Kindergarten and first-grade elementary music lessons should be simple, fun, and highly engaging. Once your K–1 students have mastered steady beat and tempo, teaching long and short sounds should be your next priority. Understanding long and short sounds provides a gentle method for easing students into rhythm while also keeping them engaged through listening, movement, and creative play.

Why Should I Teach Long and Short Sounds?

Young learners connect to simple, relatable ideas. Furthermore, long and short sounds build on what they already hear and feel in their world—like the difference between the hum of a vacuum cleaner and the bark of a dog.

Ready-to-Use Elementary Music Resources for K-1

The projector shows an image of a long and short sounds music lesson for K-1 elementary music students. Access for for free by joining the Chamber of Freebies. — If you’re looking for a fun and engaging way to teach long and short sounds, check out the **Long and Short Sounds Google Slides Lesson**! This resource is designed for K–1 learners and includes lesson slides, plus embedded audio/video to engage your K–1 students. Conveniently, it’s available for free to members of **The Chamber of Freebies**. **Sign up here to become a member and gain access now!**

For supplemental resources, check out:

Long or Short? Boom Cards

Tablet displaying a Boom Cards game where students listen to various musical, nature, animal and daily life sounds and identify each sound as "long" or "short". This is an excellent resource for introducing duration and rhythm to elementary music students. — Students listen to sounds and aurally identify sounds as long or short. 1:1 Student devices + headphones or whole class play is recommended for play. Available on **TPT** and **Boom Learning**.

Legato or Staccato? Boom Cards

Hand holding a smart phone which displays an articulation active listening game on Boom Learning. In the game 'Legato or Staccato?' music students will listen to 15 classical music excerpts and identify it as 'legato' or 'staccato'. This is an excellent game to build aural skills in music class. — An engaging listening game to explore smooth vs. detached sounds. 1:1 Student devices + headphones or whole class play is recommended for play. Available on **TPT** and **Boom Learning**.

Use Movement Activities to Teach Long and Short Sounds

I love using tactile things like Monkey Noodles, Bean Bags, and Rhythm Scarves to explore lengths of sound through movement. My K–1 students especially enjoy using the monkey noodles! 🙂

Here are some of the classical music recordings that I often choose when teaching long and short sounds! ⬇️

Legato

Staccato

Wrapping It All Up

Teaching long and short sounds in K–1 is a great way to introduce your elementary music students to rhythm, sound, and duration. Indeed, with movement and creative activities, your students will stay engaged and excited to learn. With this in mind, don’t forget to grab your free Long and Short Sounds Google Slides lesson from The Chamber of Freebies—it’s an easy way to bring this concept to life and make your music class even more fun!