The spooky season is here! It’s the best time of year to gather around a bonfire, share ghost stories, carve pumpkins and listen to your favorite Halloween music. More than visiting the pumpkin patch or loading up on candy, there are a handful of Halloween songs and activities to make this the ghoulest Halloween yet!
We have put together a list of some of our favorite spooky Halloween songs and music activities for kids to get this party started. Afterall, what’s Halloween without spooky music?
1. Have You Seen the Ghost of John?
Made popular by most music classrooms, “Have You Seen the Ghost of John?” is a bone-chilling children’s song that makes for a great musical performance! We love to sing this one around Halloween. Try singing this song as a vocal round for a supernatural sound with your kiddos!
2. In the Hall of the Mountain King
Next on the list of spoooooky songs is one mysterious classical piece, “In the Hall of the Mountain King” composed by Norwegian musician Edvard Grieg for the 1867 play, Peer Gynt.
In addition to sheet music, you can find a full song study inside Prodigies that teaches the basics of borduns, through an essential core lesson and covering both movable and fixed do performances so you have everything you need to learn the Edvard Grieg classic, “Hall of the Mountain King!”
3. Five Little Pumpkins
One of the top requested Halloween songs for young kids, “Five Little Pumpkins” is perfect for getting into the spirit of Halloween, as well as teaching & learning about musical steps. This is probably one of our favorite Prodigies videos because it’s so fun and energetic! It’s perfect for ushering in the autumn season!
4. Monster Mash
Chances are if you like Halloween songs, you’ve heard this one… the Monster Mash is a novelty song from the 1960’s by Bobby “Boris” Pitckett. The song is about a mad scientist whose monster rises from his slab to perform a new dance, the Monster Mash!
Why do we love this one? It’s hard not to love the iconic vocals, the Mashed Potato-inspired dance moves and the fun lyrics of the Monster Mash!
5. Flying Purple People Eater
Reaching number 1 on the billboard charts in 1958, this silly song about a One-Eyed-One-Horned-Flying-Purple-People-Eater by Sheb Wooley was a Halloween sensation. Now over 50 years later, kids young and old still love to dance around to this classic Halloween song!
We particularly love that the monster descends to Earth because it wants to be in a rock n’ roll band. The question is… “Are you ready to rock?”
6. Headless Mummies at My Door
“Headless Mummies at My Door” is a spooky rewrite of the amusing kids song, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” and is featured in our new Spooky Songbook! We love this one because the lyrics capture the feeling of what it feels like to trick or treat on Halloween night!
7. NEW Minor Scale lessons
We’ve been animating more difficult lessons and we’re thrilled to share a NEW Singing Minor Scales Lesson featuring Mr. Rob and the notes Eb, Ab and Bb, which we use to build a C Minor Scale in “Singing Minor Scales.”
8. Pass a Pumpkin
Play “Hot Potato” or “Pass a Pumpkin” while listening to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor! Grab a pumpkin and have your students sit on the floor. While the music plays, have students pass the pumpkin around the circle. Whoever is holding the pumpkin when the music stops is out. Keep playing until one student is remaining.
9. Halloween Playlist
Don’t forget to include our Halloween Video Collection in your music rooms this Fall! You’ll find Fall favorites and spooky classics for all your Halloween festivities! Songs like Five Little Pumpkins, Hall of the Mountain King, Montagues & Capulets, I’m a Nut & More!
10. “What Note Is It” with Pumpkins!
Set up a pumpkin patch using either real miniature pumpkins or pumpkin cut-outs.
The objective of this activity is to play a bell, a key on the piano or turn on the Prodigies Listening Collection, and have your students race to see who can identify the pitch first. Whoever wins each round will have the opportunity to come to the “pumpkin patch” and get a pumpkin for their team. The team with the most pumpkins wins.
Happy Halloween!
We hope you have tons of musical fun this Halloween! Let us know what your favorite musical activities are around Halloween!
Don’t forget to scoop up savings on Songbooks this week and check out all the #Happymusicing coming your way this Fall inside Prodigies!