Macaroni
USA
HISTORY AND SONG NOTES
Macaroni is an American folksong. The “stop” in the middle of the song is a wonderful opportunity for children to work on starting and stopping with the music, or sound and silence.
BOUNCE
This song makes an excellent lap bounce for babies, infants, or toddlers in adult/child settings, or by older children bouncing or moving on their own. The children may enjoy if you vary the tempo of the song while alternating the speed of the bounce to match, vary the dynamics of your singing while altering the force of the bounce, or if you surprise them by changing the duration of the “stop” in the middle. Click here for more information and suggestions about bounces.
Circle Game
Preschool aged children can move this song in a circle, stepping along with the beat, and coming to a stop on the word “stop” and again at the end of the song. As they advance and become more comfortable, you can try changing directions or increasing the tempo for each repetition of the song. The children may enjoy if you vary the tempo of the song while alternating the speed of their walk to match, or varying the dynamics, meter, or feeling of the song to accompany different movements. Click here for more information and suggestions about circle games and group movement.
INSTRUMENT PLAYING
Macaroni also works well as a group percussion instrument playing activity due to its steady beat and easy-to-sing repetitive pattern. Click here for more information and suggestions for group instrument playing.