On Saturdays I run a music making group for very young children, aged three to around six and a couple of seven year olds. We will be having a Halloween party at the next one as it falls during the half term holiday and we won't meet then. We are going to sing “Five naughty skeletons jumping on a bed”, (monkeys in the original) and hear a spooky story to which we will add sound effects. We may sing” One Ghost Went to Haunt” to the tune of “One man went to mow”. I need one or two more ideas though. The studio will be decorated with happy pumpkin faces and balloons, but nothing too scary as they are all very tiny. Any ideas please? We have plenty of percussion instruments, puppets and lots of room to leap around!

There's something very spooky about chromatic scales. Have you got any xylophones or glockenspiels? There's a great piece in TG Initial (new piano syllabus) called "The Witching Hour", in which the RH plays rhythmic bare fifths while the LH plays short chromatic passages - I THINK rising and falling from A. (I don't have my own copy of the book.) Mabe the older ones could play the fifths with two xylophone sticks, while others tried something in time with them with chromatic scale passages. The witch could be coming to the door, and arrive with a big BANG from all the percussion as the chromatic bit hits a final A. Just a thought! You're making me think about a Hallowe'en part now - like I've nothing else to do!

there's a really good book for Violin called Witches Brew that comes with a playalong CD. It's easy Grade 1 ish (I think), you could probably play the tunes on Recorder (I could ask my daughter to check over the weekend). It's great fun the girls just love it! They sing all the silly songs and hoot with laughter over it's attempts to be spooky.

Maybe a friendly Violin Teacher could lend it to you although it's not expensive to buy. I got it from Music Exchange on line. It might be available for other instruments, it's really not scarey at all and quite young.

It is also available for cello.

When my boys were younger, we used to sing "Hark! Hark! Can you hear?" from harloquien book, with triangles (pings! and tremolos) and just try to make noises of cats and skeleton (xylophone). I actually teach this song to my young piano pupils - they learn it straightaway!
We may well be doing this ourselves in a week's time...

Kerri your daughter will love it! shes just about the right age!

http://www.music-exchange.co.uk Click on cello in the pop down and type Witches Brew in the search box. It's definately there

Hi use a very simple little song at music school which can be 'themed'. Th original is called 'Cherry Pie' but at Hallowe'en pie I get the children to think what a with might make their pie out of - needless to say, I get all sort of scary suggestions. If you know solfa it is a 'soh - me' song, or G and E would do if you don't (any minor falling third).

The words are-

Ay,ay, me oh my
How I love my cherry pie

Sing to

1 2 3 4

Soh me soh-soh me

Soh-soh me-me soh-soh me

"Spider Pie"? Is that the sort of thing that they think of?

Two suggestions:

If you know the book Jump Into The Ring by Lesley Lees, there's a good song called I'm Winnie the Witch. Easy to learn and popular with children.

Also, in Game Songs with Prof Dogg's Troupe, there are a couple of songs you could adapt (the whole book is excellent for adapting to themes, if you're not already familiar with it.) The two most obvious ones are Make a Cake which could become Make a Brew/Potion; and the Act-In Song which I've used in loads of situations. You could do Be a broomstick, Be a pumpkin, Be a Cat, Be a Spider, Be a Bat, etc, etc, with the children making up suitable actions.

If you don't know these books, PM me for more details.

There's a really good song called Skeleton Stomp by Sue Stevens. I first discovered it when I was teaching at an International School abroad - it's in Sounds of Music, which is what they were using at the school. Probably a bit old for your group, but others might be interested in it. I'm using it when my Primary choir sing in Assembly on 31st - the kids love it and it's very easy to learn, as every verse is almost the same - just with an added line each time. It involves clapping (and possibly stomping!) and adapts well to using soloists and doing actions.
Great fun!
Jenny

Thank you all for your ideas,posted both here and as PM's. We had our meeting today and the kids really loved it. (too early I know, but the next week is a half term holiday so no meeting then!) We had a sawdust lucky dip using a pumpkin bucket, with bats, spiders and skeletons hidden inside and when every child had found one they had to make them move according to whether a rattling dance, a crawly piece or a flying and swooping tune was played. We played and sang some of our usual songs with changed words and we did Cherry Pie too which they all enjoyed. Our next music club will be on the day before bonfire night so I will have fun thinking of bonfire and firework musical activities for that, and then we will begin our Christmas music.

Yes, that's the idea - anything revolting (within reason) will do ! You can make anything fit, don't feel you have to stick to words of two syllables - how i love my slug pie, or how I love my skeleton pie, etc, etc,