students the chance to creatively add percussive effects and/or sound effects in predetermined spots. The song is highly repetitive, so the only challenge will be remembering which sound description is next! You can use the ones we have provided, or change any or all of them to fit your situation. (See note at the bottom of page 48.) To help students remember the descriptive words, write them up on a poster or list everyone can see. Number them or point to them for younger students.

You could set up an Orff instrument and/or Boomwhacker® ostinato using the bass notes of the piano part as suggested (in the correct octave, of course). Play throughout, or just behind either the question or descriptive sections. Or alternate which instruments get to be heard during different sections to give everyone a chance to play.

Though this jazzy shuffle is not a Halloween tune, it could be used at that time of year. If you have no problem using Halloween themes in your music class or program, consider changing the descriptive words to scary ones. For example, "It was moaning," or "It was howling." Of course, students would then respond accordingly. For the best results, choose one student for each response (whether percussion or sound effects).

When the tune is over, let all the sounds ad lib for a few seconds if you wish. Cut them off or have them decrescendo to a stop on your cue.