Handbells, jingle bells, sleigh bells, and resonator bells are all a part of my instrument collection, which is probably why I have so many songs about bells!  (Each word links to a different song.)  But last week I decided that I needed a fresh one to accompany my little bell players, so I adapted a traditional folk tune to get the job done.

Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.
Ring to the music, la la la.

The blank spaces in the song are there so that if being used in a group, I can go around the room and address each student: “Ring to the music, Jessica; ring to the music, Jackson” and so on. I can also add these verses to make the activity a little more interesting and challenging:

  • Ring to the music, slowly…
  • Ring to the music, quickly…
  • Ring to the music, softly…
  • Ring to the music, loudly…

I tried this song out yesterday with my Church Mice group using tone blocks, and I’m happy to report that it was a success :) But really, anytime you ask a child to play an instrument quickly and/or loudly, it will most likely go over well! What are your favorite “bell” songs?