Name That Tune

by Steve Bennett

Does your family enjoy making music together? Then try this dinner table activity and "clap out" all of your favorite tunes as loudly as you please -- since you're at home, volume should be no problem.

Take turns choosing a song that everyone in the family knows and clapping out the rhythm, one note at a time. Then have everyone else guess what the song is. It's a good idea to start with some simple melodies, then step up the challenge. If you live in a houseful of musicians, it won't be long before you try something as complicated as "The Star Spangled Banner."

A variation of this game is to tap out the tune on each other's back -- that way, you can actually feel the rhythm instead of merely hearing it. (This is particularly fun with younger children.) Yet another variation adds an interesting challenge: clap out a note at a time, and see who can guess the tune first.

Perhaps the winner can lead the family in singing the song at the dinner table.

Reprinted with permission from Steve and Ruth Bennett's Table Talk!: 365 ways to reclaim the family dinner hour (Adams Publishing).

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