My pop song spotlight series started with a look at Snoop Dogg’s kids album (it’s a treasure, I promise you!), followed by a look at some cool, current songs I’m using to work on attention skills with instruments.

Today, I’m focusing on the best current pop songs that can be used for movement.

I usually facilitate two types of movement experiences when working with tweens and teens: movement patterns to music and dancing to music.

‘Movement patterns to music’ means I come up with two main movement patterns for the song, usually one for the verses and one for the chorus. They movements can be ANYTHING you can dream up, and any movement patterns your clients would benefit from. For example:

pat, pat, clap

stomp, clap

tap right, tap left, clap

roll arms, arms up in the air

wave /wiggle arms

Here are some great songs to put movement patterns to:

“Blinding Lights” and “Take My Breath” by The Weeknd

“A-O-K” by Tai Verdes

“Dynamite” by BTS

“Levitating” by Dua Lipa

“Summer Vibe” (Pegato Remix) by Walk Off the Earth – cue this up for summer!

“Savage Love” (clean version) by Jason Derulo

“Bang!” by AJR

“Jalebi Baby” by Tesher and Jason Derulo

And, here are some great songs to dance to:

“Wake Up America” by Miley Cyrus (included because I used it recently as part of an Earth Day-themed session)

“Sunroof” by Nicky Youre and Dazy

“I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic

“Love Never Felt So Good” by Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson

“The Family Madrigal” from Encanto

“Love On Top” by Beyonce

If these ideas are sparking your interest, then you’ll be glad to know that the doors for The Attention & Perception E-Course will be opening on May 15th (at a discounted rate). The session ideas are all geared toward school-age (K-8) and high school-age clients.

Join the waitlist by entering your name and email below, so you don’t miss when the doors for enrollment are open.

When you join the waitlist, you’ll hear about special discounts and promotions, and how you can access free bonus material.

Plus, you’ll receive a Pop Song Rhythms freebie right away, so you can get a sneak peek of the materials you’ll have access to inside the course.

Sarah Jarvis, a music therapy intern, had this to say about the course:

Would I recommend the course to others? Oh, absolutely. Your voice is easy to listen to, your videos are excellently edited, and your material is succinct and straightforward. For someone with ADD, this was AWESOME and so simple to stay attentive. The edited videos of client interventions seamlessly fit into the instruction videos. It made it so easy to mentally jump from what a therapist can do to use this information and these techniques. Thank you for making it a fun learning experience!

And Debi Kret, MM, MT-BC, shared this with me:

I worked in Special Ed for almost 25 years and you and I are on the same page. I loved the way you used your clarinet. I keep telling my interns to use their primary instrument. I have also tried to explain several of the concepts like the way you described the instrument and had them count the pieces while you put it away. Great to have video examples for my interns!”

More than 400 music therapists, educators, and professionals have taken Wholesome Harmonies E-Courses and successfully put the ideas into use in their sessions and classrooms.

If you’re interested in learning more about the E-Course, be sure to hop on the wait list now!