Carpal-Tarsal Sing-drome

by Greg Crowther

This is a musical mnemonic to help students remember the names of the carpal and tarsal bones. The first letter of each word in the lyrics is the same as the name of a corresponding bone.

Songs Like This Piece
Teach Through Clever Hints;
These Cute Notes
Make Initial-Letter Cues!

• karaoke

• MP3 (demo)

• music video

• sheet music

Songs like this one can be used during class meetings and/or in homework assignments. Either way, the song will be most impactful if students DO something with it, as opposed to just listening.

An initial, simple follow-up activity could be to answer the study questions below. A more extensive interaction with the song might entail (A) learning to sing it, using an audio file and/or sheet music as a guide, and/or (B) illustrating it with pictures, bodily poses, and/or bodily movements. The latter activity could begin with students identifying the most important or most challenging content of the song, and deciding how to illustrate that particular content.

(1) Which bones are represented first in the song -- the carpals, or the tarsals?

(2) List the order of the carpal and tarsal bones in the same order as represented in the song.

(3) Among the carpal bones, which row is presented first -- proximal, or distal?

(4) In what order are the carpal bones presented -- lateral to medial, or medial to lateral?

(5) In what order are the tarsal bones presented?

(6) A classmate of yours refers to the carpal and tarsal bones as the "wrist bones" and "ankle bones," respectively? Is he right to do so