Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrument class, directs the FH Philharmonic, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory after being the director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on how to integrate tech into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), published by Oxford University Press (OUP) is available from OUP and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

PK & K Pumpkin Medley Steady Beat Body Percussion Play-Along Video

September 25, 2022  /  Amy M. Burns

This week’s medley is a steady beat body percussion play-along video for preschool and kindergarten. There are many resources that explain why it is so important for children to be able to keep a steady beat. From Phyllis Weikert’s study that showed that keeping a steady beat helps children feel the rhythm of language to Kindermusik’s website explains that learning the steady beat helps them later in life with using scissors, hammers, and other types of tools, young students greatly benefit from learning and performing the steady beat (Kindermusik, 2011). It impacts their gross- and fine-motor skills that affect their learning to walk, ride a bike, run, dribble a ball, and more. Moving to a steady beat is also correlated with early childhood language and literacy skills. The brain processes music in a similar way that it processes language. Children with steady beat training showed an increase in neural responses to speech sounds. (My Little Conservatory, 2018)

Medley

This medley consists of four songs about pumpkins and ends with a dance break. The songs do not reference Halloween or any other item in fall. They just reference pumpkins.

Movements

The movements used for the steady beat are combinations of the following:

  • Pat their legs

  • Pat their legs in a criss-cross motion so they cross the midline

  • Clap

  • Shh

  • Stomp their feet

Resources

Kindermusik. (2011, January 20). The benefits of steady beat - kindermusik. Minds On Music – The Kindermusik Blog. Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://www.kindermusik.com/mindsonmusic/the-benefits-of-steady-

My Little Conservatory. (2018, December 18). 4 reasons why steady beat matters in childhood. My Little Conservatory. Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://mylittleconservatory.com/4-reasons-steady-beat-matters-early-childhood-education/beat/#:~:text=A%20study%20by%20Phyllis%20Weikert,gets%2C%20and%20equally%20as%20important!


I hope that you enjoy this steady beat medley!

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