On the six-seventh day of Christmas, my elementary music teacher gave to me … 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’t escape the “six-seven” craze.
The fad has made teaching music—including counting eight beat patterns—tough, as kids scream “six-seven!,” complete with the accompanying hand gestures.
The “six-seven” shrug—so viral that it has been tapped as the 2025 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com—is 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’t have any particular meaning.
Trends like “six-seven” 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’s social development.
Bishop, the father of an elementary-aged child and a toddler, couldn’t even get away from the six-seven craze at home.
So, he decided to take those “six-seven” lemons and make … eggnog, writing a “six-seven " holiday song he could share with students.
Bishop started out by crafting the lyrics with the goal of “making sure the melody was something simple and catchy, and something my students could instantly connect with,” he said in an email.
He hit on lyrics that are fun for kids, but also plenty relatable for any adult—parent, teacher, coach, etc.—who has been inundated with the “six-seven” 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…
Six-Seven Christmas/ Six-Seven lights!/ Six-Seven magic!/ Blowin’ through the night! …
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 “pop-style” voice.
So Bishop, who considers himself a technology novice, used a digital audio workstation—a music production technology tool that incorporates artificial intelligence—and found a studio-grade vocal that fit the bill. He also added digital instruments.
“Everything 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,” he said. “That’s what is so amazing about today’s 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!”
His students loved the result.
“They’re the reason the song exists and seeing them light up when they hear it has been the best part of the whole experience,” Bishop said.
Now that Bishop has caught “the songwriting bug,” he’s thinking he may put an “educational twist” 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.
“I don’t really see this slowing down for me,” he said.
Bishop’s advice to teachers who may want to use song writing as part of their instruction—or as an engagement tool: “Do your best to find out what your kids are listening to and watching and interested in, and pay attention to those trends, " he said. “Even if they’re annoying.”
