Kodály Method · Elementary Music · PreK–Grade 6

Kodály Songs for Your Classroom
Sequenced, Demonstrated, Ready to Teach

A library of 150+ folk songs organized by solfège set, grade level, and musical concept — every one demonstrated on video with real students, exactly the way Kodály teachers need.

See the library →
150+
Folk songs
PreK–6
Every grade
Video
Every song
100+
Countries

You know your sequence. Finding the right song for each step is the hard part.

You have a carefully built scope and sequence. You know the solfège set you're introducing this week. But hunting through books, binders, and YouTube to find a song that's the right pitch set, the right grade, and actually demonstrated well — that takes far longer than it should.

The Singing Classroom organizes its entire library by solfège syllable set, grade level, and musical concept. Search for what you need and find it in minutes, not an evening.

"I've been teaching Kodály for twelve years and this is the first online library that's actually organized the way I think. I search by solfège set and get exactly what I need."
PH
Patricia H.
Kodály-certified music teacher, Michigan

Songs organized the way Kodály teachers teach

Select a solfège set to see songs from the library — with grade level, game type, and concept tags so you can find what fits your sequence immediately.

The foundational pitch set — falling minor third. Songs that establish the singing voice and introduce inner hearing through play.

Starlight
Grades PreK–1
Sol–Mi

A circle passing game in 2/4 — one of the earliest and most natural sol-mi songs. Simple enough for the very first lesson.

Teddy Bear
Grades PreK–K
La–Sol–Mi

A circle movement game extending the sol-mi set with la. Students experience the new pitch through action before analyzing it.

These Are Grandma's Glasses
Grades PreK–K
La–Sol–Mi

A fingerplay song on la-sol-mi with a clear melodic shape — ideal for inner hearing work with the very youngest students.

Pizza Pizza
Grades 1–4
La–Sol–Mi

A body percussion game with call and response — keeps the sol-mi set fresh for older students revisiting fundamentals.

Extending the pitch set upward and downward — songs that introduce la above and prepare for the full pentatonic vocabulary.

Bounce One Bounce Two
Grades PreK–6
La

A ball-bouncing circle game introducing la — accelerando built in, works at every grade, one of the most versatile songs in the library.

Little Tommy Tucker
Grades K–1
La

A hand-clapping partner game on la — Do-pentatonic scale with la clearly outlined. Clean melodic contour for inner hearing work.

Two Four Six Eight
Grades PreK–1
La

A simple counting song that gives la a clear tonal context. Strong for early inner hearing and melodic dictation preparation.

Oliver Twist
Grades 2–4
La

A circle game in 6/8 on the Do-pentatonic scale — introduces compound meter and la in the same song.

The complete pentatonic scale — songs that establish Do and give students the full five-note vocabulary through games and folk music.

Alabama Gal
Grades K–6
Do pentatonic

A longways set dance on the full Do-pentatonic scale — phrase structure felt through folk dance before it's ever read on the staff.

Gino's Pizza Restaurant
Grades PreK–3
Re

A circle game introducing re in a pentatonic context — solo singing moments make re immediately audible and meaningful.

The Hiding Song
Grades PreK–2
Do

A guessing circle game ending on Do — ideal for establishing tonal center with young students through play, not explanation.

Oh Row the Rattlin' Bog
Grades PreK–3
Low Sol

A cumulative Irish folk song introducing low sol. One of the most beloved songs in the library — students ask for it every week.

La-based pentatonic — folk songs with a darker, more modal feel that prepare students for minor tonality without leaving the pentatonic world.

Come And Pass The Sticks Around
Grades K–4
La pentatonic

A rhythm stick passing game on the la-pentatonic scale — students hear the tonal shift from Do-pentatonic immediately.

My Dog Treed a Rabbit
Grades 2–5
La pentatonic

An African-American folk song on la-pentatonic with call and response and solo singing — rich for part work preparation.

Xiao Fei Ji
Grades K–3
La pentatonic

A Chinese folk song on la-pentatonic — introduces world music repertoire in the pentatonic context students already know.

Ni Chan Ga
Grades PreK–6
La pentatonic

A Japanese picture-drawing song with rounds available — extends la-pentatonic into part work naturally.

Beyond pentatonic — folk songs in Dorian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian that extend students into modal harmony and full minor tonality.

Old Betty Larkin
Grades 3–6
Dorian

A circle dance in Dorian mode — one of the clearest and most musical introductions to modal harmony in any repertoire collection.

Jenny Get Your Hoe Cake Done
Grades 2–4
Mixolydian

An American folk song in Mixolydian — students immediately notice the flattened seventh even before they can name it.

Shalom Chaverim
Grades 2–6
Aeolian (minor)

A Jewish farewell song in natural minor — also a round, so it introduces harmonic minor color through part singing.

The Jolly Ploughboy
Grades 3–6
Aeolian (minor)

An English folk song in natural minor in 3/4 — sophisticated enough for older students, accessible enough to teach in one lesson.

Rounds and canons — the natural bridge to part singing and harmonic awareness. Every round in the library is demonstrated with real students singing the parts.

Scotland's Burning
Grades 3–6
4-part round

The classic four-part canon — students hear the harmony they create before they understand why it works. Body percussion version also available.

Shalom Chaverim
Grades 2–6
Round

A 3-part round in Aeolian minor — introduces part singing and modal harmony at the same time.

Let Every Sleeper Waken
Grades K–6
Round

A gentle round with a wide grade range — one of the few rounds that works beautifully from kindergarten through 6th grade.

Thankfulness
Grades 4–6
Round

A Thanksgiving round for upper elementary — simple to prepare, genuinely beautiful when students sing it in parts.

How the library maps to a Kodály sequence

The library doesn't prescribe a sequence — but it's organized so your sequence drives the search. Here's how the solfège tags map to a typical K–6 progression.

Grade Typical pitch focus Rhythm focus Songs in library
PreK–K Sol–Mi La Steady beat, fast/slow Starlight, Teddy Bear, These Are Grandma's Glasses, Tick Tock, Bounce One Bounce Two
Grade 1 La–Sol–Mi Re Quarter note, eighth notes Apple Tree, Pizza Pizza, Two Four Six Eight, Little Tommy Tucker, Gino's Pizza Restaurant
Grade 2 Do pentatonic Low Sol Half note, rest, 2/4 The Hiding Song, Oh Row the Rattlin' Bog, Oliver Twist, Bate Bate Chocolate, Come And Pass The Sticks Around
Grade 3 Low La Low Ti Dotted rhythms, 6/8 Alabama Gal, My Dog Treed a Rabbit, Scotland's Burning, Paw Paw Patch, I Know A Washer Woman
Grade 4 La pentatonic Fa Syncopation, compound meter Four White Horses, Shalom Chaverim, Old Betty Larkin, Sarasponda, Come And Pass The Sticks Around
Grades 5–6 Modal Chromatic Advanced syncopation, mixed meter Jenny Get Your Hoe Cake Done, The Jolly Ploughboy, Noel Nouvelet, Flow Gently Sweet Afton, Bim Bum

Everything a Kodály teacher needs — not just the song

Every song in the library comes with a full set of teaching materials built around Kodály principles.

Teaching video with real students

Every song is demonstrated step-by-step — from introduction through the game or activity — so you know exactly how to teach it before you walk in.

Notation with solfège & hand signs

Sheet music with solfège syllables, Curwen hand sign reference, and rhythm syllables included for every song.

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Searchable by solfège set

Filter the entire library by solfège syllables — sol-mi, la-sol-mi, do-pentatonic, la-pentatonic, modal — to find songs that fit your sequence immediately.

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Printable materials

Song cards, posters, manipulatives, and teaching notes ready to print — including materials for substitutes who don't know the Kodály approach.

Concept & grade tags

Every song is tagged with grade level, musical concepts, game type, cultural origin, and standards alignment so you can find what fits your plan in seconds.

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New songs added regularly

The library grows throughout the school year. Members are notified when new songs are added — no extra cost, ever.

A Kodály resource library that's actually organized for Kodály teachers

How it compares to the other ways Kodály teachers find songs.

FeatureBooks & OAKE resourcesThe Singing Classroom
Searchable by solfège set
Video demonstration for every song✓ Every song
Filtered by grade level
Solfège & hand sign notation includedSometimes
Printable materials includedSometimes✓ Every song
Also covers Orff & Dalcroze
New material added throughout the year
Time to find a song for a specific solfège set20–40 minutesUnder 2 minutes

Used by music teachers in 100+ countries

★★★★★
"I can search by solfège set and find every song in the library that works for what I'm teaching this week. That alone saves me hours. The videos make it even better."
PH
Patricia H.
Kodály-certified, Michigan
★★★★★
"I was skeptical at first — I have a lot of books. But the searchability and the videos are genuinely different. I use it every week alongside my Kodály sequence."
MR
Margaret R.
Elementary Music, Canada
★★★★★
"The sequence chart alone told me this was built by someone who actually teaches Kodály. Everything is organized the way I need it — not the way a publisher decided to organize it."
JL
Jennifer L.
Kodály specialist, Australia

Frequently asked

It's a song library — not a prescribed curriculum. The Singing Classroom gives you a searchable collection of 150+ folk songs and singing games organized by solfège set, grade level, and musical concept. You bring your own sequence; the library gives you the songs that fit it. It works alongside any Kodály sequence you're already using — whether that's one you built yourself or one from your certification training.
No. The library works for Kodály-certified teachers who want a fast way to find method-aligned repertoire, and for teachers who are Kodály-inspired but not formally certified. The solfège and concept tags make the methodology transparent — you can engage with it at whatever level of depth you have.
Every song is tagged with its primary solfège syllable set — sol-mi, la-sol-mi, do-pentatonic, la-pentatonic, or the specific new syllable it introduces (re, fa, ti, low sol, low la, low ti, high do). You can filter the library by any of these tags to see all songs that work for that pitch set.
Yes. The same library supports Orff teachers (body percussion, movement, pentatonic songs) and Dalcroze teachers (movement response, meter and phrase, listening). Many teachers use more than one approach and find the library serves all of them — the concept tags make it easy to find what fits regardless of method.
The 7-day free trial gives you complete access to the full library — all 150+ songs, every teaching video, all printable materials including notation with solfège. Cancel anytime before the trial ends and you won't be charged.
Both plans give you identical access to the complete library. The annual plan ($219.95/year) works out to $18.33/month — a modest saving compared to monthly ($19.95/month). Most members choose annual because the library is something they return to every week throughout the school year.

Find the Right Song for Your Sequence — in Minutes

Try The Singing Classroom free for 7 days. Search by solfège set, watch any video, download any printable.

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