Submitted by Connie Herbon, Iowa
Idea posted May 16, 2005
I wrote the song "Roy G. Biv" for my second graders when I found that they couldn't name the colors in the rainbow without either looking at a rainbow visual or singing one of several songs which name the colors as part of their lyrics, such as "Follow the Rainbow," from Music K-8, Vol. 15, No. 4. The name Roy G. Biv is the traditional pneumonic device used for remembering the rainbow colors, so the intent of the song was to assist students in remembering the name. The A-G-F motive is intentionally repeated in the song each time the name is sung to further reinforce the sound of the name. It could be played on recorder, Boomwhackers®, bells, or any other pitched percussion. The harmony accompanying the song can be simplified to F and C7 if necessary.