YELLOW BRICK ROAD MUSIC

Ring, Ring the Big Bell

For those of you in the states, I hope your Independence Day was full of fireworks, barbecue, and good music! I’m still a little sad that I missed out on stuffing my face with hamburgers and hotdogs, but I’ll use the oversight as an excuse to make up for it this coming weekend! Though the holiday is officially over, the 4th of July festivities inspired me to choose a song with the theme of freedom, and Ring, Ring the Big Bell is exactly that.
My dear friend Elizabeth from Organized Chaos, suggested that I sing in my future videos, so I did just that. I’d love to know what you think of the new format. If you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section. Also, please don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel for a brand new upload every week!
STEADY BEAT
This song is meant to be sung with a steady clap throughout. You can introduce the song to your students using the video above and ask them to clap along to the steady beat. If you have a “student of the day”, ask him or her to ring a handbell on the first two beats of the song. After a few repetitions, students should feel comfortable enough to begin singing along.

MOVEMENT
Have students stand in a circle with joined hands. Then, have them perform eight-beat movements as they sing the song.

For example:
1st 8 Beats–move clockwise in the circle
2nd 8 Beats–move counter-clockwise in the circle
3rd 8 Beats–move to the center of the circle while raising arms
4th 8 Beats–move back out and lower arms to their original position

CREATE
Break students up into small groups of 3 or more. Ask each group to come up with their own eight-beat movement patterns. Give them a set number of minutes to work on each movement (to keep them all on track). Then, give them a set number of minutes to practice their movements as you play/sing the song. Finally, have each group present their movements to the class while everyone sings and claps along.

Lastly, this is a great song for working on harmony. I’ve included the alto part just in case you wanted to try it out with your classes.

Thanks for reading!

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