Dino Rap

This is another type of piece we've been asked to do - a primary rap. Its supposed to be for the little ones. Again, simplicity is the key.

Start the clapping, patsching pattern for a couple of bars before beginning the rap. Rap in unison. When you come to the section that says, "Do you?" add four cowbell hits on the beats to prepare for the answer. Every time a child hears the cowbell, he knows that as soon as it is done, he may speak.

This can be a game if you like. Put your students in a circle and go around the circle for each solo answer. If you are studying dinosaurs at the time, your students may have quite a repertoire of dinosaurs to draw from. If you are not, the game format may be more difficult. The idea is that no two answers are the same. You will have to decide how many times to repeat the rap to get in as many answers as you want.

If you are concerned that you don't have enough brave souls in your class who would want to be put on the spot for a quick answer, you could just let everyone shout out the dinosaur of their choice after the four cowbell hits. That would definitely keep it stress free and simple. Of course, they would have to be able to come back in for the next words. Another option would be to decide the soloists and their respective dinosaurs ahead of time. Or, ask for volunteers to blurt out a dinosaur name at the appropriate moment. (Be sure you instill the importance of waiting for the four cowbell hits.)

We have recorded a version of "Dino Rap" on the P/A cassette for your reference. We only did it twice, and we cheated. We did decide ahead of time who would say which dinosaurs. If we had played it as a game, we might not have made it through without much falling apart and laughing. (Not all bad, mind you. But you have to remember that we're on the clock when we're in a recording studio...).