Pump-kin to Talk About! Pumpkin Songs for Elementary Music

October is a pumpkin’s time to shine and there is no shortage of pumpkin themed songs for elementary music. Here’s some that will help you have a “gourd” music class.

Pumpkin Pumpkin

Rhythm Set: 2/4: tika-tika, ti-ti, ta
Tone Set: drm sl
Concepts Covered: re (pentatonic), tika-tika
How to Play: Students stand in a circle. An even number is needed so you may need to join in. Within the circle, students turn to face a parter.
Pumpkin pumpkin round and fat: pat legs clap – pat clap – pat clap – partners hands
Turn into a jack-o-lantern: Take partners hands and trade places
Just like that: Clap clap – jump to turn around and face new partner. For an extra bit of fun, have the students make a ‘jack-o-lantern’ face to their new partner. Note: Students will always go in the same direction and never see people who are facing the same way as them.

Notes: In my sequence, these are 2nd grade concepts.

Resource: Check out this folk song file here

Little Jack Pumpkin Face

Rhythm Set: ta rest, ti-ti, ta
Concepts Covered: loud/quiet, rest, phrases
How to Play: I simply keep the beat on my body in 4 different ways to show the phrasing.

Notes: This is a great song for loud and quiet as well as rhythm. I’ve seen this one in both 6/8 with a melody and well as have taught it making up a little minor melody for it myself. For the purposes of loud and quiet I like the chant version as it can really help students drive home the big/loud part. 

Resource: Check out this folk song file here:

Picka Picka Pumpkin

Rhythm Set: 2/4: ti-tika, tika-tika, ti-ti, ta
Tone Set: drmfsltd’ (major)
Concepts Covered: Ti, major, ti-tika, tika-ti,
How to Play: This is a challenge for older students to try a bounce catch to the beat around the circle.
Set up: Practice passing (bounce on beat 1, catch on beat 2). Once they have the motions down, the student who catches the ball on the last “ween” at the end of the song is out.

Notes: Out students can create their own circle but only sit out for one turn, or can play instruments.

Pass the Pumpkin

Rhythm Set: 4/4: ti-ti, ta
Tone Set: l, drmf
Concepts Covered: low la (minor), ti-ti ta.
How to Play: Seated circle. Students pass the pumpkin to the beat. Whoever has it at the end of the song is out. 

Notes: This one is fun to make major and change out the object passed (ex: pass a snowflake in January – “Listen to the frosty sound. Fall-ing, fall-ing, Will it fall on you? Poof! )

This is also a great song for “older beginners” who don’t have a lot of experience yet and need ta ti-ti practice.

Pumpkin Man

Rhythm Set: 4/4: tim-ka, ti-ti, ta
Tone Set: drmfsl
Concepts Covered: tim-ka, fa
How to Play: Eight students hold hands to create windows in a circle.  Remaining children space themselves around the circle. One child holds a woodblock.  As the song is sung, the children walk in and out of the circle.  When the woodblock sounds, the windows come down.  All the players who are trapped the circle join the circle, and the game begins again.

Notes: I learned this one from Joy Nelson during my Kodaly levels and it’s a hoot with a fun little trap the goblin game with a circle. It’s really nice for tim-ka because they appear on the strong beat in contrast with the ti-ti and ta pattern. For fa, it’s wonderful because you have a nice descending pattern of sfmrd. 

Resource: Check out this folk song file here:

Let’s Hide the Pumpkin

Rhythm Set: 2/4: ti-ti, ta
Tone Set: m sl
Concepts Covered: la, ti-ti ta
How to Play: Have one student hide their eyes in front of the class. One person has a pumpkin (cute stuffed pumpkins are great here). The whole class sings the first line, the person hiding their eyes sings the second, and the third line is sung by the student who has the pumpkin. The person hiding their eyes has 3 guesses to find out who has the pumpkin.

Notes: I like this cute little guy I got a few years ago which also works for Pass the Pumpkin.

Pumpkin Patch

Rhythm Set: 2/4: tika-tika, ti-ti, ta
Tone Set: m, l,t,d m
Concepts Covered: low la (isolated), tika-tika
How to Play: Students pretend to be pumpkins. One student wanders around the patch. On “just like that”, they “pick a pumpkin” who jumps up and makes a jack-o-lantern face. They replace the student who was picking a pumpkin.

Notes: Students who have been picked could play an ostinato of l,-l, d on barred instruments.

I hope this has given you some “gourd” ideas! I’d say I’m sorry for the puns but you know I’m not.