--- title: Fun in a Minor Key description: "I loved Halloween when I was a kid - maybe even more than my birthday or Christmas. But the world has changed and with our diverse school communities, not all classes and not all schools celebrate Halloween. What I've tried to do in Musicplay is to provide songs that have the \"flavor\" and \"sound\" of Halloween without including lyrics about ghosts or witches." image: https://blog.musicplay.ca/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.17.57%20PM.png --- [![musicplay-logo](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/musicplay-logo-2.png?width=2701&height=877&name=musicplay-logo-2.png "musicplay-logo")](http://musicplay.ca) Open main menu Close main menu [Blog Posts](https://blog.musicplay.ca/tag/blog-posts) # Fun in a Minor Key [Denise Gagne](https://blog.musicplay.ca/author/denise-gagne) [Share this blog post on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=I+found+this+interesting+blog+post&url=https://blog.musicplay.ca/fun-in-a-minor-key) [Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.musicplay.ca/fun-in-a-minor-key) ![](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.17.57%20PM.png) I loved Halloween when I was a kid - maybe even more than my birthday or Christmas. But the world has changed and with our diverse school communities, not all classes and not all schools celebrate Halloween. What I've tried to do in Musicplay is to provide songs that have the "flavor" and "sound" of Halloween without including lyrics about ghosts or witches. Alternate words are provided for other songs. Fun songs in a minor key are inclusive for those kids who celebrate Halloween and those who don't. The Bony Skeletons is a new song in Musicplay PreK (pt 1). It's online at http://musicplayonline.com/ and is available in the Book/CD as well. When I did this with my preK class, it was May, and they loved the song. One of the students suggested being zombies, so we added a zombie verse. ![Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 5.17.57 PM](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.17.57%20PM.png?width=731&height=312&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.17.57%20PM.png) Five Little Pumpkins is another favorite for PreK - Grade 1 classes. In Musicplay PreK, I wrote a pentatonic melody for the traditional poem, so that students could accompany with a simple bordun. I had a PreK teacher suggest a lyrics change from, "the second one said, There are witches in the air," to "the second one said, There are leaves in the air." I think it's a great suggestion, and a way to make the song more inclusive of all cultures. You'll find this arrangement in Musicplay PreK, and online at musicplayonline.com   ![Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 5.20.28 PM](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.20.28%20PM.png?width=706&height=420&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.20.28%20PM.png)In Musicplay for Kindergarten, one of the favorites is Halloween Looby Loo. It's suggested that in a class or school that doesn't celebrate Halloween, to change the word Halloween to October. This song is especially fun if you sing and move with a parachute. ![Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 5.20.28 PM-1](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.20.28%20PM-1.png?width=731&height=434&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.20.28%20PM-1.png)In Musicplay 1, the song "Bats and Cats" and in Musicplay 2 "Birds and Bats" have completely inclusive lyrics.  The songs are in a minor key, and can be accompanied with a simple Orff arrangement or just a simple bordun.  Students are invited to create sound effects and to create new verses.  You could do a great primary lesson with either of these songs, creating sound effects, new verses, movement, and accompany with instruments.   ![Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 5.22.16 PM](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.22.16%20PM.png?width=742&height=312&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.22.16%20PM.png) I still think my favorite ever Halloween performance was the year my Grade 4 students performed the Bats song, complete with balloons that were let go of at the end of the song.  If you haven't every performed this piece, try it this October.  It's completely inclusive - it's really a song just about bats - and is a song your students will really enjoy learning and creating a song your students will really enjoy learning and creating with.  After you've taught the song, you find 4-5 students who've been participating well, and give them inflated balloons. (I blow them up for the kids)  The students let the air out to make the ee ee ee sounds.  At the end of the song, they let the balloons go - they fly away! ![Screen Shot 2023-05-30 at 5.23.48 PM](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.23.48%20PM.png?width=669&height=534&name=Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.23.48%20PM.png) I hope you'll enjoy using some of these selections in your October lessons.   ### Musicplay Live Registration for Musicplay Live in Washington, DC; Austin, TX; and Virtual is open! ![MusicplayLive 2023 Sing! Say! Dance! Play! With Artie, Denise, and JJ Locations FB (2)](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/social-suggested-images/MusicplayLive%202023%20Sing!%20Say!%20Dance!%20Play!%20With%20Artie%2c%20Denise%2c%20and%20JJ%20Locations%20FB%20(2).png?width=483&height=405&name=MusicplayLive%202023%20Sing!%20Say!%20Dance!%20Play!%20With%20Artie%2c%20Denise%2c%20and%20JJ%20Locations%20FB%20(2).png) [Register for Musicplay Live!](https://workshops.musicplay.ca/courses/artie-almeida-denise-gagne-and-john-jacobson-2023/)   ### Musicplay Workshops ![Hop into April with Bunnies, the Musical and Easter Activities Cover](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Hop%20into%20April%20with%20Bunnies%2c%20the%20Musical%20and%20Easter%20Activities%20Cover.png?width=612&height=306&name=Hop%20into%20April%20with%20Bunnies%2c%20the%20Musical%20and%20Easter%20Activities%20Cover.png) Check out our [latest webinar](https://workshops.musicplay.ca/courses/hop-into-april-with-bunnies-the-musical-and-spring-activities-webinar-with-denise-gagne-and-john-jacobson/)on activities for April, including Easter and Spring activities AND Bunnies: The Musical! ### Musicplay Minutes Podcast ![Green is the Theme St. Patricks Day and Earth Day Cover](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Green%20is%20the%20Theme%20St.%20Patricks%20Day%20and%20Earth%20Day%20Cover.png?width=598&height=299&name=Green%20is%20the%20Theme%20St.%20Patricks%20Day%20and%20Earth%20Day%20Cover.png) Listen to our newest podcast on ideas for St. Patrick's Day and Earth Day! [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2NWRi1Xk3reUMoLEXOnjQT?si=c1b94c6d75f34197) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/musicplay-minutes/id1368103262?i=1000602285077) [Youtube](https://youtu.be/qbZS84DebKg) ### Leave a Comment ## Related Articles [![](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-02%20at%2011.00.45%20AM.png)](https://blog.musicplay.ca/pumpkin-stew) [Blog Posts](https://blog.musicplay.ca/tag/blog-posts) ### [Pumpkin Stew](https://blog.musicplay.ca/pumpkin-stew) October is a fun month - even if you don't have Halloween at your school. If a song in Musicplay talks about Halloween, options are always given to adapt it so that all... [Denise Gagne](https://blog.musicplay.ca/author/denise-gagne) [Read More](https://blog.musicplay.ca/pumpkin-stew) [![](https://blog.musicplay.ca/hubfs/Screenshot%202023-06-21%20at%2010.23.16%20AM.png)](https://blog.musicplay.ca/halloween-and-october-fun) [Blog Posts](https://blog.musicplay.ca/tag/blog-posts) ### [Halloween and October Fun](https://blog.musicplay.ca/halloween-and-october-fun) Halloween was my kids and now my grandkids favorite holiday of the year. However, not all families celebrate Halloween. How can you enjoy the Halloween spirit without... [Denise Gagne](https://blog.musicplay.ca/author/denise-gagne) [Read More](https://blog.musicplay.ca/halloween-and-october-fun) #### Our Products - [MusicplayOnline](https://musicplayonline.com) - [Musicplay Store](https://store.musicplay.ca) - [Musicplay Downloads](https://downloads.musicplay.ca) - [Musicplay Workshops](https://workshops.musicplay.ca) - [Musicplay Help](https://help.musicplay.ca) Follow us on Facebook Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Denise Gagne", "url" : "https://blog.musicplay.ca/author/denise-gagne" }, "dateModified" : "2023-05-30T23:27:07.930Z", "datePublished" : "2016-10-03T00:26:00.000Z", "headline" : "Fun in a Minor Key", "image" : [ "https://blog.musicplay.ca/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-30%20at%205.17.57%20PM.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.musicplay.ca/fun-in-a-minor-key", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.musicplay.ca/hubfs/musicplay-logo-2.png" }, "name" : "Themes & Variations Musicplay" } } ```