Happy Tuesday, blog readers. It’s Top 10 Tuesday day today, and I have a fun, traditional music activity for you that will involve, beats, rhythms, singing, time signatures and counting. To accomplish all of these tasks, we are going to play our rhythm sticks today to the classic children’s song, “This Old Man.”
First, you will need a good pair of rhythm sticks. Here’s a picture.
Click HERE to go to Amazon.com to see them available for purchase.
You will also need the song, “This Old Man.” Here are the lyrics:
THIS OLD MAN
This old man
He played 2
He played knick knack on my shoe
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 3
He played knick knack on my knee
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 4
He played knick knack on the door
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 5
He played knick knack on a bee hive
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 6
He played knick knack on the bricks
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 7
He played knick knack up to heaven
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 8
He played knick knack on the gate
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 9
He played knick knack on my spine
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 10
He played knick knack all over again
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 1
He played knick knack on my thumb
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 2
He played knick knack on my shoe
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 3
He played knick knack on my knee
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 4
He played knick knack on the door
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 5
He played knick knack on a bee hive
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 6
He played knick knack on the bricks
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 7
He played knick knack up to heaven
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 8
He played knick knack on the gate
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 9
He played knick knack on my spine
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 10
He played knick knack all over again
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 1
He played knick knack on my thumb
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 2
He played knick knack on my shoe
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 3
He played knick knack on my knee
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 4
He played knick knack on the door
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 5
He played knick knack on a bee hive
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 6
He played knick knack on the bricks
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 7
He played knick knack up to heaven
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 8
He played knick knack on the gate
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 9
He played knick knack on my spine
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
This old man
He played 10
He played knick knack all over again
with a knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone
this old man came rolling home!
If you do not know the melody of the song, here is link to listen to it on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKaxRYJ5AMY
Before you begin the activity, make sure you and your child know the song well. You should be able to sing it without looking at the words (That’s much easier to do than you think, because the song is repetitive) so you are free to use the rhythm sticks.
The Activity
First, sing the song while keeping a steady beat in a 4/4 time. When you get to the lyrics, “with a knick knack patty whack give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home,” rather than play a steady beat with the sticks, play the syllables of those lyrics. This simple step will be a more advanced rhythm to play with the rhythm sticks. You may need to practice that part several times.
Once you have the beat and the syllables established, we will spice up the activity with some counting in the middle of the song. After each number is sung, play the sticks in double time (2/4 time) to count out the number. An example
This old man he played ten (Beat-Beat-Beat-Beat (slow 4/4 time to the music…..counted numbers in a quick 2/4 time….1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10)
He played knick knack all over again (Beat-Beat-Beat-Beat……4/4 time)
With a knick knack patty whack give a dog a bone (play the syllables)
This old man came rolling home (play the syllables)
Your child is now playing in 4/4 time, 2/4 time and syncopated complex rhythm all while song. All of that skill is established in one simple children’s song! Awesome!
I hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Top 10 Tuesday music activity. For a complete list of the Top 10 Tuesday musical instruments under $40 that will help to establish music education in the home, click HERE. For an archive of all previous Top 10 Tuesday music activities, click HERE. Please don’t forget to check back every Tuesday for some more musical fun. Thank you so much for encouraging music education at home, and until next week, play on!