Spooky Music Fun: Playful Ways to Learn Through Sound

Let’s explore how music, imagination, and a little bit of “spooky” can make learning come alive this Halloween season!

Whether you’re singing, storytelling, or pretending with puppets, these playful activities will help your students develop listening skills, vocal expression, and creativity—all while having a monstrously good time. Halloween is the perfect time to dive into dramatic expression and explore sound in new ways. Children naturally love pretending, experimenting with their voices, and reacting to stories—so let’s use that energy to make music learning both magical and meaningful!

Monsters: A Dramatic Puppet Show with Prokofiev

Start your spooky celebration with one of our favorite classroom dramatizations—Monsters: A Dramatic Puppet Show with Prokofiev!

This activity uses Montagues and Capulets by Sergei Prokofiev from the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" to introduce students to classical music and orchestral sounds. Each instrument represents a character, allowing children to visually and aurally connect musical timbres to storytelling.

As the music plays, have students follow along with puppets or props, acting out the story. Encourage them to notice:

• Which instrument sounds like the monster?

• How does the music change when a new character appears?

• Can they move like the character they hear?

  
  

  

Puppet shows like this invite imagination while building aural awareness, expression, and listening comprehension—skills that strengthen every young musician.

Halloween Vocal Training

Next, warm up those little voices with our Vocal Training for Halloween activity!

Using familiar Halloween sounds—like ghostly “Oooohs,” witchy “Eee-hee-hees,” and monster growls—children can explore a full range of vocal colors. These playful vocal exercises help develop:

• Pitch control: matching high and low sounds

• Dynamic range: singing softly like a sneaky cat or loudly like a roaring monster

• Resonance and breath support: learning how to use the voice with control and freedom

  
  

  

Encourage your students to “become” the sounds they hear! For example, say, “Let’s sing like a floating ghost… now like a laughing witch!” Vocal play allows them to discover their voice in expressive, safe, and creative ways.

The Mystery Sound Game

Now, let’s combine everything—listening, imagination, and performance. A spooky twist off of Echo Edie, Edna, Ed, and Edison used in Sound Beginnings and Let’s Play Music: The Mystery Sound Game!

This is a fantastic way to practice ear training while keeping the Halloween fun alive.

You’ll Need:

• Tone bells, piano, or a melody instrument

• A scarf or small cloth to cover the instrument

• Optional: a puppet or Halloween prop (like a ghost, bat, or friendly monster!)

How to Play:

1. Prepare your sounds. Choose 3–5 tones to play. Cover the instrument with a scarf so students can’t see your hands.

2. Play a pattern. Perform the notes slowly and clearly—maybe the monster is “sneaking” or “dancing!”

3. Add the puppet. Your Halloween friend (puppet or prop) will “sing” or “play” the mystery notes.

4. Echo the sound. Ask students to echo what they hear or sing it back in their best spooky voices.

5. Guess the pattern. Was it high or low? How many notes did you hear? Can you hum it back?

6. Level up. Add more tones, faster patterns, or even have students take turns being the “mystery musician.”

You could also listen to these Halloween-themed songs in each curriculum for even more musical fun:

• Sound Beginnings: Black Spiders semester – “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” (Track 9)

• Red Balloons / 1st Year LPM: “Ooooh Halloween” (Track 21)

• Green Turtles / 2nd Year LPM: “Halloween Is Coming” (Track 13)

• Purple Magic / 3rd Year LPM: “Halloween Night” (Track 21)

• Presto Rockets Year 1: “Halloween Is Coming” (Track 17)

• Presto Magic Year 2: “Halloween Dare” (Track 13)

These activities sharpens listening skills, strengthens pitch awareness, and encourages vocal imitation—all core foundations in the Let’s Play Music curriculum. Plus, the Halloween twist makes it irresistibly fun!

Our Classes