150+ folk songs sequenced by solfège set — sol-mi through hexatonic and modal — with full teaching demonstrations for every song. Built by a fully certified Kodály teacher, for teachers in training and in practice.
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Built by a certified teacher
When you're building your Kodály certification repertoire, you need songs that are properly sequenced, musically sound, and actually teachable in a real classroom. Finding that combination — in a format that shows you how to teach each song — is harder than it should be.
The Singing Classroom was built by Deborah Skydell Pasternack, who holds complete Kodály certification across all three levels. Every song in the library is tagged with solfège syllables, rhythmic concepts, and grade levels — organized the way a Kodály teacher thinks, not the way a general curriculum publisher does.
"I used The Singing Classroom throughout my Kodály certification training. Having video of a certified teacher demonstrating each song — not just playing it — was something I couldn't find anywhere else."
Browse by solfège set
Every song in the library is tagged with its solfège content. Browse by set to find repertoire that fits your current teaching focus — from sol-mi through modal and chromatic.
Sol-mi and sol-mi-la songs — the foundation of Kodály pitch work in PreK through early grades. Pure, teachable, and genuinely musical.
A clean, simple sol-mi song — one of the most beautiful and immediately singable introductions to the two pitches in the library.
The classic sol-mi-la movement chant. Students feel the melodic shape through the actions — the pitches arrive physically before they're labeled.
A fingerplay on sol-mi-la. Simple enough for the youngest students, musical enough to be genuinely worth teaching — not just a warmup exercise.
A Spanish-language song that introduces ti in a musically rich context. The world music element adds genuine cultural value alongside the pitch content.
A circle passing game on a ti melody. The game structure keeps students focused on the music while the pitch learning happens naturally.
A ball-bouncing circle game on la. Works at every grade and provides a natural, joyful context for the pitch in a game students genuinely love.
Do pentatonic songs — the full five-note set introduced through folk songs with strong melodic character and excellent classroom games.
A Do pentatonic circle game with a passing element. One of the most-used songs at this stage of the sequence — clean melody, effective game, real musical value.
A groups-of-four movement game on Do pentatonic. The physical rocking motion makes the meter completely embodied — Dalcroze and Kodály working together.
A pentatonic circle game with solo singing moments. Re introduced in a context that students find genuinely fun — the solo moments are eagerly anticipated, not dreaded.
A name-learning circle game that introduces re. Students are so focused on whose name comes next that the new pitch arrives without any resistance.
A longways set dance on Do pentatonic with low sol. Students feel phrase and form through the dance before any notation — Kodály methodology at its most natural.
A dramatic partner game on a re melody. The two-group negotiation structure creates genuine musical engagement — students are too absorbed in the drama to notice they're learning a new pitch.
La pentatonic songs — the second pentatonic set, introduced through games with a distinctly different modal colour from Do pentatonic.
A lively circle game on La pentatonic with low sol. The energy is high, the melody is distinctive, and the La colour is immediately apparent to listening ears.
A song introducing low la — a pitch that benefits enormously from a strong musical context rather than an isolated exercise. This song provides exactly that.
A song with both low la and low sol — useful when teaching the lower extension of the pentatonic set. The melody sits in a comfortable range for young voices.
An upper-elementary partner clap game with low sol. Students who think they've outgrown folk song work completely change their minds when this one comes out.
A circle passing game introducing low ti. The ensemble element — passing on the beat in a circle — provides exactly the kind of musical context low ti needs to land properly.
A folk song with motion that introduces low ti in a warm, lyrical context. Spans a wide grade range — genuinely useful across the first three years of certification work.
Fa and ti songs — the chromatic additions that complete the major scale, each introduced through folk songs where the half-step function is musically meaningful.
The classic circle game with fa in the melody. Students who know the game already absorb the new pitch without resistance — the familiar context makes fa feel natural.
A Caribbean play-acting song with fa in a strong melodic position. The half-step pull toward mi is audible and meaningful — not buried in the middle of a busy melody.
An Italian folk song with fa in a satisfying musical context. Upper grades find it genuinely challenging and rewarding — the body percussion adds another layer of musicianship.
A sea chantey with both ti and low ti. Multiple verses, body percussion, and barred instrument parts make this one of the richest pedagogical songs at this stage of the sequence.
A stick-passing partner game with fa and re. Upper grades find it genuinely absorbing — the drone-like repetition and the partner element create real musical depth.
A round with low ti — useful because rounds provide natural part-work preparation alongside the pitch content. Works from PreK through 4th grade.
Modal and extended repertoire — Dorian, Mixolydian, minor, and chromatic songs for advanced Kodály work and upper-level certification training.
A Scottish folk song in a longways set dance. Melodically sophisticated, culturally significant, and beautifully suited to upper-level certification repertoire building.
A Caribbean hand-clap game with strong syncopation. An important piece for rhythmic and modal diversity in a certification repertoire that goes beyond Anglo-American folk song.
A sea chantey with chromatic elements and multiple layers of pedagogical content — dynamics, ti and low ti, body percussion, and barred instrument parts.
A complex hand-clap game with an extended melodic range. Upper elementary and upper certification level — demanding and satisfying in equal measure.
An Italian folk song that appears across all levels of Kodály certification work — fa in the melody, clear AB form, body percussion, and genuine musical sophistication.
A French folk song with both fa and low ti — a useful piece for certification students building chromatic repertoire alongside world music diversity.
Who created this
Every demonstration in The Singing Classroom library was created by Deborah Skydell Pasternack — not by a graduate student, a curriculum developer, or an AI. By a teacher who has done this work herself, at every level.
"Deborah's demonstrations show you not just the song, but the pedagogy behind it. As someone going through certification, watching a fully certified teacher demonstrate each piece in a real classroom was invaluable."
Questions
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