This is a classic song that really helps students hammer home the concept of steady beat. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
The Music
Tone Set: drms
Rhythm Set: ta rest, ti-ti, ta
Rhythmic Form: AB
Melodic Form: AB
Grades: PreK-1
Verses
Johnny works with one hammer,
one hammer, one hammer,
Johnny works with one hammer,
then he works with two. TWO!
Johnny works with two hammers,
two hammers, two hammers,
Johnny works with two hammers,
then he works with three. THREE!
Johnny works with three hammers,
three hammers, three hammers,
Johnny works with three hammers,
then he works with four. FOUR!
Johnny works with four hammers,
four hammers, four hammers,
Johnny works with four hammers,
then he works with five. FIVE!
Johnny works with five hammers,
five hammers, five hammers,
Johnny works with five hammers,
then he’s all tired out!
Note: I like this version because instead of a rest, it helps each verse flow into each other. BUT. The first time, I may not yell the next number and opt to sing as written instead.
It is also fun to go backwards if you want a real workout.
The Game
Starting with one “hammer”, pound fist onto knee to show the steady beat. For each additional hammer, add a limb:
1 – one hand
2 – two hands
3 – two hands, one foot
4 – two hands, two feet
5 – two hands, two feet, head
Steady Beat
The big point of this song is steady beat. Yes there are other things you can extract but we don’t always have to pick apart a song to use it. I will say that I do love the very clear DMS patterns in here. It’s great when a song that you use for a concept, or singing beautiful or fun music can “long prep” other concepts. We don’t use solely sol-mi/ta ti-ti songs with K & 1st grade and including songs with other notes is a great way to expose young students to things they’ll study later. If we did that, it would just be boring!
Steady beat is what I consider my most important, non-negotiable, my students have to know concept.
This is a great song because it really includes the kinesthetic work for steady beat. If you want to know more about how I break down steady beat, check out this post.
Book
I was so excited when I saw this book. It is singable to Johnny Works with One Hammer and is a fun little way to end class the days you sing this song.
You can check out the book here.
Resource
I hope this has given you a lot of ideas!
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