On the six-seventh day of Christmas, my elementary music teacher gave to me 鈥� a silly holiday song to sing by the tree.
Like many of his colleagues around the country, Tyler Bishop, who teaches music at Northmoor Primary School in Peoria, Ill., can鈥檛 escape the 鈥渟ix-seven鈥� craze.
The fad has made teaching music鈥攊ncluding counting eight beat patterns鈥攖ough, as kids scream 鈥渟ix-seven!,鈥� complete with the accompanying hand gestures.
The 鈥渟ix-seven鈥� shrug鈥攕o viral that it has been tapped as the 2025 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com鈥攊s the latest of the unending stream of nonsensical jokes, rituals, and competitions that spread like wildfire among students in classes and on social media. It originated from a rap song but doesn鈥檛 have any particular meaning.
Trends like 鈥渟ix-seven鈥� often prove bewildering and annoying to teachers and parents, but experts say for the most part they are a normal and valuable part of children鈥檚 social development.
Bishop, the father of an elementary-aged child and a toddler, couldn鈥檛 even get away from the six-seven craze at home.
So, he decided to take those 鈥渟ix-seven鈥� lemons and make 鈥� eggnog, writing a 鈥渟ix-seven " holiday song he could share with students.
Bishop started out by crafting the lyrics with the goal of 鈥渕aking sure the melody was something simple and catchy, and something my students could instantly connect with,鈥� he said in an email.
He hit on lyrics that are fun for kids, but also plenty relatable for any adult鈥攑arent, teacher, coach, etc.鈥攚ho has been inundated with the 鈥渟ix-seven鈥� trend.
Snow is falling softly/ Twinkling on the ground/ Every little footstep makes a jingle sound/ Cookies in the oven/ Cocoa on the stove/ Everybody dancing in their Christmas clothes鈥�
Six-Seven Christmas/ Six-Seven lights!/ Six-Seven magic!/ Blowin鈥� through the night! 鈥�
They shout it everywhere!/ The joy is breaking loose!/ We tried to tame the chaos!/ But now we chant it, too!
Bishop, who rarely listens to music that came out after 2000, recorded himself singing his Christmas creation.
But he thought the song needed a bit more of a 鈥減op-style鈥� voice.
So Bishop, who considers himself a technology novice, used a digital audio workstation鈥攁 music production technology tool that incorporates artificial intelligence鈥攁nd found a studio-grade vocal that fit the bill. He also added digital instruments.
鈥淓verything is still me, as I handled the writing, arranging, and production myself: building the chords, shaping the structure, choosing the instrumentation, and mixing it into the final track,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what is so amazing about today鈥檚 music technology. For those of us without a whole studio of musicians in our back pocket, with some effort, a lot of trial and error, and patience, we can still produce some pretty cool media!鈥�
His students loved the result.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the reason the song exists and seeing them light up when they hear it has been the best part of the whole experience,鈥� Bishop said.
Now that Bishop has caught 鈥渢he songwriting bug,鈥� he鈥檚 thinking he may put an 鈥渆ducational twist鈥� on his next ditty.
After all, creating a bespoke song may be a great way to make foundational musical concepts, such as steady beats or basic rhythms, come alive for students.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really see this slowing down for me,鈥� he said.
Bishop鈥檚 advice to teachers who may want to use song writing as part of their instruction鈥攐r as an engagement tool: 鈥淒o your best to find out what your kids are listening to and watching and interested in, and pay attention to those trends, " he said. 鈥淓ven if they鈥檙e annoying.鈥�
