Very Beginning
mi so- Witch, witch (singing game) (Choksy [1974] 1991: 194, 1981: 212)
- Bye lo, baby oh (Choksy 1981: 212)
- Bee bee (Choksy 1981: 213)
- Counting song, The (Choksy [1974] 1991: 190)
- Cuckoo (Choksy [1974] 1991: 190)
This song consists of one measure. - The gypsy (Millen 1943: 204)
This is a Russian children's circle game. There is one measure played nine times. - [Pacific Island hula dance with vocal part on so and mi and unpitched percussion part]
(Arnold & Scholes 1983, vol. 2: 1380) - Mabel, Mabel (Seeger, P. n. d.; Johnston 1984: 2)
- Cinderella (Seeger, P. n. d.; Johnston 1984: 3)
- In and out (Holy Names collection, #a1)
Wyzga c. 1976, vol. 1.
American Folk Songs for Teaching.
Mike Johnson is cited as the contributor.
American Folk Songs for Teaching.
Wyzga c. 1976, vol. 1: 15.
Circle game with children sitting.
Charlie walks on outside of circle and taps a child on the head on "caught".
The caught fish chases Charlie until Charlie returns to sit in the vacated spot.
The game continues with the new Charlie.
American Folk Songs for Teaching.
The instructions read:
Long line of players, with "it" in center, are facing it, and "it" chants songs and at the end all run across to an opposite "line"--while "it" tags someone, who then joins him in center.
Next time there are two taggers to catch others as they cross, etc.
American Folk Songs for Teaching.
The instructions read:
The children stand in two lines, the Robber Catcher in the center and the four robbers on hands and knees at the end.
After the song the four robbers crawl past the Robber Catcher, who may not move his feet, but may bend in any direction.
The first robber caught is the next Robber Catcher.
The remaining threee robbers and the old Robber Catcher each pick a child from the lines and take that child's place in line.
The four new children are the next four robbers.
The song is from a 1984 horror movie, so discretion is advised.
I learned the song from the third graders in a class where I was student teaching. I printed out copies of the song and passed them out to the children. Parents complained because I was teaching the children a song from a slasher film.
That was ironic because they were the ones who taught me the song.
mi so la
- Blue bells (Choksy [1974] 1991: 190, 1981: 211)
- Oliver Twist (Choksy [1974] 1991: 196, 1981: 211)
- Lemonade (dialogue song) (Choksy [1974] 1991: 193, 1981: 211-212)
- Lantern man, The (Choksy [1974] 1991: 194, 1981: 212)
- Bounce high (Choksy 1981: 212)
- Icka back (Choksy [1974] 191: 190, 1981: 213)
- Doggie, doggie (Choksy 1981: 213)
- Cuckoo (Choksy 1981: 213)
- Bobby Shaftoe (Choksy [1974] 1991: 195, 1981: 213)
- Good night (Choksy [1974] 1991: 191, e1981: 214)
- See saw, Margery daw (Choksy [1974] 1991: 195, 1981: 214)
- Little Sally Water (Choksy [1974] 1991: 195, 1981: 214; Erdei & Komlos 1974: 3)
- Lucy Lockett (Choksy [1974] 1991: 190)
- Mill wheel, The (Choksy [1974] 1991: 191)
- Rain, rain (Choksy [1974] 1991: 191; Erdei & Komlos 1974: 3)
- Bye baby bunting (Choksy [1974] 1991: 191; Erdei & Komlos 1974: 4; Johnston 1984: 13)
- See saw (Choksy [1974] 1991: 191)
- Bye, lo baby, o (Choksy [1974] 1991: 192)
- Star light, star bright (Choksy [1974] 1991: 192)
- Clap your hands (Choksy [1974] 1991: 192)
- Bell horses (Choksy [1974] 1991: 192)
- Snail, snail (Choksy [1974] 1991: 193)
- Bounce high (Choksy [1974] 1991: 193)
- I'm the king of the castle (Choksy [1974] 1991: 196)
- Hill, dill (Choksy [1974] 1991: 196)
- Hickety tickety (Choksy [1974] 1991: 196)
- A tisket, a tasket (Choksy [1974] 1991: 197; Erdei & Komlos 1974: 4)
- Plainses, clapsies (Choksy [1974] 1991: 197)
- Down by the meadow (Kenney 1975: 6)
- Jelly fish (Kenney 1975: 7)
- Up the ladder (Kenney 1975: 8)
- We like Berlin (Kenney 1975: 8)
- I hate Bosco (Kenney 1975: 9)
- Jump in (Schwartz n. d.; Johnston 1984: 12)
American folk songs for teaching: c3
with the explanation "traditional Anglo-U. S. children's game:
chant adapted to it for school use"
American Folk Songs for Teaching.
All players join hands.
The player at the left end remains in place without dropping hands.
The player at the right end walks around the player at the left end without dropping hands.
The player at the right end continues until all players are wound in a tight coil.
B. A. Botkin Collection.
Subsequent stanzas read:
2. When Bonnie was two, she learned to touch her shoe
. . . for it's half past two.
3. . . . touch her knee . . .
4. . . . touch the floor . . .
5. . . . touch her side . . .
6. . . . pick up sticks . . .
7. . . . pray to heaven . . .
8. . . . touch the gate . . .
9. . . . step on the line . . .
10. . . . write with a pen . . .
Wyzga c. 1976, vol. 1: 13.
Child sits in front of class with eyes closed.
While the rest sing, another child is pointed to and walks quietly behind Johnny and sings "Hello, who am I?"
When Johnny guessesd, the new Johnny begins the game.
Wyzga c. 1976, vol. 1.
Tommy sits with hands covering his eyes.
Another child is chosen to stand behind him.
Tommy has to guess who it is.
Tommy solos on "Me, oh my" and another child on "It is I."
Game continues with the new Tommy.
Wyzga c. 1976, vol. 1.
Children stand in a circle with one child in the middle.
Children do a beat or rhythm activity until "take your wings and fly away."
The children then arch their hands and the middle child flies to the outside of the circle.
"Rain, rain" can be used to choose a new "bee."
so la
- "A" my is Abbie (Choksy [1974] 1991: 193)
- Mary, Mary (Kenney 1975: 6)
- Over in the meadow where the green grass grows (Seeger, P. n. d.; Johnston 1984: 2)
B. A. Botkin Collection.
For subsequent stanzas, other items are substituted for each letter in the alphabet.
B. A. Botkin Collection.
For subsequent stanzas, place names and personal names are substituted for each letter in the alphabet.
traditional English, primary source: Gillian White, as remembered from her school experience in England, Wyzga, vol. 1; American Folk Songs for Teaching
Oliver Twist, twist, youcan't do this, this, touch his knee, knee, touch his toe, toe, clap his hand, hand and over we go, go.
Oliver Twist, Twist, Twist, you can't to this, this, this, touch his, etc.
Botkin collection: 62
Botkin, B. A. Collection, Love Library, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
Choksy, L. [1974] 1999. The Kodaly method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2 vol.
The first volume has an appendix consisting of folk songs arranged in order of difficulty.
Last I heard, Choksy had retired from the music teaching profession to operate a bed-and-breakfast resort. I hope the bed-and-breakfast business gained as much as the music teaching profession lost.
_____. 1981. The Kodaly context. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Like Choksy 1974, contains an appendix consisting of folk songs arranged in order of difficulty.
Kenney, M. 1975. Circle round the zero. St. Louis, MO: Magnamusic-Baton.
This is a delightful collection of jump rope songs, clapping songs, ball-bouncing songs, and more. The authors of this book actually went out in the field and collected these songs from children.
Just one disadvantage: the songs collected from the children tend to start in musical pitch, but to change to speech. This might limit their usefulness. You may or may not decide to set the spoken portions to music, depending on your views regarding authenticity.
Wyzga, H. c. 1976. Simple gifts: Songs presented in a sequential order to teach musical concepts based on Zoltan Kodaly's philosophy of music education. n. p. 3 vol.
An unpublished manuscript available at the Holy Names College library.
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