I Am A Beam Of Sunlight

by Teresa Jennings

This very short, very simple song is perfect for your youngest singers. And it's flexible so you can use it in performance or in the classroom. The lyrics are easy and predictable, which also makes them easy to remember. Summertime with its warmth and sunny days were the inspiration for this, but who's to say it can't be used any time, even during the winter or on cloudy days. It's a nice reminder that, as the saying goes, we carry our own sunshine inside. If you use this tune, prepare to hear a few "awww's" from your audience.

To make it more fun, you will note that we have included some suggested actions to go with the words. These are indicated right on the music. They are quite basic, and with a little prompting from you, should come off pretty cute.

Hang or project a big "sun" in your performance area as a setting. If it's three dimensional, you could have it on a string that's rigged to allow you to let it float across the "sky" as kids sing. You could also have T-shirts with a sun graphic, created and attached by your kids with the help of their art teacher, older students, family members, and so on.

While our orchestration on the recording is very sweet, you could certainly play this one live on piano. If you do, keep it at a slower tempo as we have for ease of performance. You could also add a repeat before the ending to make it longer, which might be especially useful in a performance. Adapt as needed.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.