I’m Laura Bartolomeo, an elementary music educator with 40 years of public school teaching experience. Music, movement, and play are at the heart of my educator life, whether I’m creating Orff arrangements, sharing tips about elementary music, or creating resources for Oodles of Music. Outside the classroom, I'm a mom, wife, teacher, reader, gardener, trekkie, sci-fi fanatic, musician, dog lover, and a Christian. I hope my contributions bring some joy and happiness to your life!
Whether you call them elementary music centers, stations, or small group activities, kids just call them FUN! Setting them up can be tricky, so here are my best tips for making music centers successful in your classroom.
Originally published April 12, 2023 Latest Update September 21, 2026
This post may contain affiliate links. I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure.
Why Learning Centers?
Music learning centers were always a HUGE hit with my students! I think there are a couple of reasons.
They loved the variety of the day but also the variety in the music curriculum. It was a SPECIAL day! I usually set them up about 4 times a year, once every 9 weeks.
Centers offer kids a chance to explore lots of musical objectives and are valuable and engaging learning tools.
Discover simple, effective ways to teach movement in elementary music and help your students build creativity, confidence, and musicality.
Movement in elementary music can be more than a stress reliever, a brain break, a way to experience another culture, or other very worthy objectives. It can also be a way to empower ALL kids through positive interaction with the teacher.
I was scrolling social media and saw this quote.
“Go and love someone exactly as they are. And then watch how quickly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered.”
Wes Angelozzi
How do you teach movement in elementary music classes?
Observe your students and give positive and instructional feedback, which will lead to student empowerment and creativity.
Deep and meaningful connections with your students happen when you let them know what you notice!
Movement Lesson Observation Application
Here’s an example of how I’d apply these observation techniques for movement in elementary music.
The lesson is for kinders and first graders to move (step, skip, float) to changing music examples.
A spring classic for the elementary classroom is Vivaldi’s Spring from The Seasons. Are you looking for this classic taught with ACTIVE music-making?
This resource with lots of movement teaches students to play and sing (new Spring lyrics) the main theme to Vivaldi’s Spring Concerto with Orff barred instrument ostinati, AND a recreation of the thunderstorm using instruments.
PLAYING this famous theme, not just LISTENING to it
The “B section” thunderstorm is SO fun
Learning with speech and movement
Differentiated with the use of colors, images, and stepwise learning
An ARTS Integration activity-draw a picture! (see art activity below)
Teacher helpers with
higher-order questions
“I Can” statements
a pre-filled checklist that can go into your evaluation folder
Resource Reviews
Visualizing Vivaldi: A Spring Listening & Art Activity
Now it’s time to draw the imagery the music creates! This is one of my favorite lessons because it extends and complements playing and learning the music, plus it becomes a magnificent bulletin board, “Vivaldi’s Spring: When Music Paints a Picture.”
Connecting Music and Imagination
After reading and discussing the poetic inspiration behind Vivaldi’s Spring—a happy spring day with birds, brooks, and a sudden thunderstorm—we listened to the piece and brought the imagery to life through student drawings.
Each student received half of an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper to work on. We listened to Spring several times as students pencil sketched their ideas.
Next came the coloring stage with crayons. I encouraged students to *color thoroughly, leaving no white spaces.
They could only use white if they asked permission and explained why it needed to be white. We looked at lots of images of clouds and skies to determine that there really isn’t that much white around.
To finish, students **outlined their drawings with black felt-tip markers or Sharpies to make their images pop and stand out visually. This outlining step gave the artwork a polished, vivid quality and tied it together beautifully.
*This was to discourage getting done quickly and scribbling. It works. **I learned this from a brilliant elementary art teacher. It makes a world of difference in the final product.
Sharing Our Work
Once the drawings were complete, we got in a circle with our finished artwork. We slowly walked around the circle to view all the creations. This reflective, gallery-style walk encouraged conversation, observation, and appreciation of how music can “look” different to each of us.
A Bulletin Board That Pops
I collected the drawings and created a classroom display, Vivaldi’s Spring: “When Music Paints a Picture.” Other fun option might be “What Vivaldi’s Spring Looks Like” or “If You Could See the Music…”. I also included the relevant national standards:
MU:Re8.1.3a Demonstrate and describe how a response to music can be informed by the structure, the use of the elements of music, and context (such as personal and social).
MU:Cn11.0.3a Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life.
This visual display not only celebrated student creativity but also reinforced listening skills and expressive interpretation. These are core elements of any well-rounded music program.
Whether the Weather-perfect for spring (although my poor dog hates thunderstorms!) with this classic rhyme with multi-lesson resource using barred instruments.
🌼 For more ideas, use the search bar at the top right of every page! Or the dropdown category search below it.
You can now sing, do the motions, and PLAY this Irish favorite, The Rattlin’ Bog, with a lively Orff barred instrument arrangement (and optional ukulele part) for St. Patrick’s Day, all during March, or whenever you want that cumulative song, breathless laughter FUN!
From basic black to an 80s-themed concert, find the perfect costume and attire for your elementary performing group. The goal is to give guidelines that will allow every student the chance to find what they need for the performance.
Fairy tales are great tools for vocal, instrumental, and movement exploration for all students in the music classroom. From simple storytelling to a story with sound effects to a grand production, fairy tales are engaging and capture the imagination.
Start with the story, add body percussion, vocal sound effects, and then transfer to instruments. See the tables below as examples.
Originally published January 7, 2023 Latest Update April 2, 2026
Looking for the best parachute activities for elementary music? This big list guide covers everything from songs, games, and activities to exploring form, melodic direction, rhythm, beat, and vocal exploration.
These activities provide a fun application for music elements as well as physical activity for fitness, a brain break, and a social-emotional learning (SEL) outlet.
Table of Contents
This post may contain affiliate links. I make a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure.
Breaking down a classroom activity by procedures will make your lesson more effective. When activities fail, many times it’s because a classroom routine or process is missing. I spent twice as much planning time on HOW to teach than WHAT to teach.
Are you ready for your kids to have an Orff experience and play instruments but don’t know where to begin? Learn techniques that give kids instant success playing barred instruments in your music classroom.
Using clear terminology and introducing techniques as you play, students will be creating and improvising almost immediately.
The Playlist
How to Play Barred Instruments
How to Teach With Barred Instruments-Day 1
The below video details techniques I found worked very well in my teaching. You may find tips that you can apply or modify for your students.
Fun & Simple Barred Instrument Exercise
Mr. Trevino posted this video and it’s a GREAT example of creating playing opportunities that aren’t songs.
Objectives here would be:
Understanding scales
Correctly echoing rhythm patterns
Mallet technique (alternating hands)
How to play: Mr. Trevino speaks the rhythm pattern on C and students echo play it. C-CCCCC- Then he moves on to D, etc.
Extension: This would make a GREAT center! In groups of 4 for example, one student is the teacher calling out the letters and patterns and the other 3 play. Rotate who is the teacher.
Check It Out! 🎯 This easy-to-use digital tool lets you design and download barred instrument visuals for your elementary music classroom. FREE!
Steps to Playing Barred Instruments
Below are the points I made in the video. The video is great to see it in action.
Getting Started
I turn my instrument so that my low end and their low end are the same direction in the room.
I use room references (window wall, door wall) instead of left and right.
Echo speak in 4-beat phrases.
Explore the low and high sides of the instrument.
Use terms such as long/low/big and short/high/little
Use the note name C and also introduce the octave C in the middle
Use one hand or both hands randomly. Let students do what is natural for them.
Begin to combine echo patterns that use both high/low/middle references.
Stepwise Movement Using Letter Names
Reminders not to PLAY on the letter names if they are located on the end of the bar.
Give them PRACTICE TIME.
Essential Agreements for Barred Instruments
An essential agreement in my room was to Sing, Play, and Speak Beautifully. For students who want to purposefully make noise (smack, hit, overly loud), reminders of this agreement should take care of it. Some kids have motor control issues and this is NOT for them. They are trying! Give them a mallet that creates less sound.
Playing Techniques on Barred Instruments
Not a baseball wind-up but a good basketball dribble bounce.
A nice low bounce that lets the bar ring.
Wrap your fingers gently around the handles. Pointer/index finger should not be straight but curved too.
🔷 If you’re ready for some FREE Orff-inspired resources, check out the Oodles Weekly Newsletter. It’s full of teacher tips & tricks as well as a Subscriber Spot full of FREE resources.
Let’s Play Rhymes
Choose any short poem or rhyme. Starting on low C, play the rhythm stepwise up and down the instrument. Use one hand at a time (just right then just left), then try with two, alternating hands.
Play in different directions.
Play in pentatonic
Improvise or take time for them to create a way to play.
Easy to switch partners if you don’t have a 1-to-1 instrument situation
Create Form & Arrangements on the Barred Instruments
Form: woods, metals, tutti or soprano, alto, tutti or solo, tutti, solo, tutti (for example)
Do a Round Robin
Every student improvises, one after the other. T can play a broken bordun to accompany.
Orff Resources
AOSA (American Orff Schulwerk Association)
AOSA offers Levels (summertime PD) as well as regional weekend workshops. The workshops are a fabulous way to get introduced to all things Orff approach as well as get new ideas for those who are already familiar with Orff Schulwerk.
Orff Arrangements Ready to Teach
Here are a couple of my TPT best-selling Orff multi-lesson resources that are ready to teach and guide you through the process.
Final Thoughts
Lots of my blog posts, videos, and resources come directly from interaction with teachers like YOU!
Ask a question, leave a comment, share a tip in the comments below!
❤️ It helps all of us in the music teaching community!
