--- title: How to Teach an Orff Arrangement description: Found an Orff arrangement you love, but not sure where to start? This week, we’re breaking down a simple step-by-step process for teaching an Orff arrangement, from learning the song and accompaniment parts to adding movement, creativity, and putting it all together! --- [Teaching with Musicplay](https://blog.musicplay.ca) # [How to Teach an Orff Arrangement](https://blog.musicplay.ca/how-to-teach-an-orff-arrangement) Written by [Stacy Werner](https://blog.musicplay.ca/author/stacy-werner) | Sep 30, 2026, 7:30:00 PM [Note: This newsletter is best viewed in your browser for full access to all content.](https://blog.musicplay.ca/how-to-teach-an-orff-arrangement) ### You’ve found an Orff arrangement you’d like to use with your students... now what? One of the strengths of the Orff approach is that music-making is built around community and shared experience. Rather than immediately dividing students into groups and assigning parts, begin by teaching the music to everyone. Students experience the song, learn the different layers of the arrangement, and then bring everything together for the final performance. This week, we’re sharing a step-by-step process for teaching an Orff arrangement, adapted from an original article by Judy Sills and Denise Gagné. **[Orff Directory](https://musicplayonline.com/units-list/orff-directory/)** ### How to Teach an Orff Arrangement ### 1. Start with the song - Present the complete song first so students experience the music as a whole. Then teach the melody using a neutral syllable such as “loo” or “lai.” - Teach the melody phrase by phrase, gradually accumulating the phrases until students can sing the entire melody. - Once the melody is familiar, introduce the text. Repeat the words several times and play with different vocal inflections, dynamics, and tempi until the text is secure. ### 2. Teach the accompaniment parts to everyone - Introduce accompaniment parts one at a time, beginning with the bass part, and have everyone learn each part before assigning students to instruments. Continue to teach each pitched part. Non-pitched parts are usually taught last. As each part is learned, sing the song again so previous parts are not forgotten. - One way to make the transition to instruments easier is to turn the rhythm of an accompaniment part into a simple speech pattern. Students can say the pattern, transfer it to body percussion, and finally transfer it to the instruments. ### 3. Add movement - If appropriate, create movement to accompany the arrangement. Movement could happen while students perform the song, or it could become a contrasting section of the piece. - For example, the song and Orff arrangement could become the A section, with movement used to create B, C, or D sections of a rondo. ### 4. Make room for student creativity - An Orff arrangement doesn’t have to end with what’s written on the page! Give students opportunities to contribute their own musical ideas. - Students might create an introduction, add an interlude, develop a contrasting B section, or improvise between verses using pitched or non-pitched percussion. ### 5. Put it all together - Finish by bringing the different elements together into a final performance that might include the song, Orff orchestration, movement, and students’ own creative contributions. - And remember, the written arrangement is a framework, not a finish line. Adapt the music to meet the needs and abilities of the students in front of you. As students gain experience performing Orff arrangements, they can even begin creating arrangements of their own. ### Turkey Lurkey ***Fall Orff Arrangement*** Game Directions:Have the children make a circle. Choose one child to be the turkey. The turkey struts around the outside of the circle while all the children sing the song. At the end of the song, the turkey tags a child who chases and tries to tag the turkey before the turkey reaches the inside of the circle. Both the “turkey” and the “chaser” sit in the middle of the circle until all the children have had a turn. Playing and Creating: Have the students brainstorm a list of foods that they like to eat at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Choose 4-8 of the foods to be a word chain that the students would chant as an interlude between repetitions of the song. ***Click on the image below to watch a demo video!*** [Orff Resources in the Musicplay Store](https://store.musicplay.ca/collections/orff) ## *Wednesday Webinars are BACK!* ## Winter Performance Ideas and Choral Reading Webinar ## with John Jacobson ## Wednesday, October 7th, 2026 @ 4:30-5:30 MST (60 Minutes) A recorded version will be available if you are unable to watch live.  ## About the Webinar: Join John Jacobson for our webinar on winter performance ideas and choral reading! Explore the choral resources on MusicplayOnline to get your students prepared for your winter performances and celebrate the holiday season! [Webinar Registration Link](https://workshops.musicplay.ca/courses/winter-performance-ideas-and-choral-reading-webinar-with-john-jacobson/)                 ## Musicplay Team Updates: We wanted to take the opportunity to share some updates from the team: #### Content Updates: - Notation and lyric slides and videos added to new musical [Kick It](https://musicplayonline.com/units-list/kick-it/?) - Echo sing videos added to [Solfa Practice Level s,l,t,drmfsl](https://musicplayonline.com/practice/so-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-so-la-sltdrmfsl/?) - Echo sing videos added to [Solfa Practice Level s,l,t,drmfsltd’](https://musicplayonline.com/practice/so-la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do-sltdrmfsltd/?) #### Development Updates: - New Drum Machine interactive - New Staff Lesson bass resources - Support for 2 beat rhythms in Word Rhythm Composition tool - Added the ability to disable student codes - Navigation now remembers the last open state. - Notifications can now be dismissed more easily [View full post](https://blog.musicplay.ca/how-to-teach-an-orff-arrangement) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Stacy Werner" }, "dateModified" : "2026-09-30T19:30:00.815Z", "datePublished" : "2026-09-30T19:30:00Z", "headline" : "How to Teach an Orff Arrangement", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 3301, "url" : "https://6813175.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6813175/Seasons%20and%20Special%20Days%20with%20Orff%20and%20Drum%20%28JL01%29%20Cover.png", "width" : 2551 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.musicplay.ca/how-to-teach-an-orff-arrangement", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60.0, "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/6813175/musicplay-logo.png", "width" : 184.78906 }, "name" : "Teaching with Musicplay" } } ```