In the U.S, fall is a very popular time of the year. For many people, it comes with vibrant colors, beautifully shimmering forest walks, and crisp air that is a cool reprieve from the summer heat. But let’s not forget the most exciting part–spooky season! I don’t know about you, but the start of school always makes me excited to pull out the fake spider webs, watch spooky movies, and, of course, plan some spooky music lessons! It’s almost time to find some good music for Halloween.
If you are looking for some ways to keep learning while having some Halloween fun, you’ve come to the right place! Here are four ways to include some fun halloween music into your learning:
Rhythmic Poems for Halloween
These poems are sure to get you in the mood for some spooky-time fun! Here, I will put them in order from poems appropriate for younger kids to older kids. Poetry can be a great way for kids to develop literacy, and also to practice their rhythmic patterns and beats. It might be fun to act them out or have a poetry night as a family or co-op. If you’re feeling really creative, you can put the poems to your own rhythm!
Boo! By Emma Walsh
Here you are
Dressed up for the night
You knock and knock hoping to fright,
Instead I am dressed up too
I give you a fright when I yell BOO!
Spooky Halloween By Julia M. Martin
Spooky night! Spooky night!
Jack o’lanterns yellow glow,
White ghosts walk abroad,
And blue flame burns low.
Spooky night! Spooky night!
Embers fall, dull red,
Dreadful black witches ride,
At home we run to hide in bed.
Mystic Magination Night By Patricia L. Cisco
On one Mystic, magic night,
Jack O’lanterns glowing bright
Kids with bags of candy sweet,
Roam door to door and street to street,
All dressed up for trick-or-treat!
Wizards with wands, pirates with hooks,
Monsters and clowns with spooky looks!
Kings and queens with capes and crowns,
A princess in her royal gown,
Witches with warts and fairies with wings,
Movie stars with sparkling rings,
Vampires with fangs that bite,
Ghosts that boo all dressed in white.
Imaginations taken flight,
On that mystic, magic night.
Oh, the fun of Halloween,
Be young or old or in-between!
I Wouldn’t Live in a Haunted House by Rick W. Cotton
I wouldn’t live in a haunted house;
That’s something I just wouldn’t do.
Not in creepy haunted house;
Not with me or even with you.
There’s ghosties that hide in the shadows,
And spiders spin webs down the walls.
Things going bumpety all night long,
And footsteps go stomping down the halls.
Voices that whisper when nobody’s there,
And shadows abound in the nighttime.
And just when you think all the ghouls have moved out,
They return for some serious fright-time.
They'll give you a poke on the back of your neck,
Or someone unseen tugs your hair.
You just know there's someone standing behind
If you dare to look...nobody's there.
I wouldn't live in a haunted house,
But on the last of October,
I might drop in for a quick little stay
And bring all my candy right over.
When the sun goes down at the edge of town
And the moon rises glorious yellow,
There's something in Halloween's glowing time
That makes all the ghosties quite mellow.
Then little ones come, dressed in costumes galore.
A haunted house might be just dandy
For you and I, Love, to spend our Halloween
On our haunted porch, handing out candy!
Hallowe’en Charm by Arthur Guiterman
Fern seed, hemp seed, water of the well,
Bark of wizard hazel-wand, berry of the bay,
Let the fairy gifts of you mingle with the spell,
Guard the precious life and soul of him that's far away!
Oak slip, thorn slip, crystal of the dew,
Morsel of his native earth, shoot of mountain pine,
Lend his arm the strength of you, let his eye be true,
Send him like the thunderbolt to break the foeman's line!
Rose leaf, elm leaf, kernel of the wheat,
Airy waft of thistledown, feather of the wren,
Bring him peace and happiness, let his dream be sweet,
Take my secret thought to him and call him home again!
Good Music for Halloween
These are some of my favorite songs to sing at halloween.
Hey Jack!
Hey Jack is a great song that all my students love. It is the perfect song for some Halloween fun! Here is the youtube video I use:
There Was an Old Witch
(Folk Song)
Lyrics:
1. There once was a witch,
Believe it if you can,
She tapped on the windows and she ran, ran, ran.
She ran helter-skelter with her toes in the air,
Cornstalks flying from the witch’s hair.
2. “Swish,” goes the broomstick.
“Meow,” goes the cat.
“Plop,” goes the hop toad sitting on her hat.
“Whee!” chucked I, “What fun! What fun!”
Halloween night when the witches run.
Jack O’Lantern
(Folk Tune, Lyrics by Lois Holt)
Lyrics:
Jack-o’-lantern, Jack-o’-lantern You are such a funny sight. As you sit there, at the window Glowing on at the night.
You were once a yellow pumpkin Growing on a sturdy vine. Now you are a jack-o’-lantern Glowing on at the night.
Los Esqueletos (The Skeletons)
(costa rican folk song)
This is a really fun song to learn some Spanish counting and how to say time words in Spanish. It is very repetitive and has some actions that you could dance to when the clock strikes a new number.
Lyrics: Spanish
1. Cuando el reloj marca la una Los esqueletos salen de su tumba, Tumba, tumba, tumba, ba Tumba, tumba, tumba, ba
2. Cuando el reloj marca las dos Dos esqueletos comen arroz Tumba…
3. Cuando el reloj marca las tres Tres esqueletos se vuelven al revés Tumba…
4. Cuando el reloj marca las cuatro Cuatro esqueletos van al teatro Tumba…
5. Cuando el reloj marca las cinco Cinco esqueletos se pegan un brinco Tumba…
6. Cuando el reloj marca las seis Seis esqueletos se ponen el jersey Tumba…
7. Cuando el reloj marca las siete Siete esqueletos se montan en cohete Tumba…
8. Cuando el reloj marca las ocho Ocho esqueletos comen bizcocho Tumba…
9. Cuando el reloj marca las nueve Nueve esqueletos todos se mueven Tumba…
10. Cuando el reloj marca las diez Diez esqueletos se duermen otra vez. Tumba…
Lyrics: English
1. When the clock strikes one, The skeletons come out of their tomb Tomb, tomb, tomb, ba…
2. When the clock strikes two, The skeletons eat rice Tomb…
3. When the clock strikes three, The skeletons turn upside down Tomb…
4. When the clock strikes four, The skeletons go to the theater Tomb…
5. When the clock strikes five, The skeletons jump Tomb…
6. When the clock strikes six, The skeletons put on a jersey Tomb…
7. When the clock strikes seven, The skeletons ride a rocket, Tomb…
8. When the clock strikes eight, The skeletons eat a biscuit Tomb…
9. When the clock strikes nine, The skeletons all move Tomb…
10. When the clock strikes ten, The skeletons to sleep again Tomb…
Pumpkin Pumpkin
This is a very short song that young kids could learn quickly. It would be fun to add some movement or other games to this song as well. You could also use it like a poem without the singing element.
Lyrics:
Pumpkin pumpkin round and fat.
Turn into a jack-o’lantern
Just like that!
Spooky-time Activities
A favorite music lesson of mine around Halloween is to learn about what I like to call, “special effects music.” This is music that adds to the general emotion of a movie, musical, or other kind of entertainment. It can be simple or complex, but it adds to the experience in a big way.
Creating the Spook :)
When I was in college, my roommates and I attended a silent film event that was put on by the university. I’m not sure what I was expecting exactly; being born in the 1990s meant that I had never known that silent movies were a thing when I was growing up.
Full disclosure here, I don’t remember what the film was called or much of the plot. I do remember that it was an old black and white film about a baseball player. It was also a comedy film. And I remember that “silent film,” turned out to be a much different experience than what I was expecting.
You see, back before films had sound capabilities, they would have an organist or another instrumentalist play a live soundtrack to the film, which was largely improvised on the spot. We had an organist who was well-known for his movie soundtracks, and it was amazing how much he could add to the silent gestures of the actors on the screen! It was really a magnificent experience, and one that I would wholeheartedly recommend if you ever get the chance. (It would be a great kid-friendly music activity for the whole family as well!)
It was really easy to see that day that the music was a significant element in the plot of that film. In fact, many people describe the music as an additional character that is essential in many films. Today, we often go to the movies and never think once about the music or the sound effects. It is only once it is removed that we come to realize what an addition it was to the movie.
Create Your Own Silent film
In my opinion, Halloween is one of the perfect times to talk about this concept. You can easily demonstrate this by watching a spooky scene with and without music. How did the feeling change?
Another way to have some fun is to try your hand as a family at creating your own soundtrack to a movie scene of your choice. This activity could be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. You could just make some sound effects with some simple instruments or things you find around the house, make a recording, and play the recording with the movie scene. Or, you could add some composition technology, Like the ones suggested here.
Learn About instruments
There are several instruments that contribute to different movie sound effects. You could look up different instruments and learn about the sounds that they make. This could be a fun activity for really any age. If you’re feeling adventurous, maybe there is a local sound museum, music store, or other place where you might be able to see these instruments in real life or even test them out!
If you are an Ariona local, a great place for seeing and trying out instruments is the Musical Instrument Museum. A visit there could easily last an entire day, or you can just go for an hour or two. They also have some online education sources that you can check out!
Movement Games
Dances
There are a lot of really fun popular dances for Halloween that you could learn. I have taught Thriller and Monster Mash, or you could make up your own!
Glow-in-the-Dark Movement
I once saw an elementary music teacher do this with her classes, and this activity was the biggest hit all year! She would totally black out all her windows and make sure even the cracks under the doors were covered, and then she would give the kids glow-in-the-dark gloves and turn off the lights. They would do different movement activities with the gloves, depending on the children’s ages. You could also do this with glow sticks or glow-in-the-dark paint.
Move Like A…
You choose! Move to this music like a monster, a witch, a dinosaur! This activity could be really fun to do with smaller children.
Combination Activities
If you’re feeling really excited, it is definitely fun to combine some of these activities together! For example, you could make up some movement to a rhythmic poem or a song. You could do that with glow sticks in the dark! Maybe you want to make your own silent film, acti it out with glow sticks, and create your own music to it. The possibilities really are endless!
Thanks for reading! If you found this helpful, feel free to subscribe to our email list or grab our free guide for teaching music to your kids at home! You can also leave us a comment and share things you have done that have worked, or let us know what you would like to learn about in the future.
Until then, Happy music making!