Jalen Finds the Beat
Jalen visits Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, with his aunt. Music spills out of an open door.
“Let's stop and listen,” Aunt Jo says.
Jalen hears a guitar. The man who plays it plucks the strings. The notes sound bright and quick.
Jalen taps his foot. “I like that sound!”
Farther down the street, a drum goes boom, tap, boom. A woman hits it with two sticks. Jalen taps his leg to match her beat.
“I like that sound, too,” he says.
Then a horn calls out from a doorway. A man holds a trumpet to his lips. Its notes rise high, then dip down low.
Jalen stops and listens. “How can I pick just one?” he asks.
“Pick one what?” asks Aunt Jo.
“One best sound! I want to tell Dad all about it.”
Aunt Jo smiles. “Let's sit for a bit.”
They find a bench near the open door. From there, Jalen can hear the guitar and the drum. Now and then, the trumpet joins in, too.
Jalen shuts his eyes. The drum keeps a beat. The guitar skips over it. The trumpet sings above them both.
He opens his eyes. “I can't pick one,” he says. “I like how they sound together.”
“Then tell Dad that,” says Aunt Jo.
- plucks:
- Pulls and lets go of strings to make a sound.
- notes:
- Musical sounds.
- beat:
- The steady pulse in music.
- doorway:
- The opening where a door is.
- grins:
- Smiles widely.
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Main Idea
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Purpose
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Structure
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1Where does Jalen visit with Aunt Jo?
- 2What instrument does Jalen hear first?
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About this short story passage for Lower Elementary
“Jalen Finds the Beat” is a short story reading passage about Music, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (241 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.