Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Split Banana Split
(Steady Beat)
Lower Elementary (PK-2)
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
This teaching strategy is all about steady beat. It goes with a 1994 track by Piranhans because its title is “Pistachio” (lol) and it’s a fun instrumental that features a melodica.
Bonus! This time I included a printable “DHMR Ice Cream Cone Color Sheet” + a deck of printable “DHMR Ice Cream Cone Cards” to facilitate student voice and choice.
The Piranhans track is available on multiple streaming audio platforms. (Like many of my teaching strategies, you should feel free to find other audio tracks to anchor the learning experience using music that works in your setting or new tracks to simply “mix it up.”)
Pedagogical Foundations
Steady beat is the heartbeat of music. It’s central to the rhythmic foundation of a song for young students and anchors their music making. This means it’s essential for music teachers to point out the steady beat and find a million ways to reinforce it (lol) so it becomes natural and “easy” for students to perform. So here are a few ways to reinforce steady beat:
Use body percussion! Clap, tap, or patsch the steady beat of a recorded track, song, or chant;
Play the steady beat on unpitched percussion instruments (e.g., rhythm sticks, claves, drums);
Engage as partners and perform a 2-hands high five to the steady beat;
Walk to the steady beat (as in Dalcroze Eurhythmics); and
Pretend! Use dramatic play to become a swimmer moving her arms to the steady beat, an awesome animal like a lion walking through the jungle to the steady beat, or a big sister tip-toeing around the house to the steady beat so as to not wake up the baby (lol).
When isolating steady beat we need to focus on both the macrobeat (quarter note pulse/main beat) and the microbeat (eighth note pulse/subdivision). We should initially focus on one or the other and then show students the two together—in contrast. It’s important to note that both macrobeats and microbeats equal steady beat, and oftentimes the musical example or chant will inform the one to highlight.
Today’s teaching strategy “Split Banana Split” includes chanting and moving to the steady beat. I hope you give it a try with your students. But first, let me remind you who I am:
Hi! I’m Darla, an experienced PK-12 music educator, college professor, and former Berklee College of Music Dean looking to connect with teachers, parents/caregivers, and others seeking to advance creative music making for today’s students—and their teachers. In Darla Hanley’s Music Room you will find teaching strategies, advice and teaching tips, playlists, and more.
Play the recording of “Pistachio” by Piranhans and perform the “Split Banana Split” chant while clapping the macrobeat with the track. Lead students to clap along (and speak the chant when they are able to do so). Video provided to make it easy!
ProTIP: The goal here is not having students recite the chant; rather it’s all about clapping the beat and informally experiencing a syncopated “YEAH!” whisper at the end of each phrase. It’s just a bonus when students chant, too!
Change clapping to patsching to add variety, play the track, and lead the chant.
Alternate between clapping and patsching. Watch me to know how to move as we do the “Split Banana Split” chant.
Add unpitched percussion instruments to replace body percussion and perform the chant with the track.
ProTIP: Elevate the learning experience for older students by including a variety of unpitched percussion instruments to play at the same time OR adding instruments they have not played before.
Video
Materials/Set Up
A variety of unpitched percussion instruments
DHMR Ice Cream Cone Cards
DHMR Ice Cream Cone Color Sheets
Split Banana Split
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
Let’s go to the ice cream shop
and split a banana split [YEAH]
2 favorite flavors we will get
vanilla and mint chip [YEAH]
EXTEND the Learning:
Perform the “Split Banana Split” chant replacing the word vanilla with other flavors: chocolate, strawberry, mango, lemon, blueberry, and pistachio.
ProTIP: The melodic rhythm will change depending on the flavor(s) you choose. Have fun inserting the new kinds—the students will!
Create a set of colored ice cream cone cards (or print the DHMR set provided below) to show flavors and have students select which one(s) to insert in the chant—replacing “vanilla”.
Give students the “DHMR Ice Cream Color Sheet” to take home (or back to their classroom if okay with their teacher) to color later. Have them return the color sheets when finished and use them for a bulletin board!
🎵 Piranhans “Pistachio” Link to Track on Spotify
