Old Mrs. Witch

Ok, one of my favorite things to do during Halloween is dance around to "Flight of the Valkeries" (I'm sure Wagner is rolling in his grave).  Usually, we pretend to be bats or owls or something spooky that flies.  Everyone from Kinder - 5th loves this activity, but probably not as much as I do.  This is purely for fun, although older students can answer specific questions about the tempo, dynamic level, and instruments that they hear.

I only play the song for about 45-60 seconds.  We begin by unfolding our wings and stretching them out slowly.  Then, we flap our wings to mimic the movement of the strings.  Finally, when the brass enters with the main theme, we "take-off" and fly around.

I do a lot of crazy movement in my classroom, but the students are wonderful at following all the expectations (such as where we can fly and where we can't, how to avoid hurting others, the speeds and ways our bodys can move, what to do when the music stops, etc).  Define and set your parameters and you won't regret it.

This year, I think I'll pair the song (at least for my older students) with "Old Mrs. Witch" as we practice low la.  The slides for this song have now been added to my Fall into Music bundle.  I have included the slides here in case you'd like to use them.

I've also written orff parts for the metallophones and glocks - I love their sound with this song (that's only included in the bundle though).