We had been singing a song and improvising stanzas about Libby, and color and things to wear. We kept the song going from one newly made stanza to another, with no pausing between stanzas except for suggestions from Libby. Libby, who is seven, had definite ideas as to what part of herself should come next—her dress, socks, bracelet, shoes, hair, even her “sun-tan skin.”

“This Libby she wears her sun-tan skin,

Her sun-tan skin, her sun-tan skin,

This Libby she wears her sun-tan skin,

I love her to my heart.”

When at last the song stopped, she said, “Now I’m all clothed with a song.” Maybe Libby expressed the satisfaction children feel as they take hold of a song, sing anywhere from one to a dozen of its traditional stanzas, and then make up a dozen more of their own.

In my work with music and children, I have sung in schools with groups of varying ages from nursery thru elementary-school age and beyond—not to mention parents, who also like to sing. In the several schools whose music programs have been under my direction, we have sung for the most part American traditional music. Singing sessions with each grade or group were usually two or three a week.

Improvisation on the words of songs was a part of each group's experience—with the younger grades, a large part; with the older grades, relatively less, but never ignored. It was something we all liked to do.

Comfortable with the Song

There is a feeling among a group which contains something special when the last of the printed words has been sung, and yet the music keeps on going back to the beginning for another stanza—impelling the group to provide more words.

During that process of giving the song reason for continuing, the group and the song seem to come close enough to each other to touch. The group has given to the song, and the song has given to the group. Such exchange makes for good friendship. It is certainly a step toward getting acquainted, toward feeling comfortable with a thing or a person.