
Lesson 1
- Demonstrate xylophone – which note is which (only mi, so and la: E, G and A)
- I play a pattern on xylophone as I sing on solfege, they sing back, then add Curwen hand signs
- Pass out paper xylophone, students practice “playing” a few times (alternate hands)
- Students get 2 turns: one with regular mallets, second with backwards mallets (playing with sticks).
- I sing patterns, they play back on xylophones.
- They practice Bounce High, Bounce Low (or another mi, so, la song they are already familiar with) with sticks (backwards mallets) – they just try it out, see if they can do it
Lesson 2
- Sing Lucy Locket (another song they have learned previously)
- Pass out “Lucy Locket – Write the Song” page – students get clipboards and pencils, sit near board. I demonstrate how to write notes and write the entire song on the board. They can copy what I wrote or use the back of their paper to copy the notes onto the blank staff. I check their work.
- If time, play Lucy Locket game.
More lessons below
Handouts / Worksheet / Assessment
(See downloads at bottom of page.)



See also
- Elements of Music Notation worksheet / assessment
- Staff manipulatives
- Lucy Locket
- composition of melodies
or purchase here (printables only)
- Lesson ideas, Lucy Locket “Write the Song,” Music Handwriting Practice Worksheet, Paper Xylophone, Composition Worksheet, Rubric

