My dog has fleas?

One of my favorite “starter” xylophones songs is “I’ve Got a Dog,” using some of the suggestions in Diane Lange’s Together in Harmony. 

I’ve got a dog as thin as a rail

He’s got fleas all over his tail.

Every time his tail goes flop

The fleas on the bottom all hop to the top (stop!)

One bug, two bug, three bugs, four

Five bugs, six bugs, seven bugs, more

Eight bugs, nine bugs, oh my, ten!

Go back to the beginning and do it again!

After assuring the kids that my own dogs get monthly flea preventative, we learn several ostinati (repeated patterns) that fit with the song. The xylophones are set up with just five bars to make part of a minor scale—D, E, F, G, A. We make big, small, and giant beats (also know as macro/microbeats or quarter, eighth, half notes), learn about minor chords, and practice stepping up and down the xylophone bars with correct technique. 

3rd and 4th graders love this as a re-introduction to xylophones, too, as long as I acknowledge it’s a “little kid” song, heh! Many of them are also learning the D minor chord on ukulele right now, so they can make that connection and play together.

My kid’s service dog Tonks, cleverly disguised as a fire truck