Play Mary Had a Little Lamb in Harmony
Play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' in two-part harmony on keyboard or recorder, practicing listening, matching notes, and playing with a partner.
Step-by-step guide to play Mary Had a Little Lamb in two-part harmony
Step 1
Gather your keyboard or piano and recorder and place the printed music and pencil where you can see them.
Step 2
Listen to Mary Had a Little Lamb once or twice so you remember the tune.
Step 3
Decide who will play the melody and who will play the harmony.
Step 4
Melody player practices the entire song slowly while reading the printed melody until it feels comfortable.
Step 5
Harmony player practices the entire harmony line slowly while reading the printed harmony until it feels comfortable.
Step 6
Set the metronome to a slow steady beat and get ready to play with it.
Step 7
Both players play the song together slowly with the metronome, staying in time.
Step 8
Stop and replay any short spot that sounds out of tune until both notes match.
Step 9
Slowly increase the metronome speed a little and play the whole song together at the new tempo.
Step 10
Practice playing softer or louder so the two parts blend nicely and one part does not overpower the other.
Step 11
Perform the whole song from start to finish together with confidence.
Step 12
Share your finished creation on DIY.org
Final steps
You're almost there! Complete all the steps, bring your creation to life, post it, and conquer the challenge!
Help!?
What can we use if we don't have a keyboard, piano, or recorder?
If you don't have a keyboard or piano, use a free piano app on a tablet or phone, and if there's no recorder you can sing the harmony or use a second app/keyboard so both players can follow the printed music and pencil.
What should we do if we can't stay in time or the notes sound out of tune when playing together?
If the parts slip out of time or sound wrong during the 'play together slowly with the metronome' step, stop and replay the short spot as the instructions say, slow the metronome down, and have the harmony player isolate and practice that measure until both notes match.
How can we adapt this activity for much younger or older children?
For younger kids, have one person sing the melody while the other plays a simplified harmony on the keyboard at a very slow metronome setting and work on just a few bars at a time, while older children can add a second harmony line, increase the metronome speed, and practice dynamics from step 9.
How can we extend or personalize our performance after we can play the song together?
To enhance the activity, create your own harmony variations or transpose the melody on the keyboard, record the final performance with a phone, use the dynamics practice from step 9 to shape the sound, and then share the finished creation on DIY.org.
Watch videos on how to play Mary Had a Little Lamb in two-part harmony
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Facts about music education for kids
👂 Ear training helps players recognize intervals like thirds and fifths, the building blocks of harmony.
🎹 Playing in duet trains listening, timing, and coordination — musicians call it a musical conversation.
🎶 The soprano recorder is a classroom favorite because it’s inexpensive, durable, and quick for kids to learn.
🎙️ Thomas Edison famously used “Mary Had a Little Lamb” as one of the first sounds recorded on his phonograph in 1877.
🎵 Two-part harmony pairs two independent lines to make simple chords — perfect for beginners learning how notes fit together.
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