7 Songs to Teach "Do" in Elementary Music

Do is one of my favorite Kodály concepts to teach because there are so many great songs and games that go with it! Below are seven songs I use in my second- and third-grade classrooms to introduce and practice do. Most of these songs can also review other concepts such as ta, ti-ti, half note, steady beat, and sol-mi.

Apple Tree

Apple Tree is one of my favorite songs to introduce do. It is also a great song to review ta and ti-ti.

Game:

Have students walk to the beat in a circle.

Pick two students to be the “tree.” They hold hands and raise their arms.

The rest of the class walks under the tree while singing.

On the word “out,” the tree drops its arms and traps someone.

That student joins the tree and it gets bigger each round.

Students love playing this game, especially as the tree gets bigger and bigger and they start catching multiple people at a time!

Pease Porridge Hot

Pease Porridge Hot is a great song to practice do, but I also use it earlier to teach the quarter rest.

Game/Activity:

I enjoy using xylophones with this song! I have one student play C and another play G while the class sings. Students practice switching between playing the steady beat and playing the rhythm as they sing. You can also split the class, with one half playing the beat and the other half playing the rhythm.

Mouse Mousie

Mouse Mousie is a great song to teach do because the melody is mostly made up of sol, mi, and do. This makes it easy for students to see and hear the relationship between the three pitches.

Game:

Have the students sit in a circle.

Pick one student to be the cat and another student to be the mouse.

The class sings while the cat walks around the circle and tries to figure out who the mouse is.

At the end of the song, the mouse gets up and the cat chases them around the circle.

The mouse tries to make it back to their spot before getting tagged.

Ring Around the Rosie

Most students already know Ring Around the Rosie, which makes it an easy song to bring back when practicing do.

Game:

Have students stand in a circle and hold hands.

Walk around the circle while singing.

On “we all fall down,” everyone safely falls or crouches toward the floor.

This familiar song also gives students an easy opportunity to connect singing with steady-beat movement.

Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear is a fun movement song that I use later in second grade to practice do. It was traditionally used as a jump-rope song, which also provides an easy way to connect the song to the steady beat.

Activity:

Have students perform the motions in the song while they sing.

You can also have students pretend to turn a jump rope to the beat. With third grade, I use a long jump rope and have students try the motions while jumping to see who can continue the longest!

King's Land

This is a fun song if you have the space for it! I know some teachers go outside and play this game!

Game:

Pick one student to be the King or Queen.

The King/Queen stands on one side of the room while the rest of the class stands on the other.

Everyone sings the song.

When the King/Queen turns around, the other students try to cross to the opposite side without being tagged.

The student who gets tagged can become the new King or Queen.

Acka Backa

Acka Backa is a great song to review ta, ti-ti, sol, mi, half note, and do. I use a classroom version that ends on low do.

Game:

Have students walk and sing to the beat in a circle.

Make sure there is an odd number of students playing.

At the end of the song, everyone quickly finds a partner and goes back to back.

The student without a partner is out and "takes one person down" with them.

Students who are out grab rhythm sticks or another instrument and continue playing the steady beat while everyone else keeps playing.

Students cannot have the same partner twice in a row.

This is a great beginning-of-the-year game for practicing musical skills while also developing the social-emotional skills involved in being out during a game.

I hope you enjoyed reading about these songs and games for presenting and practicing do. I hope you can use some of them in your own classroom!