Jewish · Hanukkah Song · Grades 4–6
A beloved Hanukkah song with a two-part vocal arrangement designed for grades 4–6. Natural minor, tied notes, slurs — and a Treble 2 harmony part written to be genuinely enjoyable, not just chord-filler.
Jewish Hanukkah song
About this arrangement
Most two-part arrangements give the harmony singers notes that simply fill in the chord — musically necessary but not particularly satisfying to perform. The Treble 2 part in this arrangement was written differently. The two parts are in conversation with one another — the melody speaks, and the Treble 2 part responds. Think of Treble 1 as someone who needs to talk, and Treble 2 as a good listener who paraphrases what they hear.
This makes the harmony part engaging for singers who might otherwise feel shortchanged. Tell your students exactly that — the Treble 2 part was written by a life-long alto who knows all too well the drudgery of singing notes that exist simply to fill in the chord, and deliberately avoided it here.
"The Treble 2 part is actually a lot of fun to sing. Tell the kids it was written by a lifelong alto who knows the drudgery of notes that are there simply to fill in the chord."
— Deborah Skydell Pasternack, The Singing ClassroomThe song is in natural minor — the original melody contains all pitches except sol, making the minor mode indeterminate from the melody alone. It's the Treble 2 part that introduces a natural sol, clarifying the Aeolian character of the harmony. This makes the arrangement a natural vehicle for discussing natural minor with students who are ready for that level of analysis.
Scores are available in D minor and C minor inside a Singing Classroom subscription. If you need another key, contact the team and it can be added to the page.
Teaching guide
The full two-part demonstration is available inside a Singing Classroom subscription.
If students already know the melody, consider teaching the Treble 2 part to everyone before dividing into two groups. This gives every student ownership of both parts — and makes the eventual split feel like a choice rather than an assignment. Students who know both parts also make stronger ensemble singers because they understand what the other voice is doing.
Before dividing, give students a way to think about the relationship between the parts: Treble 1 is someone who needs to talk; Treble 2 is a good listener who paraphrases what they hear. The melody speaks, and the harmony responds. This framing helps Treble 2 singers find the musical logic of their part — they're not just filling in notes, they're answering a question.
The held notes in the Treble 2 part are critical to the arrangement's momentum. If they're clipped or released early, the harmonic energy dies. Give specific attention to these notes in rehearsal — and use them as a teaching opportunity for tied notes across barlines. Students who understand why the notes are tied (to sustain through a rhythmic boundary) tend to hold them more reliably than students who are just told to hold longer.
The ending, where the parts echo each other, is the trickiest moment in the arrangement. Clear conducting cues from you should make the entries unmistakable — students need a visual signal for exactly when each part enters in the echo. Rehearse the ending separately before putting it in context of the full song.
The rhythms in the first half of the song are straightforward (quarter notes and two eighths only), which means there's space to isolate and examine the slurs when they appear. The slurred passages are a clean introduction to melisma — multiple notes sung on a single syllable — in a context where the underlying rhythm is simple enough that the melisma stands out clearly.
Skills in depth
The original melody contains all pitches of the scale except sol — making the minor mode indeterminate from Treble 1 alone. It's the Treble 2 part that introduces a natural sol, clarifying the Aeolian character. For grades 4–6 who are ready for modal analysis, this is a perfect vehicle: students can hear the difference the natural sol makes in the harmony, and understand why the mode is called "natural" minor.
The song has many tied notes, particularly in the Treble 2 part across bar lines. Use these explicitly as a teaching moment: show students the notation, explain that the tie connects two notes of the same pitch and extends the first into the value of the second, and demonstrate what it sounds like when the tie is observed versus when it's ignored. The loss of momentum when ties are dropped is immediately audible — making the concept self-evidently musical rather than abstract.
The first half of the song uses only quarter notes and pairs of eighth notes — making it ideal for rhythmic analysis with students who are at the ta/ti-ti level. The rhythms are simple enough to isolate and read in notation while still being embedded in a musically satisfying context. Students can chant the rhythm syllables, clap the patterns, or read from notation before connecting back to the sung melody.
Because the rhythmic vocabulary in this song is simple, the slurs stand out clearly when they appear. This makes the song an effective introduction to melisma — the practice of singing multiple pitches on a single syllable. Have students identify where the slurs occur, count how many notes are on one syllable, and sing those passages with attention to the legato connection between pitches that a slur requires.
What teachers say
"I told my 5th graders exactly what Deborah said — the Treble 2 part was written by a lifelong alto who wanted altos to actually enjoy what they're singing. They laughed, and then they sang it with so much more investment. That framing works."
"Teaching the whole class the Treble 2 part first was a game-changer. When we split into two groups, everyone already knew both parts. The ensemble was so much more secure than when I just taught each group their own line separately."
"The tied notes in Treble 2 gave me a perfect way into that concept. I showed them what it sounded like when the ties were dropped — the momentum just collapsed — and they immediately understood why the notation matters. Best tied notes lesson I've done."
More Hanukkah & holiday songs
All three verses plus the Dreidel Calypso barred instrument arrangement for grades 4–6. Quarter rest, fa solfège, advanced syncopation.
See teaching guide →A Hebrew farewell round in minor — a natural companion to Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah for bringing Jewish musical heritage into the winter program.
See teaching guide →All three verses, ta-m-ti rhythm, the full major scale, and a barred instrument arrangement for grades 5–6. A strong pairing for a December concert.
See teaching guide →Common questions
The full lyrics are on this page above. The song opens with "Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah" and moves through references to the hora (a circle dance), s'vivon (dreidel), and latkes (potato pancakes), before the candle lighting verse: "And while we are playing, the candles are burning low. One for each night, they shed a sweet light, to remind us of days long ago." The final line repeats once.
The song in unison is suitable for all ages. The two-part vocal arrangement is best for grades 4–6 who have some two-part singing experience. If students are entirely new to two-part singing, consider teaching the song in unison first and introducing the harmony in a later class once the melody is very secure.
Scores are available in D minor and C minor inside a Singing Classroom subscription. If you need another key, contact the team and it can be added to the page.
The original Treble 1 melody contains all pitches of the natural minor scale except sol. Because sol is the pitch that most clearly distinguishes natural minor from other minor modes (harmonic minor raises sol by a half step to create a leading tone), the melody alone doesn't definitively establish which type of minor it's in. It's the Treble 2 harmony part that introduces a natural sol, confirming the Aeolian (natural minor) character of the arrangement. This is a genuinely interesting analytical observation for grades 4–6 who are studying minor scales.
The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
150+ songs. Every one demonstrated. No more hoping it works — you already know it will.
One subscription gives you the complete Singing Classroom library — 150+ folk songs and singing games, every one with Deborah's full video demonstration, teaching guide, and animated game instructions. Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah is just one of the songs waiting for you.
$19.95/month · $219.95/year
7-day free trial · access everything from day one
Start Your Free 7-Day Trial →Credit card required · Cancel anytime