Four Voices is a part of the Kindergarten curriculum that helps students find their singing voices and clearly define other ways to use their voice. Let’s chat a little bit about it and I’ll share some of my favorite 4 Voices chants!
Why 4 Voices?
Students already know some of this. They may know what their speaking voice, whisper voice, shouting/calling voice and singing voice are already, but they may not have the language to describe it, or are missing one of the words. Either way, how they use their voice in your classroom is something you want to define for them! Maybe you’ve got a little metal head whose singing voice may be a little closer to shouting (or at least in their definition!)
Some teachers also use Inner Voice as a 5th option. While I haven’t used this I understand why some people do. However, I recently read that some people don’t have an actual internal monologue the same way! While this isn’t a reason I am or am not teaching the 5th voice, it is something to consider with all our students if we are talking about inner hearing! Source 1 Source 2
Here are 3 of my favorite chants to incorporate when working with 4 voices.
Jazzy Three Bears
I have ZERO clue where I learned this one. I think I found it online somewhere in my first few years teaching. I use three different speaking voices with the bears. While this isn’t specifically speaking/whisper/calling, etc, it DOES work on high low and some of that pitch matching, so it’s actually a nice prep for singing voice. It’s also a story that a lot of the students still know so it’s an ice way to get them involved if they are still a little apprehensive.
- Use different voices for the three bears (high, middle, low). When I started teaching this, I used a high voice for baby bear and the middle voice for mama bear. But students flip flopped this. My thought is they think of the baby bear closer to their normal voice or something they have picked up from TV shows. So, mama bear became the high voice.
- Keep a beat with egg shakers
- Students repeat each line back to the teacher.
- I have always just sort of made up rhythms with a swung feel to them.
(Egg Shakers)
Once upon a time in a nursery rhyme,
There were three bears
One was the papa bear
and one was the mama bear
And one was the wee bear
One day they were walkin’
in the big woods a talkin’
When along, along, along came the girl
with the long Golden hair
She knocked on the door,
But no one was there,
no no one was there
She walked right in,
and had herself a ball
And when she got tired,
she went down the hall
Home came those three bears
“Someone’s been eating my porridge”, said the papa bear
“Someone’s been eating my porridge”, said the mama bear
“Hey, bob-a ree bear”, said the little wee bear
(Stop egg shakers) “Someone has all my porridge!”
(Egg Shakers) “Someone’s been sitting in my chair”, said the papa bear
“Someone’s been sitting in my chair”, said the mama bear
“Hey, bob-a ree bear”, said the little wee bear
(Stop egg shakers) “Someone broke my chair!”
(Egg Shakers) “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed”, said the papa bear
“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed”, said the mama bear
“Hey, bob-a ree bear”, said the little wee bear
(Stop egg shakers) “Someone’s in my bed!”
(Egg Shakers)
Just then, Goldilocks woke up,
And broke the story up
And ran out of there
“Good bye bye, bye” said the papa bear
“Good bye bye, bye” said the mama bear
“Hey, bob-a ree bear”, said the little wee bear
And the story goes,
of the three little bears!
Five Little Muffins
This one is a much clearer 4 voices activity with speak, whisper ,and shout (no singing). Kids always seem to love the count down and not knowing how it will end. I do this one as a repeated chant as well with a swung sort of 8th note. I like the repeated lines because it gives them a chance to really process it and not just trying to memorize words. I also keep a beat with an egg shaker on this one because it’s always good to have more steady beat activities.
speak
Five little muffins in the muffin shop
whisper
You know the kind with honey and the nuts on top
speak
Along came a child with a penny to pay
And bought one muffin and ran away
And there were (was)…
…no little muffins in the muffin shop
whisper
You know the kind with honey and the nuts on top
speak
Along came a child with a penny to pay
And said shout WHAT?! No muffins!?”
Peanut Butter Jelly
This one is an oldie but a yummy. (Please, I’m sorry, I can’t help myself sometimes.) This is a good back and forth between speaking voice (chanting) and singing voice. Other things you can add are whisper voice on “and jelly” on the chorus or if you want to work on loud and quiet, start each verse in whisper and move to speaking then shouting. l
2. Grapes…pick ’em
Squish ’em
3. Bread…spread it
Eat it
This works great for the repeated chorus to be sung.
Book
One of my favorite books to read and one I do every year. This is such a fun addition to this chant! Check it out here.
Resource
This set has all the lyrics, vocal explorations that follow the song, and cards for the 4 voices. Click here to check it out.
Good King Leopold
Who WASN’T a good guy, but the song is great for 4 voices. I don’t use the name Leopold when teaching this song. I start the song off with something funny and related to something going on. I may start it as Good Queen Stouffer, or Good King Goff if it happens to be a Victory Monday. BECAUSE this is a recently composed song, I change the name. As the kids sing they tell us their royal name when they ‘ascend the throne’.
This composed song can be found all over the internet but I won’t share because it is copyrighted. You can however, find it in this book.
The Game: One student – the King – sits or stands in the middle of the room. The rest of the students – the townspeople – stand one side of the room and sing: “Good Queen Stouffer, may we cross your kingdom?” The king/queen responds, “You must ask again, this time your …. voice. (singing, speaking, whisper, shouting). Then the townspeople cross the room, then a new royal is chosen.
Game variation: Add a movement to the words: Sing = skip, talk (speak) = walk, whisper – tiptoe, shout = stomp
Variation
I like adding extra voices to this game. I’ve used these cards and students have to PICK which voice they will have the townspeople use. The reason I like this is because when I gave kids the opportunity to just choose from the 4, there were way too many kids picking shouting voice. Using these cards allows for vocal play as well. Pro tip: Before you laminate these, put them on construction paper so kids can’t see which card they are picking up. There will be a few favorites!
Historical Note: King Leopold II of Belgium (1835-1909) was NOT a good king. He is known for being the founder and owner of the Congo Free State. He ran the Congo brutally and extracted a fortune by collecting ivory and rubber. His regime is responsible (directly or indirectly) for the mutilation and death of millions of people.
Free Download
Get all the words and music, plus some add ons to play Good King Leopold by singing up here.
I hope this has given you a few ideas!
