Halloween Music Ideas and Resources for Music Therapists
I LOVE when holidays roll around - it’s the perfect excuse to switch up music, props, and usual routines with clients. Halloween kicks off a myriad of end-of-the-year holidays, and there are plenty of ways to incorporate into sessions in a not-so-scary way. Here are some of our favorites that we’d recommend:
If you’re looking for Fall resources, we have a separate blog FULL of additional ideas for the holiday! Find it here.
Halloween Sounds Recreative Song
YEARS ago on Facebook, a music therapist* posted an adaptation of “Wheels on the Bus” for Halloween. She turned the song minor and adapted the words to provide a recreative song about Halloween sounds. I’ve used this song both on the spot or with visuals / a worksheet for clients to have a little more support. Check out the adapted song lyrics and chords in the attached picture!
*if you know who this MT is, let me know and I’ll give her credit! I couldn’t find her video again with much searching.
DIY Pumpkin Shakers
Several of our clients have motor skills goals or enjoy creatives arts, so this DIY craft provides the best of both worlds! It can also be used along with the song “5 Little Pumpkins” or other pumpkin themed songs. Materials:
Filling Material - ie beans, beads, popcorn kernels (what I used)
Hot Glue Gun (for an extra secure seal!)
Music Themed Books
Since I was turned onto music-inspired books as a new professional, I’ve created quite the collection of books set to song lyrics. Here are some that are fit for fall!
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat & There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Ghost (I’ll often sing these books along with a drum)
Pop Song Recommendations
I love giving some recommendations that can be used with teens and young adults! What’s popular can be ever changing and I know many therapists who can find it intimidating to try relating with teens. Here are my recommendations to use this fall for lyric discussions, songwriting, or other music therapy experiences:
“bad guy” by Billie Eilish
“Black Magic” by Little Mix
“vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo
“Ghost” by Justin Bieber
“Disturbia” by Rhianna
“I Did Something Bad” by Taylor Swift
“Halloween” by Walker Hayes, Nicolle Gaylon
“The Monster” by Eminem, Rhianna
“Graveyard” by Halsey
“Bones” by Imagine Dragons
Find an already-created Spotify playlist with these songs here.
Halloween “Guess the Song Title”
One of my most popular products has been our “Guess the Song Title” sheets, so I made some specifically for Halloween! There’s two versions, one that has more classic songs (ie. “Ghostbusters,” “I Put a Spell on You,” etc.) and one that incorporates pop songs that teens and young adults might hear on the radio (such as songs from Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber, etc).
Ghost Sounds Vocal Exercises
This year, we had the idea of creating a ghost-themed vocal visual map. Clients can trace each box to make silly ghost sounds, following the highs and lows of each line to inform their vocal inflections. Clients can use a “boo” or “oooh” to sound like a ghost! This exercise can be used to address:
Fine motor / Tracing,
Vocalizations,
Following Directions / Attention Skills,
Creativity, and
Confidence (it takes a lot sometimes to be goofy!).
Find a free download of this activity sheet below.
“Purple People Eater” & “bad guy” Songwritings
I love a good songwriting template and have made several that celebrates this season (plus some others that you can find in our Fall blog!).
First, I adapted the classic “Purple People Eater” into more of a madlib style songwriting, where clients can essentially describe their own monster! This song can get silly quick and can be used to address a variety goals and with a variety of populations. To further the music experience, you could ask your client to draw a picture of what their monster might look like based on the descriptions they gave in the song.
Another one of my FAVORITE Halloween songwritings I’ve created is to Billie Eilish’s “bad guy.” It gives opportunities to discuss all the sights, sounds, and events that clients might see on Halloween.
Both of these songwritings are available to download below.
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