I am a music teacher, and I have several resources that talk about having kids clap, pat, snap, and patschen in a song. I have tried to look up what a patschen is, because I thought it was a pat, but it obviously isn't if kids are supposed to patting as well as patschening, and I can't find any resource online that defines it. I go to musical dictionaries and they've never heard of it. One place defined it as a science term. Can anyone help with this, and maybe why no source online seems to have ever heard the word before, but I'm magically supposed to know, simply because I'm a teacher. Sorry, frustrated...I appreciate anyone's help!
Answers (3)
Patschen or patsching or patchen all refer to alternating hands on the legs. So patting your lap, but in alteration. I'm an elementary music teacher and, like you said, it's everywhere. It's a German word, so that might be why it doesn't show up easily in a search. It may have made its way into our music vernacular via Carl Orff and his Orff Schulwerk approach to teaching young children music. Sorry I didn't see this 3 months ago!