The Bass Xylophone

The children used the bass xylophone to play “just like that” from our beloved song, “Pumpkin, Pumpkin.” This can be a difficult task at times. In order to play this pattern the children must move the mallet from right to left, but teachers, including myself, consistently encourage children to look at patterns and such from left to right. We encourage the left to right directional tracking, because in our society, this is the way we read and write. But when it comes to the xylophone (or the piano or any other keyed instrument) it is important to grasp the understanding that left to right movement means the pitches are getting higher and right to left movement brings lower pitches. To make a long story short, playing “Mi-Re-Do” on the xylophone isn’t as easy as it looks! Just ask your nursery student!