Darla Hanley's Music Room

Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8

Photo by Danielle-Claude Bélanger on Unsplash

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.

Today’s Teaching Strategy: Everybody Plays

Upper Elementary (3-5)

This teaching strategy is called “Everybody Plays”. The track for this instrument play, “Music Talk” 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 “mix it up.”)

• Display the “Everybody Plays When Music Talks” rhythmic patterns and lead students to read and clap the patterns.

  • ProTip: Introducing rhythmic patterns with body percussion provides practice time, opportunity to focus on reading music notation, and sets students up for success when they transfer “familiar” patterns to instruments.

• Divide the class into 4 groups and distribute instruments to each group (i.e., Group 1 = Cowbell; Group 2 = Tambourine; Group 3 = Claves; and Group 4 = Bongos).

• Establish a tempo by providing a verbal count-off (“1, 2, rea-dy, play”) and lead the groups to perform their 4-measure rhythmic pattern in turn.

• Play the recording of “Music Talk” by Stevie Wonder and direct students to play their rhythmic patterns in a point-and-play manner.

  • ProTip: Begin playing rhythmic patterns at 0.09 in the track, following a brief introduction.

  • ProTip: Use a conducting gesture hand with open palm rather than using a pointed index finger to—invite—students to play instruments in turn.

• Select a student to become the conductor to lead a point-and-play with the track.

  • Use your conductor hand to invite instrument groups to play their pattern. As the conductor you decide which group plays by using your hand to welcome them in. You can invite groups in the order we see on the music (i.e., cowbell, tambourine, claves, bongos), or create a new order—an arrangement.

EXTEND the Learning:

1. Model using two hands to invite 2 groups to play their rhythmic patterns at the same time.

2. Alternate between having 1 group play at a time with having 2 groups play simultaneously.

3. Create a gesture like opening arms wide (waist height with palms up) to inform students that everyone is invited to play.

4. Select individual students to become conductors using the ideas in 1-3 above.

5. Select 1 student from each instrument group to play their patterns (in solo) for a summative assessment opportunity.*

🎵 Stevie Wonder  “Music Talk” Link to Track on Spotify

Everybody Plays When Music Talks

© 2025 Darla S. Hanley

Learning Targets

• Arrange, Lead, Play

Learning Outcomes

1. Respond by playing instruments—following verbal and non-verbal cues.

2. Create original arrangements (and combinations) of rhythmic patterns.

3. Perform rhythmic patterns using un-pitched percussion instruments; contribute to group performance.

Assessment

• Informal Observation/Formative Assessment

• *Summative Assessment

Thanks for checking this out. If you use this teaching strategy, be sure to leave a comment to let me know how it resonates with your students!