5 Ways to Use Purposeful Movement to Learn New Music Repertoire

We’ve all been there. You’re in the middle of a rehearsal, working through a tricky section of a new piece, and you see the glazed-over eyes. Students start fidgeting, attention drifts, and the energy in the room plummets.

What if the solution wasn’t to push harder but to move more?

Research in music education—including the work of Dr. Edwin Gordon—reminds us that students learn about keeping the beat in time by first keeping the beat across space. In other words, movement is not just a fun activity—it’s the foundation for musical understanding.

In this post, we’ll explore five purposeful movement strategies you can use to help students internalize rhythm, pitch, and lyrics while keeping rehearsals engaging.

1. Beat Movements: The Foundation of Rhythm

Before students can play or sing in time, they need to feel the beat. Start with:

• Patting laps to the beat
• Bounce heels to the beat, keeping toes on the ground.
• Stepping in place while counting
• Tapping shoulders or knees in time

These simple movements ground students in the pulse of the music. You can use them while sight-reading, or as a quick reset when attention starts to wander. These same-side movements build a solid foundation for feeling steady beat. 

Clapping comes next—it adds crossing the midline, a higher-level bilateral coordination skill that deepens rhythmic understanding.

2. Nonlocomotor Movements: Moving Without Traveling

Nonlocomotor movements keep students rooted while still engaging their bodies in learning. Try:

• Swaying side to side with the music
• Stretching arms upward or outward on sustained notes
• Body percussion like tapping elbows, snapping, or clapping softly
• Move with Continuous Flow, pretend you are a tree blowing gently in the wind or a surfer riding the waves

Because they don’t require navigating the room, nonlocomotor activities are great for tight rehearsal spaces or quick practice during transitions.

3. Locomotor Movements: Traveling to the Beat

Locomotor movements allow students to connect the music to space. Examples include:

• Walking around the room in time with the beat
• Skipping or galloping during upbeat sections
• Marching with dynamic accents on strong beats

This not only reinforces tempo but also adds kinesthetic memory to learning—a huge help when memorizing repertoire for performances.

4. Hand Motions to Reflect Lyrics

Physical storytelling helps students connect emotionally and cognitively with the music. For songs with lyrics:

• Create gestures for key words
• Use sign language for certain phrases
• Have students invent their own movements for verses

This technique strengthens lyric recall and helps shy singers participate with more confidence.

5. Pitch Level Movements: Follow the Melody’s Shape

Students often struggle with pitch accuracy when it’s taught only through sound. Adding movement makes the melodic contour visible:

• Trace the pitch line in the air with your hand
• Use both hands to show harmony parts
• Layer in facial expressions to match dynamics

This is especially effective with beginners or when introducing a new piece.

Bonus: Continuous Flowing Movement – The Hidden Building Block

One of the most overlooked movement types in music class is continuous flowing movement—smooth, uninterrupted motion that prepares students for beat-keeping skills. Edwin Gordon reminds us that rhythm isn’t born in clock-like ticking—it’s born in movement. We learn time by moving first in space, then letting that flow become the beat we feel.

Dr. Gordon’s sequence is powerful:

• Continuous flow (moving smoothly through space)
• Flow with pulse (gentle movements with an underlying beat)
• Beat keeping with both hands moving together (e.g., patting laps together)
• Clapping (more precise, isolated beat-keeping)

By moving through this sequence, you help students internalize beat long before you ever say, “Find the tempo.”

Bringing It All Together in Rehearsal

Purposeful movement doesn’t have to be a separate “fun” activity—it can be woven directly into your warm-ups, sectional rehearsals, and even concert prep.

In my eBook, Program Preparation: Strategies to Avoid Rehearsal Boredom, the first section is an idea bank of nine rehearsal strategies and focus areas designed to keep students active, creative, and excited about the process.

Here’s a sneak peek at three of them:

• The Bubble Game (Framework Strategy) – A versatile movement game where students walk during music and freeze when it stops. Add rhythm patterns during freezes for bonus skill-building.
• Melodic Focus – Help students “see” a melody by tracing its shape in the air with hand motions, using songs like What a Goodly Thing or Carolina, Carolina.
• Movement Focus – Layer in purposeful movement like ASL, lyric-based gestures, or dance steps for songs such as Grand Old Flag to connect music, meaning, and motion.

These are just three of the nine strategies inside the eBook—many of which pair perfectly with the purposeful movement ideas in this post to keep students learning their music while staying engaged from the first measure to the final bow.

If you want even more rehearsal-refreshing ideas, you can also check out my related post: Program Preparation: Teaching Strategies to Avoid Rehearsal Boredom

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Which of these movement strategies have you tried in your music room? Which one are you most excited to try next? Share your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear how you bring purposeful movement into your teaching!

🎁 Free Download for Music Teachers!

Ready to try these purposeful movement ideas in your own rehearsal? I’ve put together a Movement in Music Rehearsal – Quick Start Guide just for you! Inside, you’ll get a snapshot of why movement is so powerful for learning, plus three “try tomorrow” activities (including the Bubble Game) that you can plug right into your next class.

This free guide is the perfect way to boost engagement and build musical skills—without adding more prep to your plate. Grab your copy below and keep your students moving, learning, and loving rehearsal!


👉 Click here to get your free guide

🎵 Want more details?

📘 Grab the full eBook here and transform your rehearsal routine today!

Keep your students engaged, active, and excited about making music—one purposeful movement at a time! 💃🎵

Musically yours,